Louis J. Noisin
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Louis J. Noisin | |
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| Born | August 16, 1926 Cap-Haitian |
| Died | August 5, 2015 |
| Nationality | Haitian-American |
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Louis J. Noisin (August 16, 1926 – August 5, 2015) was a Haitian-American educator and politician best known as the founder of the “Université Roi Henri Christophe” (URHC) located in Cap-Haitian, Haiti. URHC is Haiti’s first private university recognized by the State of Haiti.[1] Prior to founding the university, he taught, as a professor at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, anthropology and African government. He later joined the William & Mary Department of Anthropology in Williamsburg, Virginia, to become its first full-time and tenured professor of African ancestry.[2][3][4] Prior to coming to America, he worked as the Prefect and Inspector of the secondary school system in the Republic Democratic of the Congo.[5]
Biography
His academic career was intertwined with a political career. In the 1950s, he was appointed in Haiti’s diplomatic service as embassy secretary in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.[6] In 1965, while serving as a UNESCO teacher in the then "Belgian Congo", he was awakened in the middle of the night by rebel soldiers who took him to the presidential palace to write an inaugural acceptance speech for the country's new president, Mobutu Sese Seko.[7] In January 1988, he was elected President of the Senate of the General Assembly of Haiti under the short-lived presidency of Leslie St Roc Manigat.[6] Leslie Manigat's presidency was deposed by the military junta of General Henry Namphy. Three months later, Louis J. Noisin underwent a self-imposed exile to return to the United States to pursue his academic endeavors while remotely managing the university which he had founded in Cap-Haitian.[6]
Early life and death
Born in Cap-Haitian, he was the son of Julien Noisin and Ignés Déjoie. He grew up with his mother in the absence of his father, of whom he only has a very vague but good memory. He spent a large part of his childhood moving back and forth with his mother sometimes in Port-au-Prince and at other times in Cap-Haitian. At the age of 8 he attended the Catholic school of Jean-Marie Guilloux in Port-au-Prince. At the age of 10, he returned to Cap-Haitian to finish his primary studies at the Lycée Philippe Guerrier. It was there that he was deeply influenced by the school’s principal Louis Mercier known for his nationalist charisma. Louis Mercier remained to Louis Noisin a model for how to persevere and believe in self for success. He returned to Port-au-Prince where he completed his secondary education at the Lycée Toussaint Louverture. These frequent trips allowed him not only to develop a kin sense in human relationship between provincial and regional culture, but above all to form great friendships with classmates and others such as Leslie F. Manigat, Edouard Francisque, and Maurice Sixto. His mother remarried with Jean Doucet where she gave birth to another son, Jean-Marc Doucet, sixteen years younger than Louis J. Noisin.
In 1952, Louis J. Noisin married Denise Poitvien Noisin (1936-2007) where the couple gave birth to four children; Carole Noisin-Germaine (1953-2005), Louis Edouard Noisin (1956), Louis Philippe Noisin (1957-1998), and Chantal Noisin-Staples (1959). Louis J. Noisin died at the age of 88 on August 5, 2015 at the Sacré-Coeur Hospital of Milot in Cap-Haitian. He was granted and honored with a national funeral by the State of Haiti for his services as a former President of the Senate. He is buried in the Parc du Repos cemetery in Cap-Haitien where he shares the same tomb as his wife Denise Poitvien Noisin.
Education
1948: Baccalaureate from Lycée Toussaint Louverture of Place Ste Anne in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
October 1951: Law degree from the Faculty of Law and Economics at the University of Haiti, Port au Prince, Haiti.
September 1960: Anthropological Sciences at the Faculty of Ethnology, University of Haiti, Port au Prince, Haiti.
1969: African Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Higher Education and Research at Lovanium University in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
1972: Master in Education, French and African Literature at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
Academic Career
1968-1969: Inspector of the secondary school system under Ministry of National Education in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire).
1969-1972: Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology of African politics and government, history of the peoples and culture of the Caribbean and Latin America at Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia
1972-1980: Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. He distinguished himself as being the first "black" professor of this institution and in 1976 was awarded Academic Tenure (3).
1979-1980: Visiting Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
1980-2015: Founding President of Université Roi Henri Christophe in Cap-Haitian, Haiti.
1990-1996: Professor of French and Cultural Anthropology at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.
1990-1996: Assistant to the President for Multicultural Affairs and Affirmative Action at Christopher Newport University Newport News, Virginia.
2001-2003: Professor of French at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
Political Career
1952-1957: Embassy Secretary in the diplomatic service of the Haitian Embassy in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
1986: Elected among nine legislators to draft the constitution the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Haiti.
1988: President of the Senate of the General Assembly of Haiti under the short-lived presidency of Leslie St Roc Manigat.
Awards and Legacy
1972: Recipient of the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindbach Distinguished Teaching Award at Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia.
1976: Awarded academic tenure at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
1976-1978: President of the Alliance Française in Williamsburg, Virginia.
1985-1986: President of the Rotary Club in Cap-Haitien, Haiti.
1989: Consultant at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Washington D.C.
1990’s: Personal Advisor to B. J. Tucker, M.D., President of the Resource Management Group of North America Inc. in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
1990’s: Advisor to Robert C. Scott, U.S. Representative for Virginia's 3rd Congressional District, Newport News, Virginia
References
- ↑ Le Moniteur. “Statuts de l’Institut Roi Henri Christophe au Cap-Haitien. » Numéro 67, 18 Septembre, 1980.
- ↑ William & Mary News. « Looking back-1972. » Dr. Noisin L. J., First Full-time Black Professor, Vol 1 (16), January 1978.
- ↑ William & Mary News. “Academic Tenure Appointments.” Noisin awarded Academic Tenure, Vol 3 (17), 1975.
- ↑ Alumni Gazette of the College of William and Mary. “Haitian Diplomat Joins Faculty,” March 1973.
- ↑ Ministère de l’Education Nationale. Attestation de l’Inspecteur Générale de l’Enseignement, G. Kabengele, de Louis J. Noisin comme Inspecteur de l’enseignement Secondaire à Kinshasa, République Démocratique du Congo, 19 Juin 1969.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Haïtiens Aujourd’hui. « Dr. Louis J. Noisin: Un dernier Christophien parmi nous, » Juin 2003.
- ↑ Resource Management Group of North America, Inc. Letter of mention of Louis J. Noisin acting as Advisor to President B.J. Tucker, MD, January 8, 1997.
External links
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