Notre Dame has named Norman Francis, president of Xavier University of Louisiana, as the recipient for this year’s Laetare Medal. Francis will be presented with the honor at Notre Dame’s 174th University Commencement Ceremony on May 19. Francis has held a 47-year tenure in which Xavier’s enrollment nearly tripled, the endowment grew significantly and the university became the leading producer of African-American undergraduates who complete medical school. Francis accepted the offer to become the first lay African-American president of Xavier on April 4, 1968 — the same day Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.