HBCU Xavier of New Orleans Moves Closer to Establishing a medical school

Xavier University, a small Catholic and historically Black school in New Orleans, formally signed an agreement Monday with Ochsner Health to establish a medical school.

When it opens, the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine will join the nation’s four existing historically Black medical schools: Howard University College of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Another historically Black institution, Maryland’s Morgan State University, also is setting up a medical school.

There’s no firm opening date yet. It will likely take three years for the school to get accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Then it can start recruiting an initial class of 50.

Officials with the planned Xavier Oschner College of Medicine named the institution’s founding dean, Dr. Leonardo Seoane. He is currently the executive vice president and chief academic officer of Ochsner Health.

Xavier was founded in 1925 and has developed a reputation for getting high numbers of African American students into medical schools.