Edgar Lawrence “Dooky” Chase III, former dean and vice president of historically Black Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, passed away on February 21 at the age of 74.
Chase joined business department faculty at Dillard University in 1986. He was later promoted to dean of business, a position he held until his retirement in 2005. After Hurricane Katrina damaged the New Orleans area, Chase came back to Dillard University in 2006 to serve as vice president of facilities, planning, and management. He oversaw efforts to revitalize the campus until his second retirement in 2009. For his two decades of service to the school and local community, Dillard University declared June 30, 2009 as “Edgar L. Chase III Day.”
In 2010, Chase served as the Goldman Sachs’ Lead Faculty in New Orleans at Delgado Community College. He was dedicated to advancing education and small businesses in New Orleans, serving on numerous boards for schools, museums, and professional organizations. Outside of his career in higher education, Chase served in the United States military as a captain in the Marine Corps. He also worked in the private sector at Price Waterhouse & Company and Cox Communication.
In 1967, Chase graduated from Jesuit High School in New Orleans where he was part of the school’s first integrated class. He went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University in New Orleans where he was the first African American class president. He earned his master of business administration degree from Columbia University in New York and his juris doctorate from Loyola University.
