Message from the President

October 2007

Dear Friends:

As another academic year begins, I want to thank all of you once again for your support.  It has often been noted thatXavier’s establishment eighty-two years ago by Saint Katharine Drexel, and its success at creating and sustaining a legacy of excellence against all odds, were indeed small “miracles.” Our recovery in the past two years since Hurricane Katrina struck our campus has likewise been evidence that the Xavier miracle continues.

More than 3,100 students are enrolled for the 2007-08 academic year, including 664 freshmen from across America. Those newest Xavierites represent a 50% increase over last year’s freshman class, with academic credentials equal to or higher than our classes over the past twelve years.  It is evident that students and their families around the country have reaffirmed that the tradition of excellence established at Xavier more than eighty years ago continues. Those families also support one of America’s most unique cities, as New Orleans recovers from the devastation it suffered two years ago.

We are encouraged by so many blessings. Our alumni and donors, as well as the foundations and organizations that believe in our mission, have been generous to us with their resources. Likewise, the federal government has provided us with a significant loan package to aid in moving forward with needed capital improvements and the refinancing of bonded indebtedness.       

Our students continue to thrive and excel in a wide variety of endeavors. The 2007 “Top 100 Degree Producers” issue of Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine confirmed Xavier’s continued pre-eminence as the nation’s top producer of African-American graduates in the biological, biomedical and physical sciences. We send more African American students to medical schools than any other institution. Xavier’s College of Pharmacy begins its 80th year and is the only Pharmacy college in South Louisiana. Pharmacy’s growing enrollment mirrors America’s diversity, while Xavier remains a top producer of the nation’s Black pharmacists. Our business students win national contests and are aggressively recruited by some of America’s top firms. And those are only a few examples that our tradition of excellence in all endeavors continues.

During this academic year we will continue our Strategic Master Planning process, as we envision what the “Xavier of the future” must be like in order to remain viable. We will also break ground on a significant expansion of the College of Pharmacy facilities, where our enrollment has never been higher. And, we will be announcing other important initiatives along the way.

So once again, my sincere thanks to all of our friends for your continued support of the Xavier mission.

Sincerely,

Norman C. Francis
October 2007