Xavier Mourns Former Administrator, Civil Rights Champion Sybil Haydel Morial

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A broad swath of the higher education community is mourning the death of Sybil Haydel Morial, who died Sept. 4 at age 91.

“Our love and prayers go out to the family of Sybil Haydel Morial,” said Dr. C. Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University of Louisiana. “We remember her generous life and legacy and the deep, lasting connections that she and her family have maintained with Xavier University of Louisiana over many decades; we are inspired by her activism, leadership, steadfastness, and commitment to serve.”

Haydel Morial was a member of Xavier University’s class of 1952, a known champion of civil rights, and a long-serving administrator at the historically Black Catholic university in New Orleans. 

“She has been [a] neighbor to many, as taught in the parable of the Samaritan,” said Verret, who noted Haydel Morial’s intellectual and personal talents. “Her gift to all is enduring, and she will be sorely missed.”

Haydel Morial began her higher education at Xavier. She completed her undergraduate studies at Boston University. She was quoted in an interview for The Xavier Story Project saying, “Even though we loved the freedoms of the North, we all wanted to go back to the South to be a part of the change when it came. And we did.”

In 1955, she married fellow Xavierite and would-be New Orleans Mayor Ernest “Dutch” Morial (’51) with whom she embarked on a life of civic engagement in the fight for equity and equality. Her son, Marc H. Morial, the president of the National Urban League, also served as New Orleans Mayor from 1994-2002. Haydel Morial returned to Xavier in 1977 and served for 28 years before retiring in 2005 as its vice president for external affairs.