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A small historically Black college in New Orleans is making big moves for the future of the University.
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According to AP, Xavier University has signed an agreement with Ochsner Health to establish a medical school for the university.
The Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine will be the fifth historically Black medical in the country, joining Howard University College of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Maryland’s Morgan State University is also working to establish a medical school.
“With the establishment of the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine, Ochsner and Xavier aim to address long-standing health disparities and foster stronger, healthier communities in pursuit of the mission to promote a more just and humane society gifted to Xavier nearly 100 years ago by our foundress, St. Katharine Drexel and her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament,” Xavier President Reynold Verret told AP.
There is no confirmed opening date for Xavier’s future medical school, but officials believe the school will take about three years to gain proper accreditation. After the school becomes accredited, it can start recruiting its initial class of 50 students.
Dr. Leonardo Seoane, the executive vice president and chief academic officer of Ochsner Health, has been named the school’s founding dean.
The medical school will be located near the Superdome in the BioDistrict portion of the city.
According to AP, BioDistrict New Orleans is a section of the city dedicated to economic development and jobs in biological sciences.
The plans for a medical school at Xavier were first announced in 2022 and were formally voted on by the Xavier University of Louisiana Board of Trustees and the Ochsner Health Board of Directors in February.
Ochsner Health is one of the top health companies in the state with more than 40 hospitals and 370 health and urgent care centers in the Gulf South.
Xavier University has always taken pride in its reputation of getting its students into medical schools. Now, its students won’t have to go anywhere else to further their medical education.
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