UNI Homecoming Queens

This page presents a list of UNI Homecoming queens. The first queen was elected in 1923. Her title was Miss ISTC (Iowa State Teachers College). From 1924 through 1938, there does not seem to have been a Homecoming queen election, though the Teachers College had a generous share of other beauty and popularity contests during those years. Homecoming queen elections began again in 1939. Until 1955 the letterman's club, the I-Club, selected the Homecoming queen. In 1955 the procedure changed. Starting in 1955 the I-Club nominated queen candidates, but the student body voted to select the queen.

For several years prior to the 1970 election, there had been criticism of the tradition on several fronts. First, some students believed that an election, based on physical appearance, was demeaning. And, second, some minority students believed that they were being excluded from the selection process. In 1970 minority students elected their own Homecoming royalty, Michael Reed and Mary Adams.

The Student Council declared that there would be no Homecoming queen election in 1971.

DateName and Notes
1923Evelyn Arquette
1939Eleanor Collman
1940Muriel Dirks
1941Georgiana Amidon
1942Margaret Hill
1943-1944No formal Homecoming celebration due to World War II
1945Helen Schmidt
1946Dorothy Moore
1947Colleen Haley
1948Beverly Braack
1949Donna Fangman
1950Lucile Hilger
1951Dixie Laughery
1952Susan Mary Ritz
1953Mary Powers
1954Mary Conrad
1955Betty Vance
1956Glenda Wilson
1957Nancy Niles
1958Carol Justice
1959Shirley Peterson
1960Mary Paulk
1961Bonnie Van Zandt
1962Debbie Noland
1963Peggy DeShon
1964Georgia Collard
1965Barbara Miyasaki
1966Inga Bartosch
1967Susan Lindholm
1968Blanche Izumi
1969Pam Olds
1970Marilyn Nicol
1970 (Minority students)Mary Adams
2012Haley Minear
2013Steven Sanchez
2014 
 

 

Compiler: Compiled by University Archivist Gerald L. Peterson, with research by Shanna Taylor and other student assistants, and scanning by Library Assistant Gail Briddle, September 2005; last updated, September 2, 2014 (GP).