The LOOK BACK cause

A giant has taken his rest.

Dr. Norman C. Francis devoted nearly five decades to leading Xavier University of Louisiana, serving as its first Black and first lay president from 1968 to 2015. He was only the second African American to preside over a Catholic university in the United States.

Beyond campus gates, his leadership helped guide Louisiana’s recovery after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. His service earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006 and the Laetare Medal in 2019, along with 35 honorary degrees nationwide.

A scholar. A steward. A standard. Rest well.

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