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Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically Black Catholic university in the U.S., has sent more African American students and students of color on to earn medical degrees and PhDs in the health sciences than any other higher education institution in the country. And soon, XULA will be able to produce Black MDs of its own, with a new medical school announced by President Reynold Verret in April.
The plan is a logical extension of programs that Verret—a Haitian-born, Brooklyn-raised biochemist and immunologist—has championed since taking the helm at the university in 2015. Verret has led the charge in developing new preprofessional programs in high-growth fields where Black representation is low, particularly in healthcare, including public health, speech pathology, pharmaceutical studies, and health analytics. In partnership with Louisiana hospital network Ochsner Health, in 2020 Xavier launched the third physician’s assistant program at an HBCU (fewer than 4% of PAs are Black), and in March 2021 announced two new graduate degree programs, in genetic counseling and health informatics.
“We don’t want to encourage students to choose only the most lucrative specialties,” Verret says. “We need primary care professionals. We need general practitioners. We need people who will work not just on Park Avenue, but in Brooklyn and East New York as well.” Getting more examples in the community is key to building a pipeline of Black talent, according to Verret. “The most precious resource our country has is not a reserve of gold at Fort Knox, but the kids in the second grade. It’s important that we put these examples in front of them.”
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