HLS 15RS-697 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 38
BY REPRESENTATIVE BADON
COMMENDATIONS: Commends Xavier University President Norman Francis upon his
retirement
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To commend Dr. Norman Francis upon his retirement after forty-six years as president of
3 Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans.
4 WHEREAS, Norman Francis was a Xavier University student, graduating with
5honors in 1952 and serving as class president each year of his matriculation; and
6 WHEREAS, Dr. Francis was the first black graduate of Loyola University Law
7School in New Orleans, after which he served in the United States Army; following his
8Army service, Dr. Francis worked in the United States Attorney's Office, where he helped
9integrate federal agencies in the South; and
10 WHEREAS, Dr. Francis pursued a career in education and became the dean of men
11at Xavier; in 1961, after the Freedom Riders' bus was bombed in Alabama, Dean Francis
12offered housing to the Riders in one of Xavier University's dorms; and
13 WHEREAS, Dr. Francis accepted the presidency of his alma mater in 1968, and
14since his installation, enrollment at Xavier has increased almost threefold and the campus
15has expanded from five buildings covering one city block to sixteen buildings on sixty acres;
16Dr. Francis has guided Xavier University from a twenty million dollar endowment to more
17than one hundred thirty million dollars; and
18 WHEREAS, as one of the early voices calling for education reform, Dr. Francis
19served on the 1983 National Commission on Excellence in Education and had a hand in
20producing "A Nation At Risk", a report on the deficiencies in the American education system
21that remains influential in the shaping of education strategies; and
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HCR NO. 38
1 WHEREAS, Dr. Francis' educational focus has led more than sixty percent of
2incoming Xavier University freshmen students to concentrate their studies in the fields of
3science, technology, engineering, and math, and Xavier University is the top producer of
4black students earning medical degrees; as president, Dr. Francis has presented nearly twenty
5thousand diplomas to graduating seniors; and
6 WHEREAS, during his tenure as Xavier University president, Dr. Francis was called
7upon to serve on more than fifty boards; he has received forty honorary degrees; Dr. Francis
8was honored by The Times-Picayune in 1991 with the Loving Cup, an award for his
9unselfish work for the community without expectation of public recognition or material
10reward; in 2006, President George W. Bush awarded Dr. Francis the Presidential Medal of
11Freedom, the nation's highest civil honor, for his lifetime of service to civic causes; and
12 WHEREAS, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Dr. Francis was appointed
13chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority and was tasked with heading the state's first
14efforts toward rebuilding; and
15 WHEREAS, while Dr. Norman Francis will be sorely missed at the helm of Xavier
16University after his retirement at the end of the 2014-2015 school year, his influence on the
17school's educational mission will remain a positive force and provide clear guidance towards
18perpetual improvement in the years to come.
19 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
20commend Dr. Norman Francis for forty-six years of distinguished service as president of
21Xavier University; does hereby express sincere appreciation for a job well done in preparing
22students for careers and civic contributions upon graduation from Xavier University, in part
23by his own example; and does hereby extend best wishes for a full and happy life upon his
24retirement.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
26to Dr. Norman Francis.
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HCR NO. 38
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 38 Original 2015 Regular Session Badon
Commends Dr. Norman Francis upon his retirement as president of Xavier University of La.
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