Xavier University of Louisiana

Background Katharine Drexel , a Catholic nun possessing a substantial inheritance from her father, banker-financier Francis Drexel , founded and staffed many institutions throughout the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries, in an effort to help educate and evangelize Native Americans and African Americans . Many of her chosen staff included sisters of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament , the religious order she founded and served in as the first Superior General . Aware of the lack of Catholic education for young black people in the South during Jim Crow , she planned to establish a high school in New Orleans . The chosen site had been previously occupied by Southern University on Magazine Street , a black institution which had moved to Baton Rouge in 1912 after an influx of white neighbors petitioned for its relocation. [ 3 ] Drexel sent the Josephite priest Pierre Oscar LeBeau to survey the property, to avoid public scrutiny and controversy, as her reputation for establishing black schools was well known. [ 4 ] On April 13, 1915, Harry McEnerny, serving as Drexel's agent, purchased the property for $ 18,000 (1915) (equivalent to $ 402,609.63 in 2024) [ 5 ] . [ 6 ] She knew that the city and community would never approve a sale for a black institution, but by going through an agent, the sale was allowed; even so, vandals smashed all the windows after learning of Drexel's intent. [ 7 ]

The high school opened on 27 September 1915 as Southern University of New Orleans, [ 8 ] later re-named after Francis Xavier (the namesake of Katharine's father). [ 3 ] In May 1916, it was incorporated under the title, "Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, of Louisiana," according to the laws of the state, and the new name, "Xavier University", was cut into the stone slab above the main entrance. [ 9 ] (The high school, Xavier Prep , remained in operation until 2013; today, St. Katharine Drexel Preparatory School operates from the same location.) The original campus consisted of the main Administration Building and a Convent for the Sisters. [ 10 ] In order to secure the standard of excellent required by the faculty for graduation, students were not enrolled beyond the eleventh grade, therefore, the first Xavier High School graduates, twenty-five in number, received their diplomas in June 1917. [ 11 ] In September 1917, Xavier expanded to include a normal school to provide training for black teachers, as Archbishop James H. Blenk was eager for graduates to teach at six planned new black parishes. [ 3 ] [ 11 ] As described in a 1917 Xavier Bulletin, "Xavier University, located on the site of "Old Southern University," 5100-16 Magazine Street, is a school for higher education of Colored youths and girls. The curriculum comprises a four years' high school course supplemented by a post-graduate course of two years. The latter includes a junior normal period of two semesters, and a senior normal of two semesters. A thorough course in theory and art of teaching, embracing pedagogical subjects, intellectual, physical and manual, is pursued.

The graduate student of the normal course is entitled to a diploma from Xavier University, which is recognized by the Board of Education of the State of Louisiana, and upon which the said Board issues a certificate of eligibility to teach in the City of New Orleans." [ 12 ] On September 9, 1921, the Louisiana Department of Education officially recognized "Xavier University" as a State Approved High School. [ 13 ] By 1922, the school was described as the only Catholic institution in the United States that offered "a full four years' high school course to colored boys." [ 14 ] While this may not be true, Xavier University was by far the most prominent Catholic institution offering such educational opportunities at the time. [ 15 ]

In September 1925, Xavier University of Louisiana came into being when the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was established, with the Josephite priest Edward Brunner as the first president. This expansion included a Teachers' College and a Pre-Medical Course added to the curriculum for the, "higher education of young men and women of the colored race who aim to equip themselves for leadership in literary and scientific careers, or who wish to prepare for admission into recognized medical schools. [ 11 ] The Louisiana Department of Education officially recognized Xavier University as a four-year college on March 19, 1928, with the first degrees awarded that spring. [ 16 ] The College of Pharmacy was next to be opened, in 1927. Alongside Drexel's sisters, the Josephites served as some of the school's first male teachers, and as chaplains. [ 4 ] Recognizing the university's need for a separate identity and room to expand, Drexel bought a tract of undeveloped land for a campus on the corner of Palmetto and Pine Streets in 1929. To avoid blockage of the deal, Drexel again purchased the property through an agent. Construction of the U-shaped, Gothic Revival -style Main Building, Convent and Library , made from Indiana limestone and now on the National Register of Historic Places , were completed between 1932 and 1937. [ 17 ] The Main Administration Building was dedicated by the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Cardinal Dennis Joseph Dougherty , on Columbus Day, October 12, 1932. [ 9 ] The Administration building is a City of New Orleans landmark. [ 18 ]