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Xavier(Xavier University of Louisiana)

School colors: Gold & White

Xavier University NOLA
anthony turducken, 2008-07-02 09:35:21, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

New Orleans, Louisiana · Founded 1915

Private · Four-year · ~3,200 students

www.xula.edu · official site

Founding

Xavier University of Louisiana began in 1915, when Katharine Drexel and her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament opened a high school on the site previously occupied by Southern University in New Orleans. A Teachers College and a College of Arts and Sciences were established by 1925, and a College of Pharmacy was added by 1927.

Source: The Full Story, Xavier University of Louisiana, read 2026-09-14.

What the school says about itself

On the record
  • Today Xavier retains its distinction as the only historically Black, Catholic University in the United States. Source, read 2026-09-17.
  • In pre-medical education, Xavier ranks first in the nation in the number of African American graduates who go on to complete medical school. Source, read 2026-09-17.
Notable Alumni, as the school lists them
  • Terrance Osborne, acclaimed New Orleans artist
  • Dr. John T. Scott, Nationally acclaimed sculptor, painter, and printmaker
  • Dr. Michael White, Eminent Jazz historian and performer
  • Christina Francis, President, Magic Johnson Enterprises
  • Harry Johnson, President and CEO of the Friends of the Memorial Foundation, Inc.
  • Dr. Gilda Barabino, President of Olin College of Engineering
  • Dr. Norman C. Francis, President Emeritus, Xavier University of Louisiana
  • Dr. Marie McDemmond, First female president of Norfolk State University (1997-2006)
  • Dr. Carmen J. Walters, President Tougaloo College
  • Dr. Christie Gooden, Abdominal Transplant Surgeon
  • Dr. Regina Benjamin, 18th U.S. Surgeon General
From Notable Alumni, Xavier University of Louisiana, read 2026-09-17. Names as the page lists them.

On the official record

Campus address
1 Drexel Drive, New Orleans, LA 70125-1098
Control
Private not-for-profit
Students
~3,200 students
Directory id
160904
OPE id
00203200
Student aid
Takes part in Title IV student aid
Title III Part B list, FY 2026
Listed
Location
1 Drexel Drive, New Orleans, LA. See it on the Ledger map.
Where this location comes fromCampus location from IPEDS 2024-25This campus location comes from the federal IPEDS 2024-25 record, used as published, so the pin on the map is the campus.IPEDS Institutional Characteristics, Directory information (HD2024), 2024-25 collection, file dated 2025-09-21, retrieved 2026-09-14: coordinate 29.964162, -90.107307 as published. The Census Bureau geocoder returned No Match for the address on file, which no longer decides placement.

Across newBWS

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics, Directory information (HD2024), 2024-25 provisional data collection. Unit id 160904. https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/data/HD2024.zip. File dated 2025-09-21.
  2. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. Higher Education Programs Eligibility Matrix, sheet 'HBCU', dated 2026-06-08. https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fy-2026-higher-education-programs-eligibility-matrix-june-8-2026-114185.xlsx.
  3. The Full Story, Xavier University of Louisiana. https://www.xula.edu/about/the-full-story.html. Read 2026-09-14.
  4. Students: 3,181 total, Fall 2023 (2,591 undergraduate, 590 graduate). IPEDS Fall Enrollment 2023, derived variables (DRVEF2023). https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/data/DRVEF2023.zip. File dated 2024-09-30, read 2026-09-17.
  5. About, Xavier University of Louisiana. https://www.xula.edu/about/. Read 2026-09-17.
  6. Notable Alumni, Xavier University of Louisiana. https://www.xula.edu/alumni/notable-alumni.html. Read 2026-09-17.
  7. School colors: Gold & White. Values as stated. Xavier University of Louisiana, Wikipedia (revision 1371789918). Read 2026-09-16.
  8. Photograph: anthony turducken, 2008-07-02 09:35:21, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Xavier_University_NOLA.jpg. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
  9. U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder, batch address service, benchmark Public_AR_Current. https://geocoding.geo.census.gov/geocoder/.

Enrollment is the official 2023 count, rounded. Tap a school for its source.

Machine-readable: /api/v1/hbcus/xavier-university-of-louisiana · All HBCUs

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