Canal, suffered damage to almost every structure on campus. Many buildings sat partially submerged for extended periods of time following the hurricane. University president Francis organized boats and buses to transport stranded faculty, staff, and students from the campus to safe areas. Students began returning to the university in January 2006. In April 2006, the nation of Qatar donated $17.5 million to assist the university in hurricane recovery and in expanding the school's College of Pharmacy. The groundbreaking in 2008 was attended by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, leader of Qatar, and on 15 October 2010 the school's Qatar Pharmacy Pavilion opened, adding adjacent to the existing College of Pharmacy building. Senator Barack Obama gave the commencement speech in August 2006. New Orleans' archbishop, Alfred C. Hughes, declined to attend, citing that Obama was not opposed to abortion, and that he had not been consulted prior to the event. Obama returned after becoming president, visiting New Orleans in August 2010 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. He gave an address at Xavier complimenting the work of the leaders of the community and affirming the commitment to continue to aid in the rebuilding of the area. The university received the "Katrina Compassion Award" from the United States government Corporation for National and Community Service in 2006, for the efforts of an estimated 60% of its students in rebuilding the neighborhoods damaged by the hurricane. Xavier's campus was evacuated during Hurricane Ida in August 2021, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina. Students who remained on campus were later evacuated to Dallas. The school resumed operations as normal on September 13 Philanthropy In July 2020, Xavier received $20 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, the largest single gift in the university's history. Demographics Students Though Xavier is the nation's only historically Black and Catholic university, its doors have always been open to qualified students of any race or creed. In Fall 2020, the vast majority of the student body was Black or African American (approx. 75.1%), and 12% identified as Catholic. Xavier was also the first Catholic college to educate both men and women. Almost half of Xavier's students (43.8%) in the fall of 2020 were from Louisiana. Non-local enrollment continues to increase, with students coming in from at least 40 other states and sixteen foreign countries. Student life is enriched by the social and cultural setting of New Orleans