Candice McQueen is an American academic administrator serving as the 18th president of

Lipscomb University Lipscomb University is a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, between Belmont Boulevard to the west and Granny White Pike o ...

since 2021. She is the first female chief executive officer of a university associated with the Churches of Christ. McQueen was the CEO of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching from 2019 to 2021. She served as the commissioner of the

Tennessee Department of Education The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is the state education agency of Tennessee. It is headquartered on the 6th floor of the Andrew Johnson Tower in Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of ...

from 2015 to 2019.

Life

McQueen was born to Brenda and Nelson Hunter. She is from

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ...

. She lived in Iran for three years while her parents taught at the

Tehran American School The Tehran American School (TAS)1970s campus location was an American international school in Tehran, Iran. It was founded in 1954, and it held its final classes in 1978.Egherman, Tori.Notebook , The Last Days of the Tehran American School. ''PBS ...

. She completed a B.S. from

. From 1996 to 1998, McQueen taught 5th grade at Lipscomb Middle School. She earned an M.Ed. in school administration from

Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private university, private research university in N ...

in 1998. She taught for three years at Lakeway Elementary in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. McQueen completed a Ph.D. in curriculum studies at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. McQueen was an adjunct faculty member at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. She served as an assistant instructor and supervisor of student teachers at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. McQueen joined the College of Education at

in August 2001. She served as chair of the undergraduate education department from 2004 to 2008. She became dean of the College of Education in July 2008. In November 2013, McQueen was also appointed senior vice president. She served as dean and senior vice president until December 2014. In January 2015, McQueen was appointed by Governor

Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...

as commissioner of the

. She served in the role until January 2019. McQueen was the chief executive officer of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) of the

Milken Family Foundation The Milken Family Foundation is a private foundation established by Lowell Milken and Michael Milken in 1982. Lowell Milken serves as chairman and co-founder of the foundation. Goals The foundation is focused primarily on supporting education ...

from January 2019 to August 2021. On August 4, 2021, She became the 18th president of

. She succeeded

L. Randolph Lowry III L. Randolph Lowry III, also known as Randy Lowry, (born 1951/1952) is an American academic administrator. He was the President of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee from 2005 to 2021. Early life Lowry was born in Oregon and grew up i ...

. She is the first female chief executive officer of a university associated with the Churches of Christ. McQueen married Andy McQueen and has a son and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McQueen, Candice Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Clarksville, Tennessee 21st-century American academics 21st-century American women educators Schoolteachers from Tennessee Women heads of universities and colleges Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Lipscomb University alumni Vanderbilt University alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni Lipscomb University faculty American members of the Churches of Christ Women in Tennessee politics 21st-century American women politicians