Newcomb Magazine 2020

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INSIDE

Resilience in Action

Students and alumnae are at the forefront of the public health crisis, leading in social justice activism, and more

From the DIRECTOR Dear Friends,

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“Study abroad, face-to-face teaching at the women’s prison, in-person internships, and symposia and programs are all on hold, like so many things no doubt in all of your lives.

Yet we count ourselves among the lucky and are doing everything we can to provide our students with the best possible experience.”

s I write, we are preparing for Hurricane Zeta and hoping New Orleans gets lucky again. We are holding our breath for the election results, operating during a pandemic, and seeking to join widespread activism against white supremacy and racial violence.

I join judicial scholars and the wider public in mourning the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We hope a new Secretary of Education will withdraw the guidelines Betsy Devos insisted take effect in August that impede our efforts to reduce sexual assault on campus.

When so many have lost so much, it seems wrong to express our disappointment that just as we moved into our fabulous new space designed to bring us all together, it is no longer safe to gather and we are mostly working at home. The silver lining of virtual events is that our speakers are now more accessible to alumnae. Highlights of the fall include Ijeoma Oluo talking about race, our 2020 Arons poet Layli Long Soldier, and our upcoming ZaleKimmerling writers, Lauren Groff (rescheduled from spring) and Valeria Luiselli (2021). We should note that last year’s writer, Newcomb Alumna N.K. Jemisin (NC ‘94), recently won a MacArthur Genius Grant.

Newcomb Institute faculty not only answered the call to teach special COVID intersession and summer courses, but Newcomb’s Dr. Jacquelyne Thoni Howard and Dr. Clare Daniel have led the way in promoting online feminist pedagogy. We have revolutionized our teaching for hybrid classes and accelerated our use of new technologies.

We have worked diligently to fund and help students pursue virtual internships. The Newcomb Alumnae Association and the Director’s Advisory Council have embraced virtual meetings and our work continues stronger than ever.

Much as we are proud that Tulane has been able to safely bring students back for face-to-face teaching, it is sad to see the quads covered with tents for temporary classrooms and dining, see students sitting six feet apart in Diboll Gallery rather than enjoying lunch together for Fridays at Newcomb, having the campus closed to visitors, trying to smile and communicate behind masks, and having the activities of our student groups so drastically reduced. Study abroad, face-to-face teaching at the women’s prison, in-person internships, and symposia and programs are all on hold, like so many things no doubt in all of your lives.

Yet we count ourselves among the lucky and are doing everything we can to provide our students with the best possible experience. We hope that you are healthy and continue to stay safe.

Sincerely,

Newcomb College Endowed Chair Professor of Political Science Executive Director, Newcomb Institute of Tulane University

NEWCOMB Executive Director Sally J. Kenney

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Newcomb Connections

Managing Editor Katie Small

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Noteworthy at Newcomb

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In Memoriam

Graphic Designer Aisha Champagne

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Donor Honor Roll

Contributors Camille Boechler (LA *21) Jasmine Davidson (LA ’20) Elizabeth Townsend Gard Emma Brick-Hezeau (LA ’21) Michael P. Kuczynski Maya Schioppo (LA ’22) Gabe Christian-Solá Sue Strachan (NC ’86) Photography Paula Burch-Celentano Cheryl Gerber Jeff Johnston Liz King Chinwe Orie Kevin Scott Katie Small NEWCOMB is published by Newcomb Institute of Tulane University.

Address all inquiries to Newcomb Magazine Newcomb Institute | Tulane University The Commons, Suite 301 | 43 Newcomb Place New Orleans, LA 70118 | Phone: 1-800-504-5565 NEWCOMB is an annual production of the Newcomb Alumnae Association and the Newcomb Institute. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 issue has been published in an exclusively digital format. To print a PDF version, click here.

The H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College Institute (Newcomb Institute) is an interdisciplinary, academic center of Tulane University.

We shape the future by educating students to achieve gender equity.

Our mission is to develop leaders, discover solutions to intractable gender problems of our time, and provide opportunities for students to experience synergies between curricula, research, and community engagement through close collaboration with faculty.

We build ambition and confidence by connecting students with faculty, alumnae, donors, and women leaders outside of the classroom, giving them exemplars who inspire, share strategies, and foster community.

We overcome obstacles by searching to discover solutions to the most intractable gender problems of our time.

We empower women by creating synergy between teaching, research, and community engagement as a research university.

We facilitate undergraduates in conducting research with faculty.

We produce, document, preserve, and share knowledge about women, gender, and feminism in the Gulf South.

We honor the legacy of H. Sophie Newcomb by mobilizing the 30,000 graduates of Newcomb College and others who support gender equity to support undergraduates.

We develop leaders by fostering intellectual and activist communities.

@ncitu

Inside

Departments

39 Events

2019 Florie Gale Arons Poet Morgan Parker’s hour-long reading at Newcomb Institute on October 7, 2019, featured the poet’s personal take on loneliness, grief, white supremacy, ancestral trauma, hook up culture, objectification, and the everyday racism faced by Black Americans. To view footage from the evening, visit newcomb-magazine.tulane.edu.

Features

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In Praise of an Ambitious Woman

Newcomb Institute Executive Director Sally J. Kenney reflects on the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

On Women’s Health and Newcomb Friendship

OB/GYN Dr. Mary Jo Shaffer (NC ’74) describes the lifelong impact of her Newcomb College experience.

Fighting the Spread

Dr. Sofia Curdumi Pendley (NC’05) used her background in public health to mitigate the spread of misinformation during the first wave of the pandemic.

Conversations on Resilience

Alumna Peggy Stafford (NC ’86) describes how her New Orleans-based tile business is weathering the uncertainty of the pandemic.

Community Caregiver

For 20 years, Julia Bland (NC ’73) has been an integral part of bringing the Louisiana Children’s Museum and Tulane University together to create programming addressing mental health in infants, children, and families.

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South Florida Book Club Finds Community Amidst COVID Chaos

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Current Tulane students discuss student voter initiatives and the need for feminist teaching at Tulane.

Black Feminist Activism

Students Raven Ancar (LA ’22) and Simenesh Semine (LA ’21) discuss their experiences as Black women at Tulane.

When the pandemic nearly cancelled their spring book club, a group of South Florida women and self-described "Baby Boomers" turned to technology to stay connected.

Student Voices

On the cover: Pickle (detail) by CC Monett. A Tulane junior studying Anthropology and Environmental Studies, CC submitted their painting to the Newcomb Archives COVID-19 & Gender Scrapbook. When asked how gender has impacted their experience during the pandemic, CC responded, “I think that non-marginalized groups have now tasted the unequal social atmosphere that marginalized groups have always dealt with before the crisis.” Artist statement: “Pickle is a finger-painted abstraction made with oil paint and glitter, the only crafts I had around the house."

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NEWCOMB Connections

A Message from the Newcomb Alumnae Association President To the best alumnae in the world, I am thrilled to be able to greet you in the new, 100 percent digital format of NEWCOMB.

What a year this has been for all of us! In fall 2019, when the Newcomb Alumnae Association annual meeting and luncheon were hosted in the new Commons building for the first time, none of us could have imagined how significantly things near and far would change in short order.

At the end of 2019, as SARSCoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, began making its way

through every continent and to the U.S., alumnae around the world were impacted. Newcomb is well represented by outstanding alumnae experts in emergency preparedness and public health.

Former NAA board member, Dr. Sofia Curdumi Pendley (NC ’05, PHTM*09, PHTM *18), was quoted in Business Insider regarding origins of the COVID-19 virus and others like it and why we haven't eradicated them. Former NAA President, Dr. Meredith Beers (NC ’07, PHTM *11, PHTM *16), in Tulane University’s office of emergency preparedness, had a leadership role in guiding rapid changes enacted as the uptown campus was evacuated and the university quickly pivoted to online learning last spring. These are just two of the outstanding alumnae working at the forefront of the pandemic.

I’m not only in touch with Sofia, Meredith and the NAA board, though. I regularly speak with alumnae from the class of 2020 to the 1940s (and every decade in between). Without exception, you’ve told me you want the Newcomb Institute to be at the forefront of women’s education and empowerment and live up to its feminist education mission.

I’ve heard the concern, from a 2016 graduate, that the

Institute isn’t keeping up with the intersectionality of today’s alumnae; that it still feels singularly White.

You are concerned that in today’s fourth-wave feminism, centered on intersectionality, the Institute feels very second-wave. I hear you.

As a 1944 graduate said to me, unprompted, “Newcomb prepared me, a White woman, for the world.”

This alumna wants “that to be true for today’s students and today’s times.” Her desire is that Newcomb step up and offer what all women need to be successful in the future.

There is much to be done. The NAA is on a path of continuous improvement in service to all alumnae. If you haven’t heard it already, please listen to my welcome to 2020’s graduates. The NAA board respects, and strives to reflect, your identities, your life experiences, and your professional and personal goals. We pursue this by enhancing the board’s diversity; financing student programming which addresses structural biases (e.g., NAA’s PLEN Scholar and other experiential learning); and gathering feedback from, and supporting, an ever more representative swath of alumnae. We are doing the work. Daily.

And while we are not a fundraising board, our alumnae secured the University’s Give Green

victory this year, with 209 alumnae donations, winning the Carol Lavin Bernick (NC ’74) $5,000 Big Green Prize. Thank you to everyone who participated. I appreciate your collegiality and love of everything Newcomb.

As in every facet of our lives, the NAA has gone virtual. Not only is the 2020 annual meeting digital, Under the Oaks in the spring was online. This fall, book clubs (featuring our selection, The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom) in multiple cities and regions will be hosted via Zoom. We’ll catch up with you, wherever you may be. Thank you to those who participated in our online Newcomb alumnae survey; results are driving the NAA’s current strategic planning process.

If you have ideas you’d like to share about how the NAA can best serve you, please let us know.

Share your thoughts via email: newcombalumnae@tulane.edu or call 800-504-5565. If you’d like to contact me personally, please do: lisaricenaa@gmail.com.

Be well and stay safe,

Lisa D. T. Rice (NC ’83, Parent ’15)

Tulane Honors First African American Undergraduates with Residence Hall Dedication

By Jasmine Davidson (LA ’20)

(left to right) Reynold T. Décou and Deidre Dumas Labat cut the ribbon on the newly dedicated Décou-Labat Residences, formerly known as Willow Residences.

Tulane President Mike Fitts (far left) applauds as the ribbon is cut.

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In 1966 and 1967, Deidre Dumas Labat and Reynold T. Décou became the first African American undergraduates to earn degrees from Newcomb College and Tulane, respectively. In November of 2019, these distinguished alumni were recognized with the naming of the buildings formerly known as Willow Residences in their honor.

Guests listened attentively as Labat and Décou described their day-today life at Newcomb and Tulane. Their accounts revealed the racism and hostility within their new academic communities, as well as the institutional and social challenges they faced. For example, Labat said that she took an English class during her second year at Newcomb, and her professor consistently graded her work lower than the rest of the class.

Read more at newcomb-magazine.tulane.edu.

My Sister’s Keeper: In Sisterhood We Stand

By Gabe Christian-Solá

My Sister's Keeper is an intentional program focused on building community among womxn of color at Tulane University. In collaboration with the Carolyn Barber Pierre Center for Intercultural Life, Student Conduct, The Office for Gender & Sexual Diversity, and The Well for Health Promotion, Newcomb Institute has designed a cohort experience with committed staff and faculty to offer students a space of solace, support, and sisterhood.

For two semesters, My Sister’s Keeper (MSK) has supported a diverse cohort of students through weekly meetings, staff and faculty mentorship, and engaged conversations around self-empowerment, addressing the barriers to success for womxn of color in higher education, building healthy relationships, healing from trauma, and building healthy sexual lives within communities of color.

Through these conversations, MSK works to build trusting community within Black, Brown, and Indigenous students in order to address the indelible aspects of attending a predominately white institution.

For Ashley Oliver (LA ’23), a current senior who transferred to Tulane a year ago, My Sister’s Keeper has been “a necessary space to have my voice be heard without judgement or fear,” Oliver said.

“My sisters and I are open to supporting each other and helping each other survive.”

One of the pillars of the program is the staff and faculty mentorship program. Through this partnership, sisters participate in one on one tailored conversations around their needs and create action plans based on individual goals crafted during the inaugural MSK meetings.

Sisters elect to join a mentor in one of the following areas: • Leadership and Conflict Management • Health and Wellness • Career Development • Programming and Empowerment • Navigating Systems • Personal Advocacy and Agency

“I can see my growth from week to week,” Ms. Oliver says of the time she’s spent in the program, “not only that, but I can truly say that I trust my sisters to hold me accountable to the goals I set out to accomplish. It truly is a sisterhood.” Students, faculty, and staff interested in participating in MSK can contact Gabe ChristianSolá, Newcomb Institute’s Senior Program Coordinator of Student Engagement.

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Noteworthy at NEWCOMB Making Masks

By Dr. Elizabeth Townsend Gard In 2019, I was honored to be awarded the Greenbaum Fellowship at Newcomb Institute. I had proposed to look at the stories in the fabric of our lives, namely quilts.

What do quilts tell us about who we are, and what do quilters say about why they quilt? I quilt. I run a popular podcast, Just Wanna Quilt. I’m a law professor and hold a doctorate at the intersection of biography and how we express who we are in creative works. Then COVID-19 hit.

The whole world, including my own work, pivoted.

In March, I started to see calls for masks from nurses, doctors, and hospitals. My quilting and sewing friends were getting the same requests. Of course, we could make masks. But which pattern?

Which fabric? Are they helpful, or harmful? The frenzy of trying to get information continued throughout the spring, as we (the sewing community) organized and activated into a sewing army across the country. Hundreds upon thousands of organizations sprung up. Facebook groups. And of course, YouTube videos on how to make a variety of masks.

I was part of this movement in every way. We got grants to purchase fabric for 7th Ward sewing groups, including a small grant from Newcomb Institute. We worked with local communities to get equipment to make masks more efficiently. And I personally donated fabric to artists to help their profit margins in making masks for sale.

Personally, I made masks­­—at least 800 of them, probably more. I struggled over which pattern to use (surgical is my preference because they fit everyone). I struggled over which fabric, how many layers, and

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Elizabeth Townsend Gard sews handmade masks with polypropylene and batik cotton. Learn more about Elizabeth's mask project at magazine-newcomb.tulane.edu.

whether or not to include a filter.

To tie or use elastic. But mostly I struggled with the science that continued to change and emerge with what we as sewists should be doing. We started the Million Masks a Day Facebook Group to help organize and understand the information we were seeing. But that was just not enough. The science and the requests for masks were both coming in at an alarming rate.

Starting in March, we pivoted.

We started to interview everyone you could imagine related to COVID-19: new sewists, new organizations, the sewing industry, as well as scientists, doctors, nurses, family members of frontline workers, and us, mask makers. I wanted to know: What masks should I be making that will keep people safe? I wanted scientists to

tell me and they did. We were seeing a disconnect between science and their knowledge of fabric. And yet, science was key to what we were doing every day.

And then, thanks to Newcomb’s sponsorship, and with the help of law, public health, and medical students, we put on the Homemade Mask Virtual Summit, a total of 10 hours of programming, with 55 panelists over two days in June. We brought scientists and sewists together. We celebrated our achievements, from the Broadway community to our local sewists. We asked questions, and we created a follow-up plan: working with scientists and sewists to create an infographic about best practices for making mask.

And so what is the (current) answer? What makes a good mask?

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At least two layers, but three is better.

Breathable but a tight weave, a good quilter’s cotton.

At least one layer of Polypropylene towards the world to block out smaller particles.

A well-fitting mask with no gaps.

The science continues, and we too continue to make masks. We are now evaluating commercially created masks too. I don’t think the summit would have happened without Newcomb’s support. And I think the work that we did helped and continues to help people. So, I thank Newcomb tremendously.

Noteworthy at NEWCOMB Newcomb Archives to Create Digital “Scrapbook” of COVID-19 and Gender

By Camille Boechler (LA *21)

This article was originally published in Tulane Today on April 28, 2020.

As this unforgettable semester comes to a close, Newcomb Archives is asking women and trans, non-binary, gender-nonconforming and LGBQ individuals, “How are you documenting life during quarantine?”

Newcomb Archives, part of Newcomb Institute, is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and making accessible records that document the history of women and gender in the Gulf South. In

the tradition of eclectic memorykeeping work, the Archives invites contributions of original artwork, ephemera, photographs, zines, personal essays, poems or other types of submissions created during quarantine.

“The idea isn’t that folks have abundant amounts of time right now to be creative or crafty,” says Chloe Raub (NC’07), Head of Archives and Special Collections, “but that we all document our day-to-day lives in different ways, and these forms of documentation are pieces of a bigger picture.”

While the virus affects all people, marginalized individuals and communities are put under additional pressures during a public health crisis. In an article titled “The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism,” published in The Atlantic in March, Helen Lewis notes, “A pandemic magnifies all existing inequalities. ...Across the world, women’s independence will be a silent victim of the pandemic.”

Raub describes the project as inspired by Newcomb’s history of collecting scrapbooks, zines, journals and other alternative

forms of documentation intended to preserve a record of women’s lives against the backdrop of what's happening in the world at large.

Submissions will be preserved in the Newcomb Archives’ Digital Repository, as well as shared via social media with the hashtag #covidgenderscrapbook.

Anonymous submissions are also welcome. Click here to submit your creations and follow Newcomb Institute (on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook) to view submissions and learn more about the COVID-19 and Gender Scrapbook.

(Pride And) Power To The People quilt by Lisa D. T. Rice (NC ’83/Parent ’15) Artist Statement, June 28, 2020: "For me, the ultimate symbol of Black pride and power is the raised fist. During their medal ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City on October 16, 1968, two Black athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, each raised a black-gloved fist during the playing of the US national anthem. It is depicted here in brown to represent me. The two hearts represent gay pride and trans pride (Black variant introduced by trans activist and writer Raquel Willis). June is recognized as Pride month. Introduced in America by the Black Panther Party, the Black Power Fist took center stage internationally in 1968. The 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Riots (Greenwich Village, New York) is today. The riots are colloquially known as the start of the modern gay pride movement. So many of us are in severe pain today, tormented after too many soul-crushing recent events.

The spring of 2020 brought yet another murder by police of a Black man. And another. And another. I cannot keep up. With the weight of a global pandemic bearing down on us, killing us, these murders have brought continuous days of protest across the world and, of course, here at home in Washington, DC. This confluence of events has also brought a lot of focus to me, as I’m often the only Black woman in the room when our Guild gathers. This quilt recognizes the joy we’re experiencing here, today, in what feels like an unprecedented time of grief, angst, misery and yes, even death. Power to the People!”

A Mandala of Sheltering in Place by Susanne Foster Fincher (NC ’62) Artist Statement: “Sheltering at home ignited a flurry of care giving, amping up the prescribed gender roles of nursing, feeding, comforting. I accepted this without complaint.

It gave me something to do, and lowered my anxiety. I had time to write and make art, too. Mandala of Sheltering in Place was created with materials I used in my roles as caterer and feeder. The materials are not glued to the background, expressing the vulnerability I was feeling as well as my awareness of the unending change that shapes the human experience.”

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In Praise of an

AmbitiousWoman

By Sally J. Kenney

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he passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has hit all of us at Newcomb hard. I cherish the opportunities I had to interact with her, both in person and in writing. My research on women judges has opened many doors to me, not just providing me access to many women’s prisons, but to work with women judges in Nairobi, Cairo, Tbilisi, Luxembourg, Dublin, Buenos Aires, and London. Highlights of my work with the National and International Associations of Women Judges include attending a conference on judicial selection at the White House (which included a Rose Garden nomination of three judges to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by President Obama), attending meetings and receptions at the Supreme Court, and having dinner with Justice Ginsburg at a conference on women judges in San Diego.

We talked about the work she did to help overturn women’s exclusion from juries in Louisiana. Although it was a thrill to meet Mary Robinson (President of Ireland, UN High Commissioner on Human Rights) in the line for the ladies’ room at an IAWJ conference in Dublin, nothing can compare to the moment standing in line for the ladies’ room in San Diego when Justice Ginsburg said to me, “Professor Kenney, I want to thank you for your book.” Having received that praise and having seen the blue-footed booby in the Galapagos last year, I can now die happy. She later sent me a signed copy of her opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. as if we were pen pals.

I am thrilled that the notorious RBG garnered the recognition she deserved in the last decade of her life, being the subject of excellent biographies, documentaries, and a feature film. Like Justice Sonia Sotomayor who appeared on Sesame Street, Ginsburg recognized the important symbolism of the presence of women on the highest court. She was determined to attend the state of the union address, even if she had just been released from the hospital or had consumed a glass of wine and struggled to stay awake.

She is best known for her careful litigative strategy at the helm of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project and as a supreme court justice that made real the 14th Amendment’s promise of equal protection of the law, nearly ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment’s prohibition of sex discrimination through doctrinal evolution.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg had ambition, vision, and confidence despite receiving no societal encouragement usually necessary to constitute such qualities. She studied law amongst a sea of men. Her dean summoned her to dinner to defend why she deserved to take the place of a man. Her brilliance, determination, and indefatigable energy (making law review, taking care of a husband and an infant, nursing her husband through cancer and supporting his legal studies) earned her Sally J. Kenney (center) received a National Association of Women Judges no accommodation from Harvard Law School, so she transferred to Murray Award for her role in organizing the academic programming for Columbia where she also excelled.

As a woman, a Jew, a wife, and a mother, Ginsburg could not secure the 2013 conference in New Orleans. a position with elite New York law firms. She found a platform in academia but felt she must downplay her family role and only cautiously display solidarity with other women. Nor was the American Civil Liberties Union’s embrace of a women’s equality project a foregone conclusion. Instead, it was the result of her legal acumen, strategy, and dogged determination. While the film—On the Basis of Sex—may have overstated her husband’s role in crafting her legal arguments, he certainly deserves credit for her appointment to the Supreme Court. If excellence alone rather than aggressive lobbying could secure such positions, we would have a much more diverse and representative judiciary.

When President Clinton appointed Ginsburg to the Supreme Court in 1993, and she garnered overwhelming support from the U.S. Senate, we were optimistic. But the wall of white men were not dominoes and little of the progress we had hoped for has been achieved. Perhaps more worrying, we are all too aware of how precarious our small gains now are. Ginsburg was a slow and soft-spoken speaker and an even more painfully slow eater. She was a surprisingly close friend of conservatives on the two courts she served. She loved to talk about opera and her Pilates regimen.

Her personality emerged most strongly in her writing, where she was brilliant and also wryly funny. She was always impeccably groomed and fashionable, although the only individuality she could show in her robe was her choice of lace collar. She was a tiny bird of a person with enormous sparkle whose intellect packed a powerful punch.

Although frail, Justice Ginsburg was so tenacious doing her pushups, swinging her barbells, giving her speeches, and writing her opinions that we thought this icon of Halloween costumes and RBG swag would be with us even longer.

As we mourn the beacon that has been extinguished, we must celebrate the movement for equality to which she dedicated her life.

Sally J. Kenney is the author of the book Gender and Justice: Why Women in the Judiciary Really Matter.

(Opposite page) Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by Steve Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

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Mary Jo Shaffer (NC ’74) (left) reunited with Newcomb friends Alana Miller (NC ’74), Delphine Smith (NC ’74) and Constance Abraham Handy (NC ’74) in New Orleans in the early 1980’s.

OB/GYN Mary Jo Shaffer on Women’s Health and Newcomb Friendship

By Katie Small

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ulane’s 2019 Homecoming celebration offered an opportunity for alumnae to explore the Newcomb Institute’s new home in the Commons, where the annual NAA luncheon was held. Of the 100+ people in attendance, one group in particular stood out—they were inseparable and wore matching scarves, brightly colored in blue, green and gold, embellished with the words “Newcomb College Class of 1974.”

The group first met in 1970, during a Newcomb College orientation week for Black students. According to Dr. Mary Jo Shaffer, they became fast friends and have remained so ever since. “Whenever we get together it’s like no time has passed—we pick up right where we left off,” she said. “I still have friends from my childhood in Mississippi, and I still have friends from medical school, but these Newcomb friends are my closest friends.”

Shaffer grew up in rural Yazoo County, Mississippi. Her educational experience prior to Newcomb was segregated; Shaffer describes herself as a sheltered and shy student when she arrived on Newcomb’s campus. She found community in the African American Congress of Tulane (ACT), a place for Black students to gather, collaborate on projects, and socialize. “At that time there were no Blacks in any other fraternities or sororities, so it was sort of our replacement for that,” Shaffer said.

Located in what is now the Myra Clare Rogers Memorial Chapel, Shaffer recalled that ACT hosted a variety of social activities, including a student-led volunteer tutoring program for neighborhood children, public lectures by civil rights activists, and comedy nights with figures such as Dick Gregory. “It was a good place to go where you felt like you belonged,” Shaffer said.

Shaffer credits programs like ACT and her friendships with Newcomb’s international students for widening her worldview, but it was the mentorship of one of her Tulane professors that would forever alter the course of her life.

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As a work-study student and Biology major, Shaffer worked in the lab of faculty member Dr. Merl Mizelle. She quickly discovered that she didn’t enjoy lab work, but at the time, Shaffer had no interest in medical school. Dr. Mizelle was convinced she would make a great doctor: “He really pushed me to think about becoming a doctor. And initially I was resistant—I thought, ‘it takes too long, it’s too expensive, and anyway I wouldn’t be a good doctor’,” Shaffer recalled.

Despite her hesitation, Mizelle enrolled Shaffer in a Tulane summer program aimed at preparing minority students for medical school. “I don’t know what would have happened had he not pushed me, and had I not taken his advice,” she said.

Shaffer would go on to study medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and complete her residency at the University of Southern California. An initial interest in pediatrics led her to specialize in obstetrics. “When I saw my first delivery, it was like watching a miracle. I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.”

As a Black woman practicing medicine in the late 1970s and early 1980s, sexual harassment and racism were a daily reality. “When I did my residency from 1978-82, there weren’t a lot of women in OB/GYN,” Shaffer said. “The lifestyle was tough. Most of us felt we needed to prove ourselves, to show we could do as much as the guys did.”

Over a career spanning 35 years, Shaffer watched the medical field grow into a more inclusive and humane space, especially as women patients began increasingly requesting women doctors. She has been pleased to see a cultural shift in how younger generations of doctors prioritize work-life balance and their own families. But despite improvements in equal representation in the medical field, women’s health still has a long way to go.

The United States is the only country in the developed world where maternal mortality rates, especially among Black women, are on the rise. Shaffer stressed that a number of social justice issues affect maternal mortality, including access to healthcare and childcare, access to quality food, quality education, and a voice on the job. “When I have a patient who is 8 months pregnant and who suddenly starts to develop high blood pressure, I need to put her on bedrest,” Shaffer said.

“But if she has a low wage job where she doesn’t get sick pay, she may not be able to afford taking bed rest. And even if a woman is not working, she is often still a primary caregiver for family members, so she might not get much rest either way.”

Shaffer’s dedication to women’s health has taken her around the world. Since 2007, she has traveled to Kenya eight times to volunteer for short-term medical mission work. “We have set up temporary medical camps and done some education projects in Nairobi, Turkana County and Marsabit County.” The effort is a partnership between Shaffer’s church in Fullerton, California and a Kenyan organization called Missions of Hope International. “It’s been life-changing for me to meet these people and see what they have accomplished with so few resources,” she said.

Now retired, Shaffer remains involved in women’s health as a volunteer at her local free clinic. She and her core group of Newcomb friends—now spread throughout the country—reunite in New Orleans every chance they get. “My Newcomb College experience helped prepare me for the real world,” said Shaffer. “But it was the relationships I made that had the greatest impact. ...Because of Newcomb, I have friendships that I can’t place any value on—they’re just that precious.”

Mary Jo Shaffer (center) in Kenya for short-term medical mission work.

From left to right: Mary Jo Shaffer, Jocenta Hawkins Ferrouillet, Carolyn Kennedy Pigott, Connie Dunbar Nelson, and Elena Miller (kneeling) met at Newcomb College in 1970 and have remained best friends ever since.

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Fighting the Spread Misinformation and COVID-19

By Katie Small

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n the early pandemonium of the pandemic, one thing seemed to spread even faster than the virus itself: misinformation. Newcomb alumna Dr. Sofia Curdumi Pendley (NC ’05) found herself uniquely positioned to provide clarity amidst the fear and confusion. In late February, Pendley spoke with the Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in Bridgeport, Connecticut about the slew of contradictory and unreliable information regarding coronaviruses. The conversation inspired Pendley to take action: “I immediately said—‘We can help fix that,’ ” she recalled.

Pendley recognized the potential learning opportunity for students enrolled in her Community Health in Times of Crisis course at Sacred Heart University, where she has been instrumental in creating a new Masters in Community Public Health program. She assigned her students the task of compiling weekly newsletters and slide decks relaying the most up-to-date information on COVID-19.

“We created weekly updates to send out to different health and emergency management departments in the [Fairfield, CT] area,” Pendley said. The updates quickly took off and were particularly useful to local and state politicians and community leaders in the Northeast. “Our scope widened to inform emergency protocol in those areas that saw a huge spike in cases in early April,” Pendley said. “My students were shocked that they were playing such an important role in real time.”

While creating the COVID-19 communication updates, Pendley connected with her professional network to recruit faculty and students at Tulane and Yale University to join the effort. The weekly updates became a collaborative endeavor housed in an online dashboard. “As time went on, we started compiling lists of all of the different clinical trials for vaccines, where they’re being conducted, what stage they’re at—so that people could understand that everybody in the world is working on COVID right now,” she said. “That’s so much information, and it’s spread out over so many disciplines.”

As she continued to oversee the communications campaign, Pendley fielded media inquiries—including an interview with Business Insider—and began training students to conduct contact tracing, all while teaching full-time and caring for her five-year old daughter and one-year old son.

The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Pendley graduated from Newcomb in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. After a brief stint teaching English in Shanghai, she returned to Tulane to pursue a Master’s in Public Health followed by a Doctorate in Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences. Her public health research focused on monitoring and evaluating disaster humanitarian response.

As a recent MPH graduate, Pendley worked to develop a framework for the Louisiana Disaster Case Management Pilot Program in the aftermath of Katrina. In 2012, when she was a Program Manager at Tulane’s Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy, the team was awarded a Gates Foundation grant to evaluate humanitarian assistance after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Other projects involved analyzing the effects of drought on farmers in the Sahel, conducting an impact assessment after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and working with the World Food Program to analyze food insecurity during the Ebola outbreak.

Pendley says misinformation is a typical symptom of public health crises, but it has been unusually widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic: “Misinformation has really become another disaster in and of itself,”

she said. “It emphasizes the importance of public health communications.”

Looking to the future, Pendley predicts major structural changes in the conception and implementation of emergency management programs post-pandemic: “I think there’s going to be a huge change in the way we view emergency management in this country,” she said. The practice of localities declaring a state of emergency to qualify for federal resources will need to be adjusted. “From now on, we will have to account for situations that affect the entire nation—and even the entire globe—at the same exact time.”

While the nature of her work means she must constantly contend with crisis, Pendley says working with young people keeps her motivated. She draws inspiration from her students at Sacred Heart, as well as the Tulane students she mentors through her participation in the NAA. “Young women need to know that they belong in STEM,” she said.

“Know that not only are you worthy of being here, you are needed—Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”

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Photos by Liz King 12

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Conversations on Resilience

Peggy Stafford (NC ’86), founder of Stafford Tile & Stone, on leading a small business through the pandemic

By Sue Strachan (NC ‘86)

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hen Peggy Stafford (NC ’86) founded Stafford Tile & Stone in 2000, she brought a fresh approach to the New Orleans design community. Offering unique tile and stone lines and design services for residential and commercial projects, her business and client base from around the world grew. She returned after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and subsequently opened a showroom in Baton Rouge in 2006.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges for Stafford Tile & Stone. Because of the pandemic, Peggy’s business has had to deal with the impact on its physical locations, like other businesses, being temporarily closed, then re-opening with restrictions.

With the issues that businesses are facing now and will be in the future, we asked Peggy how Stafford Tile & Stone is doing and what she has done to pivot her business to survive and thrive during this time, and how her Newcomb College education helped prepare her for the ups and downs of the business world.

Newcomb College and Beyond As a political science major, what led you into the tile and stone business?

While I was finishing my degree at Newcomb College, I worked on a paralegal certification through Tulane University.

Many family members had chosen to study and practice law over the generations. My mother was the only female in her Tulane Law School graduating class of 1955. She was also a Newcomb College graduate and studied with an allfemale constituency. In the time of the ’40s and '50s, Newcomb College students studied and ate meals in Josephine Louise Hall, where I later lived as a Freshman in 1982. While I thoroughly enjoyed being a paralegal, I realized that a lifetime commitment to that profession would not be my calling. In 1989, I enrolled in graduate school to study English Literature at University of Colorado, Boulder. I completed the degree with much hard work and determination. During the course of my graduate program, I worked part-time at a design store that focused on tile and curtains. The business was booming then—1990—and I loved working with tile and design. I grew up in a creative environment with artists and creators, but never thought that I could make a career working with products that excited me so much. Hence, a “tile geek” was born! I collaborated with contractors who would fly me to San Francisco to work on big tile projects because there were not many high-end tile stores in Denver at the time. As these wonderful experiences developed, I eventually started my own business in Boulder specializing in the “finish work” of construction projects. I managed the projects for customers, designed and contracted tile, hardwood and finish carpentry. Of course, the tile and stonework was always my passion. Although the business was thriving, I longed for Louisiana and my native surroundings. When I decided firmly to relocate, the logical step proved to be a focus on tile and stone.

Are there unique challenges to running a woman-owned business?

There are always challenges in starting a business as a woman. Louisiana does not have a strong history of encouraging the entrepreneur and is less inclined to support a young woman in the tile and stone business. However, the New Orleans community has embraced our Showroom and has strongly supported us throughout these 20 solid years. I am very grateful for the outreach and support, especially during a lull.

What are your favorite memories of your Newcomb College days?

I enjoyed all of my four years at Newcomb College. The professors in my departments were supportive and stimulating.

My freshman year at Newcomb was especially exciting as I became immersed with women from all over the country who exposed me to different ideals. Those early Newcomb friendships remain very dear to me even 30 years later.

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How did your Newcomb education prepare you for business and life?

My years at Newcomb College taught me independence and to know no boundaries in life. At a supportive women’s college, I learned to trust myself, others, and the process of life that is sometimes not perfect.

Strength and tenacity are important qualities that Newcomb instilled in students. I hope to always empower my staff and others as the Newcomb College community empowered me.

Business During the COVID-19 Pandemic When businesses in New Orleans and Baton Rouge were told to temporarily close their stores due to the pandemic, what strategies did your business implement?

Stafford Tile & Stone did not actually “close” its showrooms but only held virtual appointments for a period of time. We are offering both virtual and in-store appointments now as we navigate through the pandemic. Our sales associates will have a pre-appointment questionnaire with clients so that we can save time during the in-house appointments. We are fortunate that some things can be accomplished with Zoom or video conferencing. As the state of Louisiana mandates, all staff and clients who enter the showrooms must wear masks and we limit the number of persons in the showroom at any one time.

How have sales been since the pandemic?

Sales were drastically low for the second quarter, but are slowing picking up. We are in it for the long haul. We have 20 years under our belt and will do everything to survive this rough patch. We received Paycheck Protection Program and Small Business Administration loans to cover rent and salary expenses for a period of 60 days. It helped tremendously.

Any advice for store-owners?

My best advice to owners of small businesses is, “Hang in there!” Louisianians and Americans are resilient and will rebuild quickly. I hope that this pandemic teaches us all the importance of supporting local small companies and the value of personal service.

What advice would you give to Newcomb-Tulane students who are graduating and want to start their own business in a difficult economy?

My advice to any person interested in starting a business today is to keep the business profile as simple as possible and be prepared to endure long, hard hours. My business began on a “shoestring” in a small location on the residential side of Oak Street where many Tulane/Newcomb students live. I could not have survived these years if the company had incurred too much debt in its inception. As you noted, these are lean, challenging times and it is easier to maintain a business when you have operated within your means. The unwavering support from the design community of New Orleans and Louisiana allowed us to stay in business all of these wonderful years.

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Photo by John Johnston

Community Caregiver For 20 years, Julia Bland (NC ’73) has been an integral part of bringing the Louisiana Children’s Museum and Tulane University together to create programming addressing mental health in infants, children, and families.

By Sue Strachan (NC '86)

I

t was the beginning of March 2020, and New Orleans was resetting itself from Mardi Gras. Beads and costumes had been put away, and life had gotten back to its usual rhythm. At the Louisiana Children’s Museum (LCM), the sounds of children at play filled the new facility, which had opened its doors August 31, 2019. The museum had been located at 420 Julia St. since 1986, and the move to the new campus in City Park allowed for more fun interactive displays and learning experiences for families.

The facility was a longtime dream for Executive Director Julia Bland (NC ’73), who came to the museum as a volunteer in 1994. “I started off doing fundraising, working on benefits for the museum, then joined the board,” said Bland. “I was tapped to come in to hold things together during a transitional period, and I am still here 23 years later. It’s been a great fit.”

Through the years, Bland saw the museum thrive, as well as become part of the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery.

In 2015, First Lady Michelle Obama and the Institute of Museum and Library Services honored the museum with the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, recognizing it for outstanding service to the community.

On March 9, 2020, the first person infected with COVID-19 was identified in Louisiana, with cases then rapidly being reported. On March 16, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell filed a proclamation closing public spaces, which included museums. Despite the facility being temporarily closed, that didn’t mean the museum wasn’t busy addressing the needs of the community. The museum had just taken a different path, one that had been forged years earlier.

Joining Forces For more than 20 years, the LCM and Tulane Institute for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health have been collaborating on various programs that were actualized at the museum and at schools. “I always felt the museum needed to do a good job addressing the whole child,” said Bland, who was introduced to the Institute for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health when they invited her to be on the advisory board.

Dr. Charles Zeanah, professor of psychiatry at Tulane School of Medicine and now director of the Institute for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, and Dr. Geoff Nagle, the current President of the Erikson Institute, but previously part of the Tulane Child Psychiatry Faculty and head of policy efforts, worked with Bland to implement programming that focused on the mental health of children.

When the COVID-19 stay-at-home order was announced, Bland consulted Dr. Zeanah. “One of the advantages of having gone through disaster [Hurricane Katrina] is that your eyes are opened and you know what people need,” said Bland. “There is fear, uncertainty and depression; and we said ‘Let’s get ahead of this and get some tools in hand for people to use’.” They recognized immediately the COVID-19 pandemic has different challenges than Hurricane Katrina.“People are working and teaching children at home during the same hours in the same place, creating stressful conditions,” said Bland. “It is one of the hardest balancing acts, that you can’t balance.”

The first program created is a series of “Connections at Home” videos in which the museum’s educators demonstrate how to make things at home that are also good for the environment, such as how to make paintbrushes, stamps and stencils. These videos are available on YouTube or on the museum’s site (lcm.org).

Among the new collaborations with the institute is “In Dialogue,” a weekly video series, which can be found on the museum’s web site and You Tube, tackling issues of how to talk to children about COVID-19; mental health; sleep; and a series about race and racism, among other topics. Institute for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health faculty and residents, and a museum staff member lead the webinars.

“Building Resilience: Parenting During a Pandemic,” is another new initiative, an in-depth informational document for caregivers available on the museum’s website. “As the effect of the pandemic started to be felt in New Orleans, Julia understood that children and parents would be experiencing numerous changes, unusual challenges and new stressors,” said Angela Breidenstine, Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical psychiatry in the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Tulane University School of Medicine and a member of the Institute for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. Also part of the “Building Resilience” team was Silai Mirzoy, M.D., who is a triple board resident in pediatrics, general adult psychiatry, and child and adolescent psychiatry.

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“We agreed that it would be helpful to offer parents an accessible set of suggestions and curated resources about supporting their children and parenting during this difficult time,” said Dr. Breidenstine. “We believed it was important to provide tips based on both current psychological knowledge about children’s emotional/behavioral development and evidence-based parenting practices.” They also felt that it was crucial to identify credible sources of information about parenting and mental health. The document links—more than 40—address topics that affect children, from infants to teenagers, as well as parents. “After Julia and I discussed the vision for the document and brainstormed the main content areas, Dr. Mirzoy and I spent about a week—and some late nights—researching, writing and organizing the document,” said Dr. Breidenstine.

The museum and the Institute for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health have also started to work with the Tulane Brain Institute on the First 1,000 Days of Life, “the most critical time for brain development with over one million new neural connections each second,” said Dr. Zeanah. “During this time, not only [the] functioning, but actual structure of the brain is affected by the young child’s experiences, especially experiences in caregiving relationships.”

Dr. Zeanah adds, “Because of maximum plasticity, brain development is favorable if the child is raised with nurturing and healthy experiences, and unfavorable if the child lacks these experiences or is exposed to threats of trauma.” Infant mental health is critical to ensure that young children begin life on healthy developmental trajectories. The museum is working with the Institute for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and the Brain Institute to shape a free mobile app.

Bland has enjoyed her partnership with Tulane: “There are a lot of innovative thinkers that I have the privilege to work with there,” said Bland. And her collaborators return the compliment. “Julia is energetic, bright, creative and collaborative,” said Dr. Zeanah. Dr. Breidenstine adds, “Working with Julia is invigorating and fun. She has incredible passion for supporting families in our community. I have really appreciated Julia’s positive leadership.”

Newcomb and New Orleans Bland’s love of New Orleans and its citizens comes naturally. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Bland—then Julia Webb—arrived at Newcomb College in 1969 to study art history, with the goal of working in a collecting museum.

She was fascinated by the city at an early age because of the stories her parents, who had honeymooned in New Orleans, told her.

New Orleans didn’t disappoint. “I remember at college being blown away by the culture, the enrichment of the city,” said Bland, who would often get on her bike to explore, particularly enjoying the diverse architecture. Newcomb College was an integral part of the enrichment. “I had amazing teachers at Newcomb in art history and English," said Bland, adding, “A good dose of liberal arts in a city that is culturally rich; my eyes were opened.”

The Future

While the museum briefly re-opened following strict COVID-19 protocols, it postponed daily visits to the museum on August 16, offering virtual and off-site programming.

“We have a big to-do list while we are closed, with programs and ways to use the museum,” said Bland.

Among these is hosting preschool and kindergarten students from Langston Hughes Academy through December 2020, using the outdoor spaces as safe in-person teaching environments, and using the interactive elements for hands-on play and learning. “The opportunities are abundant, and that’s what we are focused on.”

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The Louisiana Children's Museum opened its new location at City Park on August 31, 2019.

Photos on pages 18 and 19 by Kevin Scott

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From left to right, members of Les Griots Violets: Raven Ancar (LA ’22), Xel Frame (LA ’20), Abi Mbaye (LA ’19, PHTM ’19, LA *20), Tabita Gnagniko (SE ’22), Kamiya Stewart (SE *19), Paige Magee (PHTM ’22), and Deja Wells (LA ’22).

Black Feminist Activism Students Raven Ancar (LA ’22) and Simenesh Semine (LA ’21) discuss their experiences as Black women at Tulane

By Katie Small

W

hen she told her friends that she planned to attend Tulane, Raven Ancar was met with shock. “They wanted to know why I would volunteer to go here—because everyone knows Tulane’s hella white,” Ancar said.

A native of New Orleans East, Ancar says she initially felt isolated as a Black student at a predominately white institution (PWI). “You don’t meet a lot of people from New Orleans at Tulane. ...My house is only 30 minutes away from here, but it looks like two completely different places,” Ancar said. “The wealth gap, that clicked for me as soon as I got here—I experienced a culture shock, and I’m from this city.”

The sense of shock and alienation that she felt inspired Ancar to make a film documenting the experiences of Black students at Tulane. During her first year of college she released The Veil, a film aimed at educating the Tulane community on the double-consciousness that students of color experience as students at a PWI: “You have to think about things that white students don’t, like—‘Don’t take this teacher because they’re racist,’ or ‘Take this teacher because they’re not as racist,’” Ancar said.

Bringing awareness to the Tulane Black student experience has been a constant source of motivation for Ancar, who continues to take on activism responsibilities in addition to a double major in Sociology and Digital Media Studies, and

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double minor in French and Africana Studies.

During her sophomore year, Ancar joined other student activists to form Les Griots Violets—a Black femme-led anti-racism organization aimed at elevating the voices and concerns of Black women on Tulane’s campus. At an October 2019 Undergraduate Student Government meeting, Les Griot Violets proposed a student equity fee to support Black student success: “We believe that if you’re not actively working toward an anti-racist agenda, then you are supporting and perpetuating the anti-Blackness of our society,” Ancar said. “If you don’t wake up every day and ask yourself, ‘What can I do for racial justice today?' then you’re not pushing towards it. There was a lack of that [activism] on campus, so that’s where Les Griots Violets came from.’

Now a junior, Ancar is President of the Black Student Union (BSU); over the summer she worked with BSU External Vice President Simenesh Semine and other student activists to shift the BSU’s focus to actively address racism.

In July, the widespread Black Lives Matter protests inspired BSU’s executive board to work with other Black student organizations to deliver a list of demands to Tulane Administration, specifying more than 70 actions to address racism on campus. “We can’t criticize the racism that’s happening in the country if we don’t address Tulane senior Simenesh Semine participates in a BSU community-building event theracism that’s happening here on campus,” on campus (September 2019).

Semine said.

Semine and Ancar were instrumental in crafting the BSU’s demands and stressed that the document reflects a need for institutional change at every level, whether that’s hiring more Black professors, increasing recruitment and outreach efforts to high school students in Black communities, or supporting Black dining hall and maintenance staff.

Originally from Boston, Semine feels that she has to be more critical of how she presents herself as a Black woman on Tulane’s campus. “I have to justify my reason for being in the room,” Semine said. “People always assume that I’m here because I’m an athlete.”

Semine is not an athlete, but a large percentage of Tulane’s Black male students are. Both Semine and Ancar described how Tulane’s policy of requiring athletes to eat in a private dining hall and sleep in separate dormitories makes it difficult for Black students to connect and build community, while making the Black student population less visible on campus. “My friends who are athletes face the burden of knowing that their athletic scholarships played a factor in their admittance,” Semine said. “There’s this feeling of, ‘Well, you wouldn’t be here otherwise.’”

The Tulane administration and several campus departments are now working with Ancar, Semine, and the other members of BSU to address their demands. In early June 2020, Tulane’s administration joined universities across the nation in renewing and re-examining their commitment to racial justice after the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. In a letter to the university community, President Fitts announced his immediate commitment of $2.5 million to the university budget to implement Le Griots Violets’ equity fee, in addition to the creation of Tulane’s Committee on Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, which is co-chaired by Newcomb alumna and Tulane’s Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Anneliese Singh (NC ’91).

Like most of their anti-racism efforts on campus, Ancar and Semine say the response to the BSU demands has been mixed. “One thing we hear a lot from people with racist ideals is—‘Why go here? Why don’t you just leave the university?’” Ancar said. But both women say their love for Tulane motivates their activism: “If I didn’t love Tulane, I wouldn’t care about making it a better place,” Ancar said. “We care about this university and we care about our fellow students—that’s why we hold it to a certain standard. That’s why we demand things from it.”

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South Florida Book Club finds Amidst COVID Chaos

Community

By Katie Small

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hen the pandemic nearly cancelled their spring Newcomb Alumnae Association (NAA) book club, a group of South Florida women decided to tackle their technology fears and meet virtually instead.

The group was scheduled to meet at host Sandra Breiterman’s Miami home on March 14—right when the chaos of COVID was spreading across the nation. After a bit of troubleshooting, their lively virtual discussion of Florida, by Lauren Groff, provided a much-needed distraction from the uncertainty of the moment. The diverse, multigenerational group continued to meet monthly throughout quarantine to discuss an impressive selection of books by renowned women writers.

Newcomb Institute Communications Specialist Katie Small (KS) spoke with book club leaders Dori Lynn Neuwirth (NC ’90) and Sandra Breiterman (NC ’77) over Zoom, to discuss how their virtual club took off.

KS: Can you tell us about your Newcomb College experience and where life took you after college?

Sandra Breiterman (SB): I graduated in 1977 as a bio major. I wasn’t necessarily pre-med because in those days there wasn’t a clear pathway for women to become doctors; most of my colleagues became doctors and eventually I did as well, but in those days, it was not the path for women necessarily. So, I did research first and then I worked at the medical school here in Miami.

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Then I did an MBA in healthcare administration; I was always interested in wellness and prevention. I worked in new product development for big pharma, but then I decided to go back to medical school for naturopathic medicine. I studied in Australia where I lived for 8 years practicing natural medicine, but then I wanted to come back. I became an acupuncture physician. I’ve been living and working in Miami as a naturopath and acupuncture physician for the past 20+ years. I do attribute Newcomb with opening my eyes to the possibility of education, the education it provided me, and the opportunities to go forth in my life.

Dori Lynn Neuwirth (DLN): I’ll be honest, I went to Newcomb not knowing that I was going to Newcomb versus Tulane. I really wasn’t aware that Newcomb had been an all-women’s school historically, by the time I got there it was very much integrated with the college of arts and sciences, so I’m in some ways sad that I missed out on what was perhaps the true Newcomb experience that I think Sandra had more of. But as an alumna, I love that we do have programming that’s somewhat women-focused, so I’ve really enjoyed being a Newcomb alumna post-Tulane. I will say that graduations were separate when I was there, so that was a nice experience, I really enjoyed the daisy chain.

I’ve been very active as a Tulane volunteer, I served on the Tulane Alumni Association Board of Directors two terms, and I’ve served as a Tulane Club Leader on and off for several decades. I’ve certainly stayed very connected to Tulane for quite some time.

KS: How did you two meet?

SB: It was all Dori, Dori’s amazing at getting people together. I think it was a networking event that Dori hosted that I met her at—is that right, Dori?

DLN: Well, one of the things the South Florida Club has been doing, for probably a decade, are ongoing networking lunches and dinners throughout the tri-county South Florida area, and I believe it was one of the Miami lunches that we met at. And after you attend one, I make sure that you keep attending more. Once I know there’s a little interest, we’re gonna make sure you keep coming back.

KS: Tell me how the South Florida Book Club morphed into what it is now, with regular meetings in addition to the NAA book club selection. What is the group dynamic like and how did that come about?

SB: I was scheduled to host the Newcomb spring book club on March 14th, the day that we went [on lockdown]. So we were trying to decide what to do, and I said, “Let’s just do it virtually.” Dori goes, “no, no it’ll get fixed, we’ll do it in a couple weeks,” and I go, “no, we’re doing this virtually. We’re gonna pull it off somehow.”

Tulane had that big audacious campaign, so I said, “We’re audacious, we can pull this off." And so we did. I called my daughter who works in tech, and she taught me how to use Google Hangout and Zoom, and we pulled it off, and it was wonderful because that was that first day of the pandemic and of lockdown—we were all so frightened. Nobody knew what was going on… and we so enjoyed just talking and discussing the book.

We were able to support each other in logging on to technology which was very scary for us then—we’re Baby Boomers.

This is not our lifeblood. But we did it, and we were able to have an amazing, cultural discussion about something other than COVID. We connected with each other and we so appreciated the background that we all shared, and the intellect, the ability to share wholeheartedly in a very deep and meaningful way.

It was such a rich [discussion] in the middle of this very scary day, that we decided, “Let’s do this again.” And we did; each month we were able to connect. Particularly when we were isolated at home and not seeing anyone. And we’ve been meeting since. It’s been a wonderful way to connect with other women whom share the keen intellectual, social, cultural depth that we craved. It was very enriching.

KS: What are some of the books you’ve read?

DLN: In addition to Florida, the NAA book selection, we read The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, and Dawn by Octavia Butler, who was a past Newcomb Institute Zale-Kimmerling Writer-in-Residence.

SB: It ended up being a lot of anthropology-focused women writers. Not intentionally, but they all had some sort of Newcomb connection. They were all multi-cultural, about different lifestyles.

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KS: Has the book club continued at the same pace as it did during the stay-at-home order?

DLN: We’ve continued to meet monthly since we got started. Actually, even before COVID and before we started doing this virtually, we had a solid group of women who were enjoying book club and we did meet a couple times in the summer months, in addition to the fall and spring Newcomb designated book clubs. So, I guess we’ve always had a more active book club than some others. People wanted to do it, so we kept doing it.

KS: How would you encourage other Newcomb alumnae nationwide to get involved in their local book clubs, or maybe even host a book club if they’re on the fence?

SB: Well it’s very easy to host a virtual [book club], you don’t have to cook. You don’t have to clean your house—those are the pros. It’s just really nice, when Newcomb women get together there’s a certain vibe, a certain depth that ensues that’s very pleasurable and enjoyable.

There are very few cons unless you’re having difficulty focusing because of COVID. But then you can just [Sparknote] the book and still have a good discussion. The discussions that we have are very deep and enriching. Which are important to have, in this time when we’re so isolated.

DLN: I would say even in pre-COVID times, I would stress to anybody that was considering hosting, that they could do as little or as much when they wanted to. Our first book club, we had a meal and beautiful wine, and I thought, “Wow [the host] set the bar so high, nobody that came is going to want to host this after her.” But we’ve also just met at a teashop and drank tea while we talked, and we’ve done [potluck style]. So, assuming that eventually we’ll be able to go back to doing it in person, you can do as little or as much as you want.

I think some people might be intimidated by the feeling that they need to lead the discussion, but our experience has been that the discussions flow very naturally, and if you just ask the simple question, “What did you think of the book?” the discussion will flow from there.

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Books that have recently been read by the South Florida book club, including the current selection, The Yellow House

by Sarah M. Broom.

I don’t think it has to be particularly structured. I mean it could be, if a host wanted to do it that way, but I think Newcomb women are not necessarily shy, and they will share their opinions when asked and the conversation will flow.

You don’t need a ton of participants to make it flow. We’ve had as few as 4—and we always have good conversations. It’s just a wonderful way to stay connected.

SB: The only thing that I would add is that if the questions are holding you back—it’s very easy to look [discussion] questions up online for most books. It’s a jumping-off point, but then the conversation will definitely flow. There’s very little friction in hosting virtually. And then you’ll only get to 3 questions out of the dozen you prepared.

DLN: Right, the conversation flows so naturally that you probably won’t get to all of the questions in the designated time. And I would just say, like all alumnae events really, it’s a wonderful way to meet people that you have something in common with, that you probably would not otherwise meet.

I love that our book club events, along with many of our other [alumni] events in South Florida, we get people who have already celebrated their 50-year reunion, and we even have current students joining us for some. As a matter of fact, the last in-person book club that we had, we had an accepted student, who hadn’t even attended Tulane yet. She reached out to me and asked if it would be appropriate for her to join us and I said “Absolutely.” So, it really just allows you to connect with people that you probably otherwise wouldn’t meet, but you’ll always be glad that you had a chance to.

SB: That is true, we’ve had many generations—women that were older than myself, who graduated from Newcomb in the 50’s and 60’s, and this person who was about to attend. So, it’s great to have a multi-generational outlook on topics that we can discuss that are all pertinent to women. It’s always a wonderful gathering when you get that, different viewpoints of women getting together and sharing.

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Student VOICES, Student ACTION Emma Brick-Hezeau is a senior Newcomb Scholar from Memphis, Tennessee double majoring in economics and linguistics with a minor in political science. She works as a research assistant at Newcomb Institute helping Professor Anna Mahoney develop programming and projects related to women's leadership, politics, and voting, including the Louisiana Student Voter Summit held on September 26. In the spring 2020 semester, Emma worked on digital projects related to women in STEM.

A version of this article was originally published in Tulane Today on October 14, 2020.

According to the Campus Vote Project, college students and young people represent one of the largest eligible voting blocs in the United States but are the least likely to vote. As the 2020 election approached, Tulane students worked to change this.

Olivia Mullaney (LA *22), chair of the Civic Engagement Committee for Tulane’s University Student Government (USG), said one focus this semester was educating students about the electoral process. The student-run Instagram account @VoteUpTulane provided “straightforward, non-partisan, local and national election information for Tulane students, by Tulane students.”

The Civic Engagement committee arranged buses for early voting, provided stamps and envelopes for absentee voting and registration, and tabled in front of McAlister Auditorium to register students to vote on their way to class. USG also partnered with TurboVote to streamline the registration process and post reminders about voting on Canvas

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and WaveSync, online portals where students access course materials and campus activities.

USG partnered with studentrun organizations Women in Politics (WIP), Stitch-it to the Patriarchy, and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) to support upcoming initiatives. Graduate student Chinwe Orie (SE ’20, SE *23) and PhD candidate Gbolade Kayode (SE *20) , president and vice president of Tulane’s chapter of NSBE, launched Project emPOWER in October. This initiative brings together a coalition of engineers and student organizers to shift Tulane’s culture around activism and build a platform to encourage student involvement in social justice movements.

Kayode says a goal of Project emPOWER is to get young people to vote and get active in their community. The app, called “Empowered,” is designed to “game-ify” the process in order to connect movements like Black Lives Matter and My Body, My Choice to specific actions and policies.

Orie and Kayode emphasized the importance of linking STEM fields to social justice and creating spaces to empower and connect Black students at Tulane.

“The election is the catalyst, but it’s not the endgame” Orie says, referencing the protests over George Floyd’s death that brought national attention to police brutality and racial injustice this past summer.

“You cannot just wait every four years to take action.” NSBE cosigned the Tulane Black Student Union’s 2020 list of demands to address racism at Tulane, advocating for student action and institutional change close to home.

“Students don’t realize how much power they have,” said Raven Ancar (LA ’22), president of Tulane Black Student Union, who said the demands served as a living document for Black student organizations to come together and advocate for one another. She summed up her motivations with a quote by Alice Walker: “Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming.”

A few weeks before the November election, Brendan Cuti (LA ’21), political science senior and president of Tulane’s College Democrats, hosted a conversation with Shreveport mayor Adrian Perkins, who ran against incumbent Bill Cassidy in the US Senate race.

Perkins said the November election was important for other reasons as well. “As a practical matter there will probably be a Supreme Court spot opening up” during the next presidential administration, which puts “issues like reproductive rights on the line, LGBTQ rights on the line, and those are really important issues for college students,” Cuti said. He also pointed out several New Orleans judgeships and an antichoice state amendment were on the ballot in November.

Tulane student leaders came together with fellow students, faculty, and organizers across the state during the virtual Louisiana Student Voter Summit on September 26th to compare strategies and discuss best practices in civic engagement on college campuses. “At the end of the day, if our vote were not so powerful, if our ability to actually organize were not so powerful, politicians wouldn’t change how they react to policies,” said panelist Janea Jamison from

the Power Coalition. “There is power in people” she added, speaking to the strength of collective action, from showing up in numbers at the state capital to turning out the vote at elections. This event, organized by a coalition of academics and professionals at Newcomb Institute, Scholars Strategy Network, Feminist Campus, the Andrew Goodman Foundation, and several New Orleans Universities, gave students the opportunity to network and plan initiatives to turn out the vote in November and beyond. Panelists spoke about ways for students get involved with existing efforts by becoming poll monitors and workers, volunteering to phone bank and text about upcoming policy issues, and having open, authentic conversations with their peers about civic engagement.

These student organizers stress the importance of pursuing multiple avenues to enact change in our spheres of influence. “We’re helping bridge the gap from knowledge to action,” Orie said. “Now it’s through the voting process and through community engagement, but tomorrow it could be about education...or designing a more inclusive healthcare system.”

Tulane students interested in these initiatives can get involved by: • • •

Promoting one of Tulane Black Student Union’s demands Following @VoteUpTulane on Instagram Checking Wavesync for upcoming events from USG, WIP, and NSBE

If you are interested in learning more about Project emPOWER, please reach out to Chinwe Orie or fill out this Google form.

Student VOICES, Student ACTION Maya Schioppo is a junior at Tulane University pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Linguistics, and the School of Liberal Arts Management Minor. She is currently a social media and communications intern for the Newcomb Institute. After graduating, Maya hopes to attend graduate school for strategic communications and one day work in public relations or corporate communications.

Despite Tulane’s student population being 59% female and 41% male, undergraduate professors are only 36% female. These figures, combined with the sudden switch to online learning, pushed Dr. Clare Daniel and Dr. Jacquelyne Thoni Howard of Newcomb Institute to create the “Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online” guide.

The guide describes feminist pedagogy for online teaching and learning, and includes sample assignments, Canvas tutorials and other technology tools, and campus resources available to instructors.

It has now reached 8,500 views, is being circulated on Twitter and is getting praise from the wider academic community including those outside of Tulane University.

At the time of the guide’s creation, Dr. Daniel and Dr. Howard

did not realize just how much the academic community needed a guide such as this one. Now that it is done, the creators reflected by saying, “I’m not sure we realized we were filling a need for the wider feminist academic community when we began creating the guide, but the very positive reactions we have gotten indicate this,” said Daniel. “It’s great to see people engaging with the guide and passing along their feedback and suggestions. We look forward to continuing to develop it into a robust digital resource for feminist instructors across fields.”

While the guide was made with online learning in mind, it can most definitely be applied to physical classrooms as well as virtual ones. Dr. Howard says she hopes “that with the right instructional technology tools and intentional

integration of feminist pedagogy principles, instructors could construct dynamic and active online learning communities similar to what occurs in the traditional classroom.”

Lauren Lehmann (LA ’21), one of the co-presidents of the Feminist Alliance of Students at Tulane, encourages people to read the guide, saying “it is so necessary to include increased gender and sexuality education in Tulane’s curriculum to send Tulane alumni out into the world with a well-rounded and inclusive world view.”

With effort from the entire Tulane community, hopefully this guide for feminist teaching can be implemented to create an inclusive and encouraging educational environment.

(Top left and bottom left) Dr. Clare Daniel and Dr. Jacquelyne Thoni Howard of Newcomb Institute

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In Memoriam

Shirley Anne Grau

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1929-2020

hirley Anne Grau graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Newcomb in 1950 with a BA in English. She is known for winning the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for fiction with her novel The Keepers of the House. She published six novels and four story collections before her death. Her award-winning novel drew critical praise but also threatening phone calls for its depiction of a long romance between a wealthy white man and his black housekeeper in rural Alabama.

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The H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College Institute remembers all of our alumnae who have passed away over the last year.

By Maya Schioppo

Berthe Amoss (1925-2019)

Holly Berkowitz Clegg (1955-2019)

Sue Francis Balmer (1934-2020)

Dr. Damaris Moore Corrigan (1961-2019)

Berthe Amoss graduated from Newcomb in 1946 and continued her education at Tulane University graduating with a master’s in English and Art in 1986. She remained involved in the Tulane community when she taught children's literature at Tulane from 1981-1993, and again from 20012003. At Tulane, she was the first recipient of the Newcomb College Authors Fellowship, and founded and directed Trial Balloons, a children’s literature program at the university. She established the Amoss collection of children’s literature at Tulane's Howard Tilton Memorial Library.

Ms. Sue Francis Balmer graduated from Newcomb in 1956 and then continued at Tulane University for her master’s degree in education. During her time at Tulane, Sue was involved in the Chi Omega Fraternity, and continued to hold the organization close to her heart even after graduating, when she served as president of Chi Omega’s New Orleans alumnae chapter (RHO).

Dottie Charbonnet (1938-2020)

Dorothy “Dottie” Nelle Storey Charbonnet graduated from Newcomb in 1960 with a degree in History as a member and officer of Pi Beta Phi. She was very involved in her community, and was the wife of Rex and mother of a Rex queen. She would never miss a Rex ball or a Meeting of the Courts.

Susan Chase (1944- 2019)

Susan Chase attended Newcomb from the years ’62-’66, and double majored in art history and sculpture. She pursued her love for sculpture throughout her life, and was very involved in her community through art. She started an art program at Falmouth Academy, then moved with the headmaster to Cape Cod Academy, started the art program there, and taught until 1991.

Holly Berkowitz Clegg graduated from Newcomb in 1977 with a BA in Art History and a minor in English. She attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in London and Le Jules Verne in Paris. Over her 30-year career, she published 17 cookbooks, sold over 1.5 million books, became a nationally recognized healthy eating advocate and improved the lives of countless individuals. During her career, Holly’s television appearances included the Today Show, Fox and Friends, and more.

Dr. Damaris Moore Corrigan graduated from Newcomb summa cum laude in 1983 but continued her education at Tulane University by pursuing a JD from the Tulane School of Law in legal history and an MA from Tulane University in Classics. A very accomplished and knowledgeable woman, Damaris studied under some of the world’s leading thinkers and educators, spoke Latin, Ancient Greek, Italian, German, and French and was the author of a book, Riders on High: The Cavalry of Alexander the Great, as well as several journal articles.

Florence Ross Deer (1934-2020)

Florence Ross Deer graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Newcomb in 1955. During her time at Newcomb, she was a member of the Rho Chapter of Chi Omega Fraternity. Florence was active in her community as a member of the Arkansas Arts Center’s Fine Arts Club, where she served as President, co-chaired the biennial Tabriz benefit, and chaired the Decorative Arts Symposium on The White House Collection among many other roles throughout her life.

Anita Pelias Georges (1930-2020)

Newcomb alumna Anita Pelias Georges adored her husband, family, and church and played a large role in the Greek community of New Orleans. She was a kind soul who was known to have hosted everyone from lonely guests for holidays, to Greek diplomats and dignitaries. She was often a guest at the Greek Embassy in Washington DC and in Paris.

Tricia Ann Greene (1946-2020)

Tricia “Trish” Ann Greene graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Newcomb in 1967 with a degree in math and as a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. She attended Newcomb on scholarship and was able to finish her education in three years. Greene was an important member of the Newcomb community and over the years she was active in many Newcomb and Tulane alumni activities, serving as president of the Newcomb Alumnae Association. She was awarded the Newcomb Alumnae Service and Loyalty Award.

Vivian Rosenfeld Greene (1937-2020) Vivian Rosenfeld Greene attended Newcomb, but graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Emory University. She was an avid performer and became the premier Israeli folk dance teacher in Atlanta, instructing children and adults alike throughout the city for decades.

Vivian Gussin Paley (1929-2019)

Vivian Gussin Paley graduated Newcomb with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1950. She then went on to earn a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago; she became a teacher and researcher in a lab. Vivian wrote a series of books based on her research and received many awards, including the Erikson Institute Award for Service to Children in 1987, and the John Dewey Society’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2000.

Jane Silverberg (1930-2019)

Jane Silverberg attended Newcomb before transferring to the University of Michigan where she earned her degrees in social studies and education. She was very involved in her community, had a strong interest in politics, and was a major advocate for civil rights. She even marched with St. Petersburg’s striking sanitation workers to promote better pay and working conditions. Jane was an active member of the NAACP.

For a full list of alumnae who have passed away over the last year, please visit newcomb-magazine.tulane.edu.

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In Memoriam

Barbara Ferguson Ginsberg Newcomb College Class of 1951

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arbara Ferguson Ginsberg, a dedicated alumna of Newcomb College and a generous supporter of both the college and Tulane University, died unexpectedly on Thursday, April 2, 2020. She was 89 years old. Barbara is survived by her husband, Howard, a playwright; her daughter Laura; her son Kylo, his wife Lisa Morgan, and their two children, Jessie and Tobias; and her brother Charles Ferguson, and Charlie’s wife, Jane.

Known as “Bunkie” to her family, Barbara was born in New Orleans in 1930. She took her BA from Newcomb in 1951 and an MA in Psychology from Teachers College Columbia University in 1952. She also studied toward a second Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work.

Barbara was a gregarious and deeply engaged person. Following her graduate studies, she worked as a counsellor for the Jewish Child Care Association in Pleasantville, New York and later for the International Longshoremen’s Union in San Francisco, California, where she and her husband made their home. She also worked for the Social Services Department of Contra Costa County, California.

Barbara had a lifelong love of French culture, taking many trips to France and becoming fluent in the language. She was also passionate about literature, art, and music. Like her mother, Josephine Gessner Ferguson (Newcomb College, 1924), she was an avid reader of English novels. She collected art of the Bloomsbury Group and enjoyed visiting many galleries and museums. The Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where she and Howard owned for many years an apartment in Covent Garden, were among her favorites. Barbara volunteered as a docent at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Two of her pastimes were reading the New York Times and playing classical piano.

Despite her world travels and her life with Howard on the West Coast, Barbara was a frequent visitor to her hometown and to the Tulane University campus. I remember her especially at the Under the Oaks Ceremony, held each May in honor of the graduating class of Newcomb College. She moved easily and in an elegant way among students, faculty, and staff alike. She was stunning both in person and in conversation.

For more than thirty years, Barbara and her brother Charles have generously endowed a lecture in their mother’s memory in the Tulane English Department. The Annual Josephine Gessner Ferguson Lecture brings to campus each April a prominent literary scholar, who addresses a large and mixed audience of faculty, students, and community members on a major writer, text, or theme. Past Ferguson lecturers have included Stephen Greenblatt (Harvard University) and Toril Moi (Duke University). The impressive roster of speakers over the years is a tribute to Barbara and Charlie, each of them a fourth generation Tulanian, and their commitment to the intellectual life of Tulane University and New Orleans.

During my nine years as Chair of English at Tulane, it was my pleasure and privilege to steward the Ferguson Lecture. In doing so, I got to know Barbara, first as an acquaintance and then as a friend. Barbara Ferguson Ginsberg will be missed by her family and by all who knew her at Newcomb College and Tulane University.

Respectfully submitted, Michael P. Kuczynski Professor of English

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NEWCOMB Donor Honor Roll

We appreciate the financial support of alumnae, parents, and friends. We proudly announce the donors to Newcomb Institute, including those that have made gifts to the Newcomb Alumnae Association, during the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Thank you for your support. The Newcomb monies benefit today’s Newcomb Institute programs, just as they benefited students who attended Newcomb College. Funds functioning as endowment support the Newcomb Institute. That amount is now valued at approximately $42 million and generates almost $2 million for programs each year. The Newcomb Foundation Board ensures that the Newcomb Institute spends that money wisely.

Named endowments support a variety of other activities, including lecture series, research grants, and the Newcomb Archives.

Eliane Abi-Rached and Bassam Abi-Rached Barb Agatstein Nira Agrawal Marianne Aiken Lynne Albanese and Frank Albanese Laura Albert and Justin Albert Amanda Albin and Keith Murphy Vanann Allen Jane Allsopp Sabina Altman Kathryn Anderson and Larry Anderson Samantha Anderson and Erik Anderson Bethlehem Andrews Donna Angel Kara Angelini Elsa Angrist Judy Arceneaux and Lynn Arceneaux Linda Argote and Dennis Epple Lory Arnold and Jacob Bryan Gina Arons and Ronald Siegel Teresa Auch and Michael Auch Joanne Babin and Edward Babin Marie-Louise Bahlinger and Max Bixler Rebecca Baker Françoise Le Gall and Jeffrey Balkind Barbara Banner and Spencer Michlin Sally Banta and Mark Banta Heidi Barath and Jacob Barath Brian Barcelo Janis Barker and Lynn Barker Gwen Barron and Ron Barron Diane Baum and John Baum Emily Baum and Joshua Burke Nina Baumgartner Elaine Baylor and Elgin Baylor Cynthia Beaird and W. Beaird Joanna Bean Carol Becker Alison Bedell Elizabeth Bellino and Peter Towns Joan Benjamin Anne Bennett Joan Bennett and David Peterson

Katie Berchak-Irby and Matthew Irby Lauren Bernard Rose Bernstein and George Bernstein Rachel Bernstein Melissa Berry and Steven Berry Elizabeth Beskin and James Beskin Lisette Betancourt Jessica Birch Lavinia Bircher and Edgar Bircher Bernadette Birzer Julia Bland and Wilton Bland Harriett Bobo * Joan Bocina and John Cicerello Elise Bodenheimer Lucile Bodenheimer and James Holiday Susan Borrelli Margaretta Bourgeois and Lionel Bourgeois Sharon Bourgeois and St Paul Bourgeois Eleanore Boyse and Matthew Boyse Carolyn Brath Carole Bratter Barbara Braunstein and Ryan Kopperod Denise Breaux and Trebor Breaux Barbara Bridges Deborah Britt and Corbett Britt Katherine Britton and Paul Gaige Mary Brogden Gladys Brooks Hannah Broussard Julia Broussard and Daniel Thompson Katherine Brucker Paula Buchanan Elizabeth Bui Laura Burford and Robert Burford Mary Helen Burns Jessica Burt Denise Butler Patrick Button Nancy Cadwallader Gisele Calderon Delia Carr Joanna Carry and Adam Carry Susan Cator and David Cator Jane Cease

Mariya Chadovich Anne Chadwick and Winslow Chadwick Nancy Chaffe and David Chaffe Richard Chait Aisha Champagne Bonnie Chapman and William Chapman Doris Chauvin Elizabeth Chauvin Mary Chauvin Lindsey Childs-Kean Elsie Chisholm Chun-Chih Chiu and I-Ping Chiu Patricia Clay and George Clay Holly Clement and Stephen Clement Gretchen Cloud and L. Cloud Adele Cohen Marilyn Cohen and Jay Cohen Katherine Colley and Rob Colley Julie Connick and Edwin Connick Susan Cook and Clayton Cook Charlotte Cooksey Cynthia Cooper and Scott Cooper Jean Cooper Elizabeth Cooperman and Robert Cooperman Heather Corbett Julie Corcoran and John Corcoran Frances Cort Mary Ann Couch and Ellis Couch Mariana Coudrain Shannon Couhig and Robert Couhig Rachel Couper and Eric Couper Kaye Courington Sally Cox and John Cox Nash Cox Elizabeth Crawford and Keith Crawford Pamela Crigler and Jeremy Crigler Lisa Cristal and Bruce Cybul Vladimir CruzAlexandra Cudney Mildred Currie and William Basco Ann Curtis and Elliot Curtis Barbara Cusachs Martha Cutts and Steven Cutts Marley Cyrluk and Jonathan Cyrluk Patricia D'Andrea and Christopher D'Andrea

Karen Daigle Elizabeth Dalferes Allison Dandry and Bobby Dandry Clare Daniel Jennifer Daniel and Sara Slaughter Andrea Daniels and Michael Daniels Barbara Danos and Robert Danos Frank Daspit Christy Davidson Linda Davies and John Davies Carolyn Davis Yvette Davis Sarah Dawkins Frances Day and Richard Day Hannah Dean Stacy DePizzo Mary Dickson and Brooke Dickson Jeanne Olivier and Robert Dineen Ayame Dinkler and Carling Dinkler Emily Doliner Dorcas Domenico and George Shaffer Joan Donovan and Robert Donovan Annette Doskey Clare Doyle Luann Dozier Sally Drape Robin Dubin and David Dubin Gillian Duncan and Raymond Belknap Jane Duncan and Steve Duncan Stephen Duncan Marian Durfey Elizabeth Dwyer Catherine Edwards and David Edwards Paula Eichenbrenner Lauren Elkin and Matthew Jasie Carolee Elliott and Stephen Elliott Kelly Ellis and William Ellis Victoria Enright and Timothy Enright Renee Epstein and Jeffrey Epstein Donna Esteves and Richard Esteves Merri Ex and Mitchell Ex Amanda Fagan Andree Fant and Donald Fant Siena Farrar

Phyllis Feibelman Roxanne Field and Michael Field Marsha Firestone and Monroe Firestone Briah Fischer Gladys Fisher and Michael Fisher Camille Fitzsimmons Carter Flemming and Michael Flemming Regen Foley Louise Foreman and Mark Foreman Ann Owens and Robin Forman Eleanor Foster Patricia France Diane Frank Jane Frankel Gail Frasier Kathleen Frater and M. Frater Susan Fredlund and John Shupe Charles Freeman Ruth Frierson and Louis Frierson Ellyn Frohberg Allyson Funk and Brad Baker Nancy Gajewski Emily Galik Mary Garrard Joan Garthwaite and Edward Garthwaite Mary Gebhardt Leslie Geddes Jennifer Gelder and Michael Gelder Ana Gershanik and Juan Gershanik Elizabeth Gilmartin and J.J. Gilmartin Barbara Ginsberg and Howard Ginsberg Rosemary Ginzberg and Michael Ginzberg Daniel Glaser Lauren Glaser Carole Gloger Jacqueline Gold and Melvin Gold Gail Gold and Robert Gold Amy Goldberg and Steven Goldberg Doris Goldstein and Martin Goldstein Donna Golub and Seth Golub Monique Goodwin Danielle Gorder

* deceased This information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of July 31, 2020.

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Sheila Gorey Abbey Graf and Jason Graf Allyson Green Anna Clare Green Barbara Greenbaum and Jerry Greenbaum Emily Greenfield and Aaron Viles Julie Greenwald Ericka Griffin and Christopher Griffin Tamar Grills and Craig Grills Anne Grotjan Kathryn Gsell Victoria Guidry Nicolette Guillou Susan Gundlach and James Gundlach Hannah Hale Celia Haley Allyson Halperin Marilyn Hamly Grace Hanchrow and Jack Hanchrow Paige Handley Courtney Hardie and Stephen Hardie Amanda Hardy Gwen Harley and George Harley Jenny Harms Sue Harrell and Tommy Harrell Alexandra Harrington and Michael Harrington Donna Harrington and Bill Harrington Ann Harris Nita Harris Martha Harris-Smith Alanna Harrison Karissa Haugeberg Nan Heard and Paul Krogstad Susan Hecht and Richard Hecht Rosaria Heide and Rudolph Heide Alyson Hellman and Peter Hellman Jacquelynn Hendershott and Charles Hendershott Ingeborg Hendley Jean Hendrickson and R. Hendrickson Jane Henning Julie Henriquez Aldana Susan Herschlag and Richard Herschlag Martha Higgins and Christopher Higgins Daphne Hill Paula Hill Winifred Hills and John Hills Caroline Hinrichs Mary Hocking-Dodge and Joseph Dodge Christine Hoffman

Nancy Hoffman and Phillip Hoffman Paula Hoffman Emily Holm and Theodore Holm Reva Holmes and Michael Holmes Kellie Hope Jan Hopkins and Marc Hopkins Louise Horn Jacquelyne Howard and David Howard Suzanne Howell and Russell Howell Adonija Hoyt and Wade Hoyt Linda Hsu Emma Hurler Alice Hurler and Joseph Hurler Patricia Hurley and Kim Hill Dolliann Hurtig Madison Hurwitz Andrea Huseman and Jeffrey Huseman Nancy Inabnett and Carrick Inabnett Mary Irvine * Jane Jacobs and Douglas Jacobs Julie Jacobs and Angela King James Jacobson Anita Jarrett Sarah Jernigan Jean Jew Jean Johns Dolly Johns and Michael Johns Mary Ellen Johnson and Stephen Johnson Mary Johnson and Ted Percle Peggy Johnson Victoria Johnson Greg Johnston Jennifer Jolly Melinda Jones and Albert Jones Yvette Jones and Jacob Jones Elizabeth Juge and Christopher Juge Melanie Justice Ricki Kanter and Joel Kanter Susan Kantrow and Byron Kantrow Paige Kapp Charel Katz Stephen Kennedy and Chris Keaghey Sarah Kearney and Patrick Kearney Esther Kelly and Francis Kelly Patricia Kelly Tasha Kelly Ann Kenney and John Kenney Sally Kenney and Norman Foster Ann Keogh Jeila Martin Kershaw Margot Kimmel Suzanne Kinney and David Kinney

Lucinda Kittrell Samantha Klein and Mike Melrose Mary Kock Lynn Koff Sue Korach and Jeffrey Korach Mary Koss and Eugene Koss Jennifer Kottler and Robert Kottler Leslie Kramer and William Kramer Molli Kuenstner Kirsten Kuhlmann Mitzi Kuroda and Stephen Elledge Barbara Kurshan Katherine Kusner and Michael Kusner Renee Labadie and Pablo Labadie Amanda LaBella Corinne Laborde and Kenneth Laborde Beverly Lamb Elizabeth Landry and Michael Landry Jacklyn Lane Sally Lapeyre and James Lapeyre Andrea Lapsley and Robert Lapsley Constance Larimer Sandra Lassen Christina Le-Short and Aaron Short Deborah Ledley and Gary Ledley Blaine Legum-Levenson Carla Lentz and Edward Lentz Elizabeth Lentz Katie Lentz Mary Ann Leo Richard Lerner Lisa Lettau Sherry Leventhal and Alan Leventhal Andrea Leverentz Elisa Levy and Miles Rich Laura Levy and Walter Levy Fergie Lewis and Patrick Lewis Jenny Lewis Warren Lichtenstein Barbara Lief Barbara Livingston and Milton Livingston Nia Lizanna Loretta Loftus Leann Logsdon Geneva Longlois-Marney and Christi Longlois Lauren Lugasi Irene Lutkewitte and Thomas Lutkewitte Thomas Lynch Sara Lytle Athalie Macgowan * Lynn Maddox Katye Magee Charlotte Maheu Vail and Mark Vail Amanda Mahnke

Anna Mahoney and Patrick Mahoney S. Mahorner Virginia Maietta Catherine Makk Sarah Mallonee Denise Malone and Thomas Malone Julie Mandell and Robert Mandell Sylvia Margolies and Lawrence Margolies Amie Marney Helen Marsh Deirdre Martel and Lawrence Martel Sally Martin and F. Martin Suzanne Martin and Terry Martin Eva Martinez and Andrew Martinez Mariana Martinez and Adam Martinez Deborah Marx and Stephen Marx Jo Mattison Susan Maynor Lee Mayo and Gary Gusick Janice McCabe and Jeremy Vida Carolyn McCall and William McCall Sonia McCormick Anne McCulloch and Edgar McCulloch E. McGlinchey and Charles Monsted Elizabeth McHugh and Patrick McHugh Sarah McKenney Jean McKinley Sandra McNamee and Douglas McNamee Kara McQueen-Borden Suzanne McShane Claire McVadon and M. McVadon Patricia Meadows and William Meadows Laura Meagher Joyce Menschel Katharine Ross-Merrell and James Merrell Ariel Merritt Roberta Meyer and Richard Michael Kimiko Meyers and Charles Meyers Naomi Meyers Francine Miguel Elaine Miller and Aaron Stambler Lauren Miller Stuart Miller Jennifer Mills Priscilla Mims Casey Mochel Sandra Moise and C. Moise Christine Molaison and W. Molaison

Jeff Morell Anne Morse and James Morse Mary Mouton and Deborah Grant Debbie Mulvenna and Carlo Mulvenna Lamar Murphy and William Murphy Martha Murphy R. Murphy Stephanie Murphy Marcy Nathan Max Nathan Jossy Nebenzahl Patricia Nedd-Doski and David Doski Alison Nelson and David Nelson Elizabeth Nelson and David Kelley Evan Nicoll Lisa Norris Kacey O'Brien and John O'Brien Keiren O'Connell and Carrie Ogorek Colleen O'Donnell Nancy Offit and Morris Offit Anneke Olson Judith Olson and Leonard Olson Statira Overstreet and W. Rich Anna Marie Firkaly and Joseph Paciera Lynne Parrott and John Parrott Marilyn Davis and Robert Passikoff Sybil Patten Amelia Pepper Katherine Peres Jean Paul Perrilliat Clara Perry and Michael Schwartz D. Phillips Susan Phillips Paula Picker and Joel Picker Diane Plauche and Andrew Plauche Uwe Pontius Genevieve Pope and Jeremy Hunnewell Inell Potter Gina Prechter and Stephen Prechter Andrea Price and Todd Price Jill Prickitt and Mason Prickitt Evelyn Prince and Julian Prince Julie Qiu Mary Quan * Ann Queen and Richard Shivar Linda Quick Mary Martha Quinn and David Quinn Maureen Quinn Shelley Quintano and Robert Quintano Victoria Quiroz-Haden Mary Radford and Robert Dana Ruth Radin-Legum and Edward Legum Johna Randa and Duane Randa

* deceased This information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of July 31, 2020.

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Margie Ratliff Annette Rau and Jack Rau Chloe Raub and Daniel Shedd Dana Ray Shirley Reddoch and Gregg Petersen Lisa Rice and Thomas Thompson Andrea Richardson and Christopher Richardson Gracibel Rickerfor Steve Rivera Patricia Robbert and Stanley Goldberg Judy Robbert and Randolph Robbert Suzanne Robbert Amanda Roberts and Sean Roberts Shelley Roberts and Jeffrey Roberts Cathleen Roche and Francis Roche Gabriel Rodriguez Joey Rodriguez Joan Rogers Sonja Romanowski Amanda Roques and Christopher Roques Erica Rose Betty Lee Rosen Emily Rosen Marie Ross and John Ross Vickie Roubion and Richard Roubion Andrea Royce and Charles Royce Melissa Rufty and Alfred Rufty Erin Rusonis Hannah Russell Kathryn Rydberg Lance Rydberg * Read Rydberg Ann Salzer and Earl Retif Caroline Sampson Ruth Sang Teresa Santa Coloma and Lynn Pyke Aracelly Santana Leslie Sargent and David Sargent Olive Sartor Carolyn Saunders Sara Scandurro and Timothy Scandurro

Sallie Scanlan Susan Schaefer Margie Scheuermann and Milton Scheuermann Lauren Lee Schewel and Abraham Schewel Theresa Schieber and Ray Rybak Janet Schinderman Ellen Schneidau and Marc Schneidau Helen Schneidau Jacqueline Schornstein Leslie Schroth Sandra Schwarcz Alexa Schwartz Shelley Scott and Thomas Forbes Sandra Segel and Kenneth Segel Karen Seltzer and Steven Seltzer Martha Sessions and George Sessions Susan Shaffer Bobbi Jo Shannon Deborah Shapiro and Dan Shapiro Michelle Sharp and Jeremy Sharp Maude Sharp Ashley Sheed Brittney Sheena Erin Sheena Michelle Sheena Helene Sheena and Ronnie Sheena Carole Shlipak and Louis Shlipak Joseph Shorter Mary Clare Siegel Marion Siegman Whitney Silverman Dee Silverthorn and Andrew Silverthorn Jennifer Simoneaux and Robert Simoneaux S. Singer Tracey Sirles Cynthia Skaalen Deborah Skrmetta and Eric Skrmetta Carol Slegers and Mark Slegers Katherine Small Aidan Smith and Patrick Sullivan Brooke Smith and Neil Gibbons Carol Smith Charlene Smith

Karen Smith Margery Smith Janis Smythe and Anthony Smythe Marilyn Snook Pamela Spanjer and Byron Spanjer Judith Steinberg and Sylvan Steinberg Jerome Steiner Susan Stine Elizabeth Stocks Kerry Stockwell and Jeremy Stockwell Susan Strachan G. Stricklin and Stephen Nichols Beth Sugarman and Edward Sugarman Ruth Suzman and Andrew Suzman Marleen Swerdlow Robert Symon Nancy Talbot Laura Tanner and Edwin Tanner Angela Tarantino and Rockne Schatz Stephanie Teichner Tammy Thaggert Sarah Therriault and Russell Therriault Patrice Thomas Mary Thompson and Robert Thompson Sheryl Thompson Karline Tierney Kathleen Timmins Alisa Toney Monica Trepagnier and Richard Trepagnier Janis Trossman and Don Trossman Sandra Turkel and Richard Turkel Christine Turner Edmond Turner Lizbeth Turner Patricia Turner * Bonnie Turner and W. Turner Ruth Ulmer Cranch Ernestine Ulrich * Laura Van de Planque and Michael Van de Planque Michelle Van Wyk

Marcia VanderVoort and Thomas VanderVoort Carmen Varley Allie Verlander and David Verlander D. Veta and Mary Dutton Judy Vitrano and Gary Vitrano Patricia Vorhoff and Gilbert Vorhoff Sophie Vorhoff and Harry Vorhoff Robbert Vorhoff Deborah Wafer and Ralph Wafer M. Walker Leigh Anne Wall Shirley Wall and John Wall S. Washington Joan Watkins Celia Weatherhead Brittany Weber Susan Wedlan and Harold Rosen Apryl Wehner Kathy Weil Jocelyn Weinberg Sue Robin Weinhauer and Robert Weinhauer Riki Weinstein and Daniel Morrison Patricia Weiss Martha Wells and Max Wells Patricia Westerman Lauren Wethers Ansley Whitlock and Thomas Whitlock Bridget Wicklander Chloe Wicks Nancy Wiener Kelsey Williams Carol Wise Judilyn Wise and Michael Wise Virginia Wise and Kevin Wilkins Rebecca Wissler Frankie Wolff Laura Wolford Tara Wolman and Steven Wolman Christine Woolf Stephanie Riegel and Gregory Woolverton Heather Yanak M. Young Paula Zielonka and Carl Zielonka Barbara Zinker Elana Zucker and Brian Zucker

CORPORATIONS AND FOUNDATIONS Autodesk Foundation Baton Rouge Area Foundation Betancourt Stuttering Center Blue Grass Community Foundation Boston Foundation Capital One Financial Corporation Dallas Jewish Community Foundation Darryl D. Berger Investment Corporation Deloitte Foundation Delta Air Lines Foundation Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation Emerson Charitable Trust Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Georges Lurcy Charitable and Educational Trust Leonard and Jerry Greenbaum Family Foundation, Inc. Hampton Roads Community Foundation Jewish Endowment Foundation Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Inc. Kahn Education Foundation Kanter Family Foundation Lavin Family Foundation Robert and Joyce Menschel Family Foundation Nebenzahl-Spitz Foundation Out of the Box Foundation Schwab Charitable Fund Steel Partners Foundation The Greater New Orleans Foundation U. S. Charitable Gift Trust M.B. and Edna Zale Foundation

* deceased This information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of July 31, 2020.

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To make a gift, visit giving.tulane.edu/nci

Newcomb Institute sponsors a variety of events on campus and in cities around the country. For a complete list of events, visit newcomb.tulane.edu.

Events

2020 ZALE-KIMMERLING WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE

A talk by

Lauren

Groff

November 17, 2020 6:30 pm | Online via Zoom Register at https://bit.ly/36A1smQ

Celebrating 35 years of the

Zale-Kimmerling Writer-in-Residence Program

LAUREN GROFF is the author of the novels The Monsters of Templeton, shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers, Delicate Edible Birds, a collection of stories, and Arcadia, a New York Times Notable Book, winner of the Medici Book Club Prize, and finalist for the L.A. Times Book Award. Her third novel, Fates and Furies, was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kirkus Award. It won the 2015 American Booksellers’ Association Indies’ Choice Award for Fiction, was a New York Times Notable book and Bestseller, Amazon’s #1 book of 2015, and on over two dozen best-of 2015 lists. Her most recent collection of stories, Florida, was nominated for the 2018 National Book Award. In 2017, she was named by Granta Magazine as one of the Best of Young American Novelists of her generation. In 2018, she received a Guggenheim fellowship in Fiction.

The Zale-Kimmerling Writer-in-Residence Program brings renowned women writers to the uptown campus. Coordinated through the Newcomb Institute, and facilitated by a committee composed of Newcomb-Tulane College students, faculty, and Newcomb Institute staff, the Zale-Kimmerling Writer-in-Residence Program was established by Dana Zale Gerard, NC ’85, and made possible by an annual gift from the M.B. and Edna Zale Foundation of Dallas, Texas. Since 2006, the program has been generously supported by Barnes & Noble College Booksellers. In 2010, the program became fully endowed through a gift from Martha McCarty Wells, NC ’63, and known as the Zale-Kimmerling Writer-in-Residence Program.

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