Notable New Orleanians: A Tricentennial Tribute

XAVIER
UNIVERSITY OF
LOUISIANA
Top: Xavier University of Louisiana's
campus
Below: Since its inception in 1925 by St.
Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the
Blessed Sacrament, Xavier University of
Louisiana’s fundamental vision stands upon
the education of students who would become
agents of change in society, government and
the church.
Founded in 1925, Xavier University
of Louisiana is a private, coeducational
liberal arts college located in New
Orleans. Among its many other historic
aspects, Xavier is also the only historically
black Roman Catholic institution
of higher learning in the United States.
Since its inception, Xavier has been
closely linked to historic figures, events
and issues of major significance to both
the state and the nation. Its origins go
back to the work of Saint Katherine
Drexel, and her efforts in helping to expand
educational opportunities to minority students,
which resulted in the founding of a
high school in 1915, on the site previously
occupied by Southern University. This began
a process, which culminated in the establishment
of a College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
in 1925, and the opening of the College of
Pharmacy two years later.
In 1929, construction began on a new
campus for Xavier University of Louisiana,
which has remained its home to this day.
Anchored by its iconic U-shaped Gothic
Revival Main Building, Convent and Library
and its Administration Building, both of
which are designated landmarks, Xavier has
grown as its mission has expanded in the
ensuing years.
Xavier’s link to significant contemporary
issues has been an ongoing theme over the
years, especially in light of its designation as an
Historically Black College and University. In
1961, when the civil rights activists known as
the Freedom Riders were denied lodging in the
city, due to fear of reprisals, then-Dean of Men
Norman C. Francis gained the approval of the
University president to allow the group to stay
for a short time in one of the dorms. Dr. Francis
would go on to make history himself by serving
for forty-seven years as Xavier’s president from
1968 to 2015, which at the time of his retirement,
was the longest tenure of any college president
in the United States, and as a recipient of
the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006.
Xavier again brushed up against history in
1987, when Pope John Paul II addressed the
presidents of all the country’s Catholic colleges,
speaking from the university courtyard.
In 2010, President Obama addressed the
nation from Xavier’s campus, on the fifth
anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The university’s
response to Katrina was nothing less
than historic itself. Because of its location, the
school suffered extensive damage from the
flooding to almost every structure on the campus–some
of which remained submerged for a
substantial time. Despite such severe disruption,
through the determined efforts of dedicated
staff, faculty and students, including
rescue by boats of those stranded on campus,
students were able to return to the university
in January of 2006.
Today, Xavier University of Louisiana is recognized
nationally as a highly-ranked liberal arts
institution. Its College of Arts & Sciences offers
courses of study in the following Academic
Divisions: Biological and Public Health Sciences;
NOTABLE NEW ORLEANIANS: A Tricentennial Tribute
140