Norman Francis

Norman Christopher Francis (born March 20, 1931) is an American academic. He was the president of Xavier University of Louisiana from 1968 to 2015. He was the first Black and first lay president of the school, and the second African American to ever be president of a Catholic university in the United States.^[1][2] Francis was born in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Francis also was the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the state agency in charge of planning the recovery of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.^[3]

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush in 2006.

References

1. "Xavier University of Louisiana". Archived from the original on 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
2. "America's Longest-Presiding University President: An Interview with Dr. Norman C. Francis of Xavier University of Louisiana". The Black Collegian. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
3. Katherine Mangan "America's Longest-Serving College President Has More to Do" The Chronicle of Higher Education January 14, 2013 paid content