McQueen honored with the Joseph School's inaugural Luminary Award

Office of Public Relations & Communications | 02/22/2024

On February 29, 2024, The Joseph School, a non-profit organization located in Cabaret, Haiti and founded by former Tennessee senator Jim Bryson is proud to recognize Lipscomb University President Dr. Candice McQueen with the inaugural Luminary Award. For the first time, the organization is honoring an individual who exemplifies The Joseph School principles of service, education, and empowerment through leadership.

A distinguished community and civic leader, Dr. McQueen has served as president of Lipscomb University since September 2021, where she has overseen the university’s two largest classes of new students, the two largest giving days in university history and the launch of the Impact 360 strategic plan. In her 25-year career, she has served as CEO of the National Institute of Excellence in Teaching, Dean of Lipscomb University’s College of Education, and Tennessee Commissioner of Education. As the state’s top education official, she collaborated with 147 school districts and hundreds of non-public and charter schools to serve the one million students in Tennessee. Under her leadership, the Volunteer State saw record-breaking graduation rates, ACT scores, postsecondary attendance, and investments in teacher salaries.

“Dr. McQueen is an inspiration not only to those in our field but also to anyone with dreams of enacting change and lasting positive impact on the world around them,” said Jim Bryson, founder and chairman of the Joseph School Board of Directors. “She embodies the spirit of everything we at The Joseph School strive to accomplish. Not only is she a tremendous educational leader, but her service to and empowerment of others elevate her to the very top of our field. There is no greater calling or purpose than to improve the futures of the next generation.” 

The Joseph School is on a mission to improve the lives and futures of Haitian children through education and empowerment. Founded in 2015, its mission is to solve the issue of accessibility and to foster the next generation of Haiti’s leaders. Currently, more than 200,000 Haitian children are not in school, 43% are unenrolled in primary school, and 80% never attend secondary school. The Joseph School endeavors to reduce these statistics and extends the opportunity to learn in an environment that empowers students to dream, compels them to love and calls them to lead. 

“I am humbled to be selected as the first-ever Luminary Award recipient. When I decided to pursue a career in education, it was rooted in my passion for shaping young minds and lives for the better,” Dr. McQueen commented. “From my time as a classroom teacher to today, I’ve seen the transformative effect that one educational opportunity can have on a student’s life, and it is amazing to see how many lives the Joseph School has changed.” 

The honor will be bestowed at the first-ever Luminary Award Luncheon on Thursday, February 29, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Nashville’s Music City Center. Limited seating is available. To register to attend, contact //cynthias [at] thejosephschool.org">cynthias [at] thejosephschool.org. All proceeds will benefit The Joseph School.