NEW ORLEANS — Loyola University in New Orleans has announced that it is naming Xavier Cole as its next president, it was announced Thursday.
Cole comes from Marquette University where he has served the past six years as that school’s leader of the Division of Student Affairs. Cole has also previously served as a senior administrator at Loyola University in Baltimore and Washington College in Maryland.
He will become the first Black president in school history and its second layperson to head the Jesuit-run school. He succeeds Tania Tetlow, who was the first layperson to serve in that capacity.
Cole, who holds a bachelor’s from Ole Miss, a master’s degree from Miami of Ohio and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, said he is committed to the school’s success.
“There is so much possibility for us to rise up to meet the needs of our city, our state, and our region – needs in the business community, education sector, and health care fields," he said in a video sent to the Loyola community. "Loyola has the necessary academic programs not only to prepare future successful employees but to position them as trusted leaders.”
Currently, Dr. Cole serves as chair for the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education Executive Doctorate Alumni Board. From 2017 to 2022, he was vice chair and director of the education committee on the board of Messmer Catholic Schools, a K-12 network of Catholic schools serving Milwaukee’s north and west sides.
Dr. Cole is married to historian Dr. Susanne DeBerry Cole and is the proud dog-father of a feisty cairn terrier named Mingus.
