ENROLLED
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 38
BY REPRESENTATIVE BADON AND SENATORS ADLEY, ALLAIN, AMEDEE,
APPEL, BROOME, BROWN, BUFFINGTON, CROWE, DONAHUE, GALLOT,
GUILLORY, JOHNS, KOSTELKA, LONG, MARTINY, MILLS, MORRELL,
MORRISH, MURRAY, NEVERS, PERRY, PETERSON, RISER, GARY SMITH,
TARVER, THOMPSON, WALSWORTH, WARD, AND WHITE
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend Dr. Norman Francis upon his retirement after forty-six years as president of
Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans.
WHEREAS, Norman Francis was a Xavier University student, graduating with
honors in 1952 and serving as class president each year of his matriculation; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Francis was the first black graduate of Loyola University Law
School in New Orleans, after which he served in the United States Army; following his
Army service, Dr. Francis worked in the United States Attorney's Office, where he helped
integrate federal agencies in the South; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Francis pursued a career in education and became the dean of men
at Xavier; in 1961, after the Freedom Riders' bus was bombed in Alabama, Dean Francis
offered housing to the Riders in one of Xavier University's dorms; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Francis accepted the presidency of his alma mater in 1968, and
since his installation, enrollment at Xavier has increased almost threefold and the campus
has expanded from five buildings covering one city block to sixteen buildings on sixty acres;
Dr. Francis has guided Xavier University from a twenty million dollar endowment to more
than one hundred thirty million dollars; and
WHEREAS, as one of the early voices calling for education reform, Dr. Francis
served on the 1983 National Commission on Excellence in Education and had a hand in
producing "A Nation At Risk", a report on the deficiencies in the American education system
that remains influential in the shaping of education strategies; and
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WHEREAS, Dr. Francis' educational focus has led more than sixty percent of
incoming Xavier University freshmen students to concentrate their studies in the fields of
science, technology, engineering, and math, and Xavier University is the top producer of
black students earning medical degrees; as president, Dr. Francis has presented nearly twenty
thousand diplomas to graduating seniors; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure as Xavier University president, Dr. Francis was called
upon to serve on more than fifty boards; he has received forty honorary degrees; Dr. Francis
was honored by The Times-Picayune in 1991 with the Loving Cup, an award for his
unselfish work for the community without expectation of public recognition or material
reward; in 2006, President George W. Bush awarded Dr. Francis the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, the nation's highest civil honor, for his lifetime of service to civic causes; and
WHEREAS, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Dr. Francis was appointed
chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority and was tasked with heading the state's first
efforts toward rebuilding; and
WHEREAS, while Dr. Norman Francis will be sorely missed at the helm of Xavier
University after his retirement at the end of the 2014-2015 school year, his influence on the
school's educational mission will remain a positive force and provide clear guidance towards
perpetual improvement in the years to come.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend Dr. Norman Francis for forty-six years of distinguished service as president of
Xavier University; does hereby express sincere appreciation for a job well done in preparing
students for careers and civic contributions upon graduation from Xavier University, in part
by his own example; and does hereby extend best wishes for a full and happy life upon his
retirement.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to Dr. Norman Francis.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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