Xavier University of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only college in the United States that is both Catholic and historically black.
Founded in 1925 by St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Xavier University has grown from a regional school and now attracts students from all over the country. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Xavier is:
- first in the nation in the number of undergraduate degrees awarded to African Americans in the physical sciences overall, and in physics and biology in particular.
- first in the nation in the number of African American students earning degrees in pharmacy; from 1927 to the time of this write-up, approximately 25% of the 6,500 black pharmacists practicing in the United States were Xavier graduates.
- first in the nation in placing African American students in medical schools.
Xavier University is also the only university in the U.S. founded by a Roman Catholic saint.