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Creole
Colleges
and Universities |
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Xavier
University
Founded in 1915
by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, an order of Roman Catholic
women dedicated to missionary work among blacks and Native Americans,
Xavier University of Louisiana |
is the only predominantly creole/
black Catholic university in the United States
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Located at Palmetto and
Pine streets, New Orleans, the campus covers an area of more
than 12 blocks and contains, besides the administration building,
which is constructed of Indiana limestone, a 100,000-volume
library, gymnasium, sciences building, lounge, fine arts building,
music building, dormitories, and a convent for the 35 sisters
who conduct the university’s affairs. The entire plant
is valued at approximately $5 million. The faculty, including
both religious and lay professors, number 105. There were more
than 3,000 students at the university during the 199-97 scholastic
year.
Xavier’s College of Pharmacy, founded in 1937, was the
first school of pharmacy to admit black students. The fine arts
department is noted around the world for the excellence of its
graduates and for the encouragement of arts. The music department,
which produces the yearly Xavier Grand Opera, kept grand opera
alive in New Orleans during the decade or more between the last
visit of the Metropolitan Opera and the founding of the New
Orleans Opera.
In 1954 Xavier amended its charter to admit white students as
well as black and thus, at this time, has no restrictions as
to race, creed, or sex. Xavier’s students are drawn from
more than 30 states and from at least four foreign countries.
Among its 3,500 graduates are men and women who have distinguished
themselves by outstanding achievements in the sciences and arts
as well as in the field of education.
Dillard University is
the successor to New Orleans University, founded in 1869 for people of color by the Freedmen’s Bureau, and
Straight University founded and maintained at a later date
by the American Missionary Society of New York. These universities
were merged in 1935 to form Dillard University, named after
Dr. James H. Dillard, a former professor at Tulane University,
and later administrator of the John F. Slater Fund, established
to aid in the advancement and promote the welfare of the Black
race.
Dillard University is located on Gentilly Road, New Orleans.
Its campus is 63 acres in extent and its building and landscaping
together make it one of the most beautiful in the South. The
Stern Science Hall cost more than $600,000. The Lawless Memorial
Chapel cost $525,000. Value of property, buildings, and equipment
is more than $6 million. The total endowment is $6.5 million.
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