In Memoriam

In Memoriam: Norman C. Francis, 1931-2026

Norman C. Francis served as president of historically Black Xavier University of Louisiana for nearly five decades. When he retired in 2015, he was the longest-tenured university president in the United States.

In Memoriam: Ione Vargus, 1930-2025

In 1978, Dr. Vargus was named dean of Temple University's School of Social Administration, making her the university's first African American and first woman to serve as an academic dean. She was an expert on family reunions, particularly the importance of such events in African American culture.

In Memoriam: Ernest Morrell, 1971-2026

At the time of his passing, Dr. Morrell was serving as the the Coyle Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. A renowned literacy studies scholar, Dr. Morrell advocated for literacy as a means of social justice, empowering youth to access information, exercise informed citizenship, and participate fully in civic and cultural life.

In Memoriam: Clarence Christian, 1944-2026

Throughout his career, Dr. Christian taught at numerous institutions, including his undergraduate alma mater LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Mississippi State University, and Rhodes College, where he was the institution's first Black professor.

In Memoriam: Angella Dorothea Ferguson, 1925-2026

Dr. Ferguson was a professor of pediatrics at Howard University in Washington, D.C. for nearly four decades. In addition to her work as an administrator for the College of Medicine, she studied the growth and development of children, with a particular focus on sick cell anemia.

In Memoriam: Gloria Jean Wade-Gayles, 1937-2026

Dr. Wade-Gayles taught English and women's studies at Spelman College in Atlanta for over four decades. Her scholarship centered on African American women's literature.

In Memoriam: Victor Emmanuel Laroche, 1959-2026

At the time of his passing, Larcohe had been serving as university chaplain and special assistant to the president for Catholic identity at Xavier University of Louisiana.

In Memoriam: Gerald Deas, 1931-2026

Dr. Deas earned his medical degree from the State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University, where he was one of three African Americans in his graduating class. He later spent several decades teaching preventative medicine at the university.

In Memoriam: Awotunde Judyie Ella Al-Bilali

Professor Al-Bilal was the first Black woman to earn the rank of full professor in the department of theater at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she was also affiliated with the Honors Program and the W. E. B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies.

In Memoriam: Marvalene Hughes, 1937-2026

Dr. Hughes served as the first woman and first African American president of California State University, Stanislaus. She then became the first woman president of Dillard University in Louisiana, where she oversaw major recovery efforts after the HBCU's campus was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

In Memoriam: Mildred Bernice Gauthier Gallot, 1937-2025

Dr. Gallot dedicated her entire professional career to her alma mater, Grambling State University in Louisiana. A scholar of African American history, she authored A History of Grambling State University, which analyzed funding disparities between historically Black colleges and universities and predominately White institutions.

In Memoriam: Edith Renfrow Smith, 1914-2026

The first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College in Iowa, Smith was born just weeks before the start of World War I. She recently passed away on January 2 at the age of 111.

In Memoriam: Richard Wayne Beckford, 1966-2025

For over three decades, Dr. Beckford served as an educator and band director with several schools. Since early 2020, he served as director of bands for Florida Memorial University, where he founded the HBCU's ROAR Marching Band.

In Memoriam: Jamie Theresa Phelps, 1941-2025

As director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, Dr. Phelps challenged the Catholic Church to better understand itself through the voices and experiences of Black Catholics and those on the margins. 

In Memoriam: Stella Lucile Pecot Robinson, 1922-2025

Throughout her lifetime, Dr. Robinson taught at eight nursing schools across five states, including two HBCUs: Alcorn State University in Mississippi and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in California.

In Memoriam: Roderick Paige, 1933-2025

Dr. Paige was the first African American to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Education during President George W. Bush's first term. He was a leader in both K-12 and higher education, including service as dean of the Texas Southern University College of Education and interim president of Jackson State University.

In Memoriam: Linda D. Scott

Dr. Scott was the first Black woman dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing. Originally set to retire in June 2026, she moved up her retirement date for health reasons, ultimately passing less than a week after stepping down from her role.

In Memoriam: Barbara Hatton, 1941-2025

Dr. Hatton had an extensive background in leadership at historically Black colleges and universities. She had stints as president of both South Carolina State University and Knoxville College and as dean of the Schools of Education at Clark Atlanta University and Tuskegee University.

In Memoriam: Leonard E. Dawson, 1934-2025

Dr. Dawson served as the seventh president of Voorhees College (now University) from 1985 to 2001. Prior to his presidency, he was director of special projects for the United Negro College Fund.

In Memoriam: Willis Charles Patterson, 1930-2025

For more than three decades, Dr. Patterson taught voice at the University of Michigan, where he was the first African American professor of music. Earlier in his career, he taught voice at two HBCUs: Southern University and Virginia State University.
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In Memoriam: Norman C. Francis, 1931-2026

In Memoriam
Norman C. Francis served as president of historically Black Xavier University of Louisiana for nearly five decades. When he retired in 2015, he was the longest-tenured university president in the United States.

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