Norman Francis

Biography

Norman Christopher Francis (March 20, 1931 – February 18, 2026) was an American academic who served as 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 serve as president of a Catholic university in the United States. Francis also served as the chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the state agency in charge of planning the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

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