29 Notable alumni of
Xavier University of Louisiana
Updated:
The Xavier University of Louisiana is 1741st in the world, 606th in North America, and 570th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 29 notable alumni from the Xavier University of Louisiana sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
-
LaToya Cantrell
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
LaToya Cantrell is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of New Orleans from 2018 to 2026. A member of the Democratic Party, Cantrell is the first woman to hold the office. Before becoming mayor, Cantrell represented District B on the New Orleans City Council from 2012 to 2018.
-
Annie Easley
- Occupations
- computer scientistmathematicianengineer
- Biography
-
Annie Jean Easley was an African American computer scientist who contributed significantly to the beginning iterations of NASA's rocket technologies.
-
Regina Benjamin
- Occupations
- surgeonphysician
- Biography
-
Regina Marcia Benjamin is an American physician and a former vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who served as the 18th Surgeon General of the United States. Benjamin previously directed a nonprofit primary care medical clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, and served on the board of trustees for the Morehouse School of Medicine.
-
Alexis Herman
- Enrolled in the Xavier University of Louisiana
- In 1969 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- business executivesociologistsocial workerpolitician
- Biography
-
Alexis Margaret Herman was an American political figure who served as the 23rd United States secretary of labor from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. She was the first Black American to hold the position. She was previously Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
-
Troy Carter
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Troy Anthony Carter Sr. is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district since 2021. He was previously a member of the Louisiana State Senate for the 7th district. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter also previously served on the New Orleans City Council and as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He is currently one of two Democrats in Louisiana's congressional delegation.
-
Stephen W. Rochon
- Years
- 1950-.. (age 76)
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
-
Stephen Wayne Rochon is an American political staffer who served as the director of the Executive Residence and White House Chief Usher from 2007 to 2011. He was the first African-American White House Chief Usher.
-
Ernest Nathan Morial
- Occupations
- lawyerjudgepolitician
- Biography
-
Ernest Nathan "Dutch" Morial was an American politician and a leading civil rights advocate. He was the first black mayor of New Orleans, serving from 1978 to 1986. He was married to civil rights activist Sybil Haydel Morial and the father of Marc Morial, who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 1994 to 2002.
-
Lee Allen
- Occupations
- saxophonistjazz musician
- Biography
-
Lee Francis Allen was an American tenor saxophone player. Phil Alvin, Allen's bandmate in The Blasters, called him one of the most important instrumentalists in rock'n'roll. Allen's distinctive tone has been hailed as "one of the defining sounds of rock'n'roll" and "one of the DNA strands of rock."
-
Norman Francis
- Occupations
- academic
- Biography
-
Norman Christopher Francis was an American academic who served as president of Xavier University of Louisiana from 1968 to 2015. He was the first Black and first lay president of the school, and the second African American to ever serve as president of a Catholic university in the United States.
-
Akilah Weber
- Enrolled in the Xavier University of Louisiana
- Graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- politicianphysician
- Biography
-
Akilah Faizah Weber Pierson is an American politician and physician serving as a member of the California State Senate since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents the 39th district, which includes parts of central San Diego as well as all of La Mesa, El Cajon, and Lemon Grove. She previously served in the California State Assembly from 2021 to 2024 as a representative of the 79th district. She is the daughter of California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, whom she succeeded in the Assembly after winning a special election in 2021.
-
Bryant Terry
- Occupations
- chef
- Biography
-
Bryant Terry is an African-American vegan chef, food justice activist, and author. He has written four vegan cookbooks and cowrote a book about organic eating. He won a 2015 James Beard Foundation Leadership Award for his food justice work. In 2021 he was awarded an NAACP Image Award for his book Vegetable Kingdom, which was also nominated in 2022 for a James Beard Award, and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.
-
Marino Casem
- Occupations
- coach
- Biography
-
Marino H. "The Godfather" Casem was an American college football coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Alabama State University (1963), Alcorn State University (1964–1985), and Southern University (1987–1988, 1992), compiling a career head coaching record of 159–93–8. Casem's Alcorn State Braves teams won four black college national championships and seven Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titles. Casem also served as the athletic director at Alcorn State from 1966 to 1986 and at Southern from 1986 to 1999. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
-
Diane Anderson-Minshall
- Occupations
- print journalistLGBTQ rights activist
- Biography
-
Diane Anderson-Minshall is an American journalist and author best known for writing about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender subjects. She was the first female CEO of Pride Media, publisher of The Advocate, Out, HIV Plus and other LGBTQ-focused magazines and websites. She also co-authored the award-winning 2014 memoir Queerly Beloved: A Love Story Across Genders, documenting her relationship with her husband Jacob Anderson-Minshall throughout his gender transition. As of August, 2025, she was Executive Director of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics and its Dorian Awards.
-
Percy Bland
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Percy Bland is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, who is currently the mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. He was re-elected in June 2025, having previously served as mayor from 2013 to 2021. Bland made history as Meridian’s first African American mayor and is widely recognized for his role in the revitalization of Downtown Meridian.
-
Fernand J. Cheri
- Occupations
- Catholic deaconCatholic bishopCatholic priest
- Biography
-
Fernand Joseph "Ferd" Cheri III, OFM was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. A member of the Order of Friars Minor, Cheri served as an auxiliary bishop of Archdiocese of New Orleans from 2015 until his death in 2023.
-
Ivan L. R. Lemelle
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
-
Ivan L. R. Lemelle is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
-
Gilda A Barabino
- Occupations
- researcherteacherengineer
- Biography
-
Gilda A. Barabino is the former president of the Olin College of Engineering, where she is also a professor of biomedical and chemical engineering. Previously, she served as the dean of The Grove School of Engineering at the City College of New York, and as a professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering and the CUNY School of Medicine. On March 4, 2021, she became the President-Elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
-
Aaron Henry
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Aaron Henry was an American civil rights leader, politician, and head of the Mississippi branch of the NAACP. He was one of the founders of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which tried to seat their delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.
-
Harry E. Johnson
- Born in
-
United States - Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
-
Harry Edward Johnson is an American lawyer, academic, and businessman. Johnson is a former national president of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and was the president and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.
-
Renée Gill Pratt
- Years
- 1954-.. (age 72)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Renée Gill Pratt is an American politician from New Orleans, Louisiana. She was also Director of the Center for Student Retention and Success in Southern University at New Orleans. On July 25, 2011, she was found guilty of racketeering. For this crime, she served a four-year sentence.
-
Germaine Bazzle
- Occupations
- singerjazz musician
- Biography
-
Germaine Bazzle is a jazz vocalist from New Orleans.
-
Terry Francois
- Years
- 1921-1989 (aged 68)
- Enrolled in the Xavier University of Louisiana
- Graduated with bachelor's degree
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
-
Terry A. Francois was an African American attorney, civil rights activist, and politician. He served as the San Francisco chapter president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and became the first African American to serve on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
-
Karim Camara
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Karim Camara is an American pastor and former Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, where he represented the 43rd Assembly District which includes parts of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush. He is the founding and senior pastor of the Abundant Life Church in Brooklyn and was previously the executive pastor of First Baptist Church of Crown Heights. He was also the New York State Faith Director for the then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
-
Fatima Shaik
- Years
- 1952-.. (age 74)
- Occupations
- writerchildren's writer
- Biography
-
Fatima Shaik is an Indian-American and African-American author and former journalist. Her work explores contemporary social issues, especially those related to the "African-American experience."
-
Brian Anthony Jackson
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
-
Brian Anthony Jackson is an American lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
-
Allissa Richardson
- Enrolled in the Xavier University of Louisiana
- Graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
-
Allissa V. Richardson is an American journalist, author, and scholar. She is an associate professor of journalism in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California and the founding director of the Charlotta Bass Journalism and Justice Lab. She is a proponent of mobile journalism and citizen journalism. Her research, writing, and teaching focus on the use of smartphones by African Americans to document police brutality and other social justice issues, a practice she has termed "mobile witnessing." Richardson is a Nieman Foundation Visiting Journalism Fellow at Harvard University, the 2012 Educator of the Year for the National Association of Black Journalists, and a two-time Apple Distinguished Educator.
-
Débria Brown
- Years
- 1936-2001 (aged 65)
- Occupations
- opera singer
- Biography
-
Débria M. Brown was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international career that spanned five decades. She was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve wide success and is viewed as part of an instrumental group of performers who helped break down the barriers of racial prejudice in the opera world. She also worked occasionally as a dramatic actress on the stage and on television.
-
Tasha Inniss
- Born in
- United States
- Occupations
- mathematician
- Biography
-
Tasha Rose Inniss is an American mathematician and the vice provost for research at Spelman College.
-
Brenda Hatfield
- Occupations
- official
- Biography
-
Brenda Ann Garibaldi Hatfield is an American woman who served as chief administrative officer of the City of New Orleans under Mayor Ray Nagin.