NOTABLE ALUMNI
Alvin J. Boutte ’51 The founder and CEO of Indecorp, the largest Black-owned financial institution in the U.S. Also serves as chair and CEO of the Independence Bank and the Drexel National Bank in Chicago, Ill.
Dr. Norman C. Francis ’52 President of Xavier University of Louisiana for 47 years (1968-2015). He was recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in December 2006.
General Bernard Randolph (retired, USAF) ’54 Only the third African-American to reach the rank of four-star general in any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, serving as head of the USAF Space and Defense Systems Command. Now an executive with the defense contractor TRW Corporation.
Dr. Charles Champion ’55 A community pharmacist in Memphis, Tenn., and a specialist in the use of herbal medicines. Named as one of America’s 50 most influential pharmacists by American Druggist magazine.
George McKenna III ’61 Currently serving as superintendent of the Inglewood Unified School District in Los Angeles, Calif. While serving as principal at Washington High in Los Angeles, he turned a “bad” urban school in a educational model of excellence, the basis for the TV movie “The George McKenna Story,” starring Denzel Washington.
Dr. Marie McDemmond ’68 First female president at Norfolk State University (enrollment 8,400). A 25-year veteran in higher education, she previously served as vice president for finance and chief operating officer at Florida Atlantic University.
Dr. Louis Castenell ’68 Dean of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Education. Has been heralded in such national publications as The New York Times and The Washington Post for his innovative teacher education programs.
Alexis Herman ’69 First African American U.S. Secretary of Labor; former director of the White House office of Public Liaison.
Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle ’71 Currently serving his second consecutive, eight-year term as U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court in New Orleans.
Dr. Regina Benjamin ’79 U.S. Surgeon General – appointed by President Barrack Obama in 2009. Private physician and founder of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic, which serves the poor, uninsured and other underserved patients in Mobile County AL. Awarded the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights in 1997 and a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” in 2008.
Sherrie Brown Littlejohn ’79 Vice President and chief information officer for SBC Messaging in Ramon, Calif., a telecommunications subsidiary of voice mail service provider SBC Communications.
Rosalind Miller ’88 Director of the J.B. Henderson Family Investment Center in New Iberia, La., which provides services for residents of the area’s three low-income housing developments.