Dr. Reynold Verret was unanimously elected Xavier University of Louisiana’s president by the Board of Trustees, taking office on July 1, 2015. Prior to his appointment as president, he served as provost and chief administrative officer at Savannah State, Georgia’s first public historically black university. Immigrating from Haiti in 1963, Dr. Verret went on to complete his undergraduate degree with honors from Columbia University, a doctorate in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Institute for Immunology at Yale University and the Center for Cancer Research at MIT. In addition to his role at Savannah State, Dr. Verret served as provost at Wilkes University in Northern Pennsylvania and as dean of the Misher College of Arts and Sciences at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He also served as the chair of Chemistry at Clark Atlanta University and on the Chemistry faculty at Tulane University. His background in the sciences makes him particularly suited to Xavier, having led research efforts in fundamental biochemistry and immunology, developed programs to prepare STEM teachers and to secure tuition support for STEM students, and promoted interdisciplinary curricula and scholarship. As President of Xavier University, Dr. Verret leads the initiatives to build enrollment, enhance the quality and diversity of academic programs and to create cooperative relationships with neighboring institutions and with international partners. His current vision for the future of Xavier is to be a globally recognized University that celebrates diversity, fosters an intellectual environment of academic excellence, honors the legacy of Xavier as a historically black, Catholic University founded by St. Katherine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, and educates our future leaders to build a just and humane society.