Norman Francis

Norman Christopher Francis (March 20, 1931 – February 18, 2026) was 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. 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.Katherine Mangan "America's Longest-Serving College President Has More to Do" The Chronicle of Higher Education January 14, 2013 paid content 

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

Francis died on February 18, 2026 at a hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana at the age of 94.

References

Category:1931 births
Category:2026 deaths
Category:Academics from Louisiana
Category:People from Lafayette, Louisiana