Homecoming Queens

Introduction
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.

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Homecoming Queens

1923

Evelyn Arquette

 

1939

Eleanor Collman

 

1940

Muriel Dirks

 

1941

Georgiana Amidon

 

1942

Margaret Hill

 

1943-1944

No formal Homecoming celebration due to World War II

 

1945

Helen Schmidt

 

1946

Dorothy Moore

 

1947

Colleen Haley

 

1948

Beverly Braack

 

1949

Donna Fangman

 

1950

Lucile Hilger

 

1951

Dixie Laughery

 

1952

Susan Mary Ritz

 

1953

Mary Powers

 

1954

Mary Conrad

 

1955

Betty Vance

 

1956

Glenda Wilson

 

1957

Nancy Niles

 

1958

Carol Justice

 

1959

Shirley Peterson

 

1960

Mary Paulk

 

1961

Bonnie Van Zandt

 

1962

Debbie Noland

 

1963

Peggy DeShon

 

1964

Georgia Collard

 

1965

Barbara Miyasaki

 

1966

Inga Bartosch

 

1967

Susan Lindholm

 

1968

Blanche Izumi

 

1969

Pam Olds

 

1970

Marilyn Nicol

Minority students selected Mary Adams

 

2012

Haley Minear

 

2013

Steven Sanchez

 

2014