Nearly a century after Mother Katharine founded her university, Xavier University of Louisiana is a very different place. Few nuns remain on campus. Xavier students come from countries all over the world. Obstacles that must have appeared insurmountable in Mother Katharine’s day no longer exist, and yet her vision of “a more just and humane society” remains elusive. So what is Xavier striving for today?

Xavier alumni answer that question every day by serving their communities with distinction. Among them are federal judges, a former US Cabinet member, a former US Surgeon General, teachers in schools all across America, and several mayors, including the current mayor of New Orleans. Meanwhile, students and faculty continue to build on Xavier's legacy in the arts, in business, in the sciences, and in medicine. Year after year, Xavier produces more African American graduates who go on to complete medical school than any other university in the country.  It also ranks among the top five universities in the nation at advancing its students' own social mobility. "Talent is everywhere," says Xavier President C. Reynold Verret. "You must rub it until it shines."