NEWCOMB N E WS FO R A LU M N A E , ST U D E N T S, A N D PA R E N T S | FA L L 2 01 9
INSIDE
Food: Form and Function
Newcomb alumnae use food as a channel to catalyze leadership, connections, advocacy, and self-expression
From the DIRECTOR Dear Friends,
T “ Our challenging times are a constant reminder of the importance of our work. Nevertheless, we will persist in this great space that is far more than a room of our own. ”
he last year has been a wonderful time of anticipation and preparation for our new space. The excitement has continued over the last two months we have been in the new Commons building. The move has made us feel a bit like someone with a new baby. Today, the baby held up its head. The painting of Mrs. Newcomb is hung. The baby turned over. The pottery went in. The credenza arrived. The bookcases have been erected, the endowed lecture signage went up, the artwork is hung. The building is more wonderful than our wildest imaginings. We have hosted a women faculty luncheon, two alumnae tailgate parties, our Town Mom reception, Fridays at Newcomb speaker series, the annual Custard lecture, Arons Poetry forum, dinners for our residential learning community Spark, and much much more. At the official Commons groundbreaking last fall, I spoke of my gratitude for those who provided the resources for this transformational building. I now express my gratitude to the Newcomb staff who spent the summer planning, packing, purging, preparing. We readied three buildings (admittedly with some help from Hurricane ‘Barely’ that flooded the basement of 1326 Audubon). We spent the sweltering summer doing what none of us considers to be meaningful work. We endured sore muscles and cuts. (I had way too many High Hat Space Cowboys after work.) But we left our spaces better than we found them, and were packed and ready to go early. We adjusted to constantly changing plans and instructions. I am so proud to be a part of this team. As Dr. Melfi in the Sopranos said, “Now the real work can begin.” Our investigation by the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education for discrimination against men has left us with a new mission: to educate undergraduates to achieve gender equity. Our challenging times are a constant reminder of the importance of our work. Nevertheless, we will persist in this great space that is far more than a room of our own. We cannot wait for you to visit. 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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Student Voices
Art Director/Designer Aisha Champagne
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Donor Honor Roll
Contributors Clare Daniel Samantha Perry (SSE ’19) Andrea Price (NC ’98) Molly Pulda Chloe Raub (SLA ’07) Carolyn Scofield Lauren Wethers (SLA ’15, ’16) Kelsey Williams (PH ’19) Photography Jessica Bachmann Paula Burch-Celentano Ed and Aileen photography Cheryl Gerber Sabree Hill Jackson Hill Photography Newcomb Archives Michael Y. Park Katie Small Rachel Weber NEWCOMB is published by Newcomb Institute of Tulane University. Address all inquiries to Newcomb Magazine 6823 St. Charles Ave. | Tulane University New Orleans, LA 70118 | Phone: 1-800-504-5565 NEWCOMB is printed using income from interestbearing endowed funds at the Newcomb Institute, including the Newcomb Alumnae Periodical Fund, established through the kindness of Ann Hodge Macomber (NC ’47). Mailing costs are supported by proceeds from the Mignon Faget Newcomb Jewelry Collection. 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.
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Inside
Departments
25 Events
Sarah Swig (SLA ’14), Policy Associate for the Office of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, gave Newcomb 2019 summer interns a tour of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's Office.
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Features Dig in with Dana
Dana Zale Gerard (NC ’85) shares her culinary school education in blog form.
Food on Television
Culinary producer Martha Tinkler (NC ’05) gives a behind-the-scenes look at cooking shows and the entertainment industry.
Local Catering, Made With Care
Sarah Hall (NC ’99) describes the food identity of the leading New Orleans-based catering company that she runs.
You Are How You Eat
Author Geneen Roth (NC ’73) describes the psychology behind compulsive eating.
Fighting for the Planet, One Meal at a Time
Former Newcomb Scholar Mikayla Stern-Ellis (SSE ’17) explains how her Newcomb experience empowered her to combine vegan nutrition and environmental activism.
“Little Acorns Lead to Mighty Oaks”
New York Times food editor Sara Bonisteel (NC ’98) explains how her formative Newcomb experience continues to motivate and inspire.
In Memory of Meg
Recently-graduated Newcomb Scholar Kelsey Williams (PH ’19) honors her best friend Margaret Maurer in a personal letter.
On the cover: (left to right) Newcomb student leaders Pritika Sharma (SLA ’20), Lindsey DuBose (SLA ’22) and LaKia Williams (SSE ’21) gather over a meal at the new Commons dining hall.
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NEWCOMB Connections
A Message from the Newcomb Alumnae Association President It seems like I just introduced myself to you, and I’m already on my way out! I’m delighted to announce that Lisa D.T. Rice (NC ’83) will be taking my place as the new President of the Newcomb Alumnae Association, effective January 1, 2020. In addition to her Newcomb degree, Lisa holds an M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and works as a consultant in Washington, D.C. Please give Lisa a warm welcome when you see her at our Newcomb
events, both in New Orleans and in the Washington, D.C. area. I’m also happy to tell you that we have successfully finished our fundraising campaign to raise $100,000 to endow a Newcomb Scholar in perpetuity. The Newcomb Scholars program provides talented undergraduates with the opportunity to pursue original research, take part in an interdisciplinary cohort with other students interested in remedying gender-based inequities, and develop their leadership skills. Thank you to everyone who donated and supported this campaign. Not only do we believe in this program, but drives like this show Tulane how engaged and supportive Newcomb women are. The big news around campus is the new home of Newcomb Institute: The Commons! Newcomb’s space occupies the entire third floor of the Commons, with meeting spaces, 21st century classrooms, offices, the archives, and even an outdoor courtyard and
lounge. Our annual reunion lunch will take place on the third floor of the Commons. Our NAA fall 2019 Book Club is The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner. We have book club meetings scheduled in 20 different cities— check newcombalumnae.tulane.edu/ bookclub for a meetup in your city. Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to serve as president of our Alumnae Association. The more I get to know all of you, the prouder I am to be a Newcomb
alumna. As always, if you have ideas for how your alumnae association can serve you better, please reach out and share at newcombalumnae@tulane.edu or call 800-504-5565.
Andrea Mahady Price (NC ’98)
Current Newcomb Alumnae Association Board of Directors
Popular Programs Continue to Engage Alumnae Nationwide
Tulane first-year student Sofia Pedrelli (B '23) met with her Town Mom Katie Gray (SLA '13) for the first time at our reception in September.
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Newcomb Institute offers many opportunities for alumnae to connect with their Newcomb roots, including two mentoring programs. The Newcomb Town Mom Program matches first-year students with a local NOLA-area alumna to help ease the transition to college life in a new city, while the Newcomb Mentoring Program matches 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students with alumnae nationwide. With groups meeting every fall and spring semester, the Newcomb Book Club continues to thrive, connecting Newcomb alumnae and fostering a diverse community
throughout the U.S. This year’s fall book selection features Time’s #1 Fiction Title of the Year, The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner. Alumnae will meet in more than 20 cities nationwide to discuss the New York Times bestselling novel, which follows the journey of Romy Hall, a mother serving two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility deep in California’s Central Valley. The Mars Room explores the daily realities of incarceration: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive, the bluffing and pageantry
and casual acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike, and the deadpan absurdities of institutional living, portrayed with great humor and precision. Author Rachel Kushner will travel from her home in Los Angeles to host a reading at Newcomb Institute on Monday, November 12, from 6 to 7 p.m. Those who cannot attend in person are invited to follow along virtually, in our book club Facebook group where the event will be live-streamed: www.facebook.com/ groups/newcombbookclub.
Over 130 alumnae returned to Newcomb’s campus to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Josephine Louise House.
Memories Shared at 100th Anniversary Celebration of Josephine Louise House One of Newcomb College’s four original buildings, Josephine Louise House (or JL, as it is commonly referred to by residents) has been home to generations of Newcomb and Tulane women. Last year marked the 100th year anniversary of the historic building, with Homecoming celebrations that brought over 130 alumnae back to campus to share their unique memories of life in Tulane’s only all-women residence hall. In attendance was Newcomb College alumna Catherine Edwards (NC ’72), who left the celebration with a renewed appreciation for the lifelong friendships that she made
during her time at Josephine Louise. “Some of my dearest lifelong friends are those who lived in Josephine Louise. I marvel that others had so many of the same experiences in this very place for 100 years. It was safe, and it was home. It is a bond which connects me to thousands of other women who began their adult lives as I did.” Kaye Courington (NC ’80, G ’82, Law ’87) felt similarly: “I think that JL, to many of its former inhabitants, is associated strongly with the beginning of life-long friendships. I know it is for me. I think that’s why our “100 Years of Josephine Louise House” Facebook page, which is still going strong with nearly 600
Join the Josephine Louise Facebook group!
(facebook.com/groups/JL100)
members, is filled with so many great photos and memories.” The Josephine Louise Facebook group acted as a virtual bulletin board leading up to the event, where alumnae shared photos and other memories from their time in JL. At the brunch celebration a slideshow displayed
the collective scrapbook memories, while alumnae picked out their firstyear dormitory room on a map and discovered the shared ways in which they carried their JL experience with them throughout their time at Newcomb and beyond.
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Noteworthy at NEWCOMB Newcomb Archives Now Available Online
(Above, top) First Career Conference Outstanding Success, Distaff. Photographer: Nancy Ries. From the Mary Gehman papers (NA-142). (Above, bottom) Newcomb Institute Reading Room on the third floor of the Commons.
The Newcomb Archives and Nadine Robbert Vorhoff Collection, which preserve, collect, and share manuscripts, books, and other materials that document the history of women and gender in the Gulf South, are now available online for all to view. The Digital Repository houses the Archives' digitized and borndigital collections. Highlights include photographs from the 2017 Women's March on Washington; posters and author interviews from the Zale-Kimmerling Writersin-Residence program, including interviews with Ann Patchett, Gloria Naylor, and Octavia Butler; and interviews from the Newcomb College Alumnae Oral History Project. The Alumnae Oral History Project, officially started in 1986, includes interviews with Newcomb College graduates from 1910 through the late 1990s. The Project grew out of a popular weekly series
hosted by the Newcomb College Center for Research on Women (then known as the Newcomb Women’s Center) in the early 1980s, during which faculty members would interview a local alumna. The women interviewed explore memories of their days in college, as well as how their lives evolved after leaving Newcomb. Many have different perspectives on Newcomb’s past, and every alumna has an individual voice. Together, the interviews create a more complete picture of the historic Newcomb College and its influence on the lives of its graduates. For those who would like to explore the archives in person, the Newcomb Institute Reading Room on the third floor of the Commons is open to all for quiet study and open to researchers by appointment. Visit newcomb.tulane.edu/ archives to access the digital collection and more.
Intersectionality Symposium Investigates Legacy of Slavery This spring, Newcomb hosted the first of what will be a biennial symposium focused on generating crucial conversations around race, gender, and law. Aimed at investigating the legal and political legacies of slavery and colonialism through an intersectional lens, the symposium was funded by a Carol Lavin Bernick Faculty Grant and served as a great opportunity for Newcomb’s postdoctoral fellows to receive feedback on their research from leading scholars and distinguished Tulane faculty. The Newcomb Institute postdoctoral fellows included Bonnie Lucero (University of Houston) and Emma Shakeshaft (ACLU of Wisconsin), both of 4
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whom were Law & Society Fellows at Newcomb from 2017-2018, and Maria R. Montalvo, Newcomb’s 20182019 Bonquois Fellow in Women’s History in the Gulf South. The fellows presented research on race and reproduction in Cuba’s slave society, legal definitions of race in transracial adoption cases in the United States, and the adjudication of slave ownership by free people of color in nineteenth-century New Orleans. The symposium included a panel that explored the usefulness of intersectionality as a theoretical framework for revealing the legacies of slavery and colonialism. Featured moderators included renowned legal scholar, Dorothy
Scholars Deirdre Cooper Owens, Dorothy Roberts, and Marisa Fuentes discuss the legacy of slavery and colonialism.
Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law & Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, and distinguished historians Marisa Fuentes, Presidential Term Chair in African American History and Associate Professor of Women’s
and Gender Studies and History at Rutgers University, and Deirdre Cooper Owens, Linda and Charles Wilson Professor in the History of Medicine and Director of the Humanities in Medicine Program.
Tulane Associate Professor of Political Science Mirya Holman (left) and University of Toronto Assistant Professor Erin Tolley (right) discuss the gender gap in politics.
Faculty Workshop Examines Barriers to Women in State and Local Politics In February, Newcomb Institute hosted a workshop examining the challenges women candidates face when running for state and local office. More than 25 scholars from around the country attended the two-day event co-sponsored by Louisiana State University’s Reilly Center. The workshop featured a dozen papers covering topics including candidates of color, representation of the working class,
and the role of gender in elections. In addition to looking at elections in the United States, scholars discussed politics in Germany, Canada, and Brazil. Mirya Holman, associate professor of political science at Tulane, helped organize the workshop; along with Anna Mahoney, administrative assistant professor of women’s political leadership at Newcomb Institute, Tiffany Barnes, Richard E. Greenleaf
Members of the 2017-2018 Spark RLC cohort.
Igniting the ‘Spark’ of Leadership Josephine Louise Hall has been a space for Newcomb and Tulane women to live, connect, and thrive for more than one hundred years. Now, residents can also take part in an intellectual community tied
to Newcomb’s mission. Since 2017, first-year students residing in Josephine Louise have been able to apply to participate in Spark, a residential learning community (RLC) sponsored by Newcomb
Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies at the Roger Thayer Stone Center for Latin American Studies, and Nichole Bauer of LSU. “We have right now a critical mass of scholars at Tulane,” Holman says. “This is a unique circumstance where we have enough people that we could provide a conference and have great feedback. This is not something that a lot of universities can provide.”
Holman says it is important to study politics at the local and state level, to understand how women can reach the highest levels of government. “If you want more women to be elected to national office, you really should focus on electing them to local and state level office, so they get the experience necessary to be a competitive candidate,” Holman said.
Institute in partnership with Tulane Housing and Residence Life. Spark RLC provides a place for first-year Tulane women to find their ‘spark’—their own Tulane pathway. Located on the third floor of Josephine Louise, it is a small community focused on leadership, feminism, and social justice. Now in its third year, the 2019-20 Spark residents are learning how to articulate their identities as leaders by participating in a curriculum based on the Social Change Model of Leadership. Students also take a TIDES (Tulane InterDisciplinary Experience Seminar) course together, taught by Administrative Assistant Professor of Women’s Leadership Dr. Julie Henriquez Aldana. “It’s exciting to see how the residents make the community their
own from year to year,” said Lauren Wethers (SLA ’15, ’16), Program Manager for Student Leadership and Engagement. “Although we continue to keep the same focus on gender equity and women’s leadership, each group of residents explores that differently.” The biggest shift this year is the addition of a second-year component to the community. Sophomores who are past residents of Spark—affectionately dubbed ‘Fireworks’—delve deeper into leadership development, mentor the first-year Spark students, and will be designing a community service project for the residents in the spring semester.
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Noteworthy at NEWCOMB Newcomb Summer Program Creates a Feminist Community for High School Students The 2019 Newcomb Summer Session expanded this year to include a full campus experience, introducing high school students to residential college life, from dorms and daily trips to the dining hall to late-night discussions. Among the new courses offered was Dismantling Rape Culture, co-taught by Sally J. Kenney and Laura Wolford, which they adapted from their popular undergraduate course at Tulane. Students confronted difficult topics, including gender-based violence on campus and in communities.
In addition to their daily seminar, students viewed documentaries and gained skills in self-care and survivor support. Frances Isom, a rising high school junior who participated in the Dismantling Rape Culture class, says the course gave her a new perspective on the #MeToo Movement. “When my cousins or adult family members have asked me what I did this summer and I say, ‘Oh, I took a course at Tulane University’ and they ask 'What was the course about?’—once I say ‘Dismantling Rape Culture’
In addition to gaining a glimpse of college life while living in Newcomb-Tulane residence halls, students enjoyed a field trip to NOLA Craft Culture, a new business co-owned by Newcomb alumna Virginia Saussy (NC ’88), where they decorated Newcomb sunglasses in colorful New Orleans style.
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they quickly change the topic to something else,” Frances said. “People aren’t comfortable discussing, or even hearing the word rape—they’re shocked that I would even say the word. And now I realize that their discomfort is a part of the culture, too.” Frances said that the class armed her with alarming facts and statistics, and that she has since taken on the role of activist, using social media as a tool to educate her classmates on the prevalence of rape culture. Her mother, Lanier Isom, has noticed a new awareness in her daughter. “At first when Frances came back, and she was telling me the details of the rape cases and what she studied, I was a little hesitant; like, maybe this was too much too soon,” Lanier said. “But then I noticed a fundamental shift in her perspective that I don’t even think she is aware of; when the news comes on, and there’s a story about a rape or a #MeToo situation, Frances will bring up what they read in class—she has a historical context for it now. Before, when she heard stuff on the news it went over her head and didn’t resonate with her, but now she pays attention and has insight into these issues.” Molly Pulda, director of the program, offered a creative writing course, Women Writing Out Loud, in which students crafted pieces for an original literary magazine. In the course Women Leading New Orleans, taught by Julie Henriquez Aldana and Clare Daniel of Newcomb Institute, students researched leadership attributes of accomplished Newcomb alumnae and New Orleans residents, compiling their findings in an electronic zine. In Women in Advocacy, Aidan Smith of Newcomb
Institute taught students strategic communications strategies for social justice activism. Newcomb alumna Janis van Meerveld (NC ’84, L *87), U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, gave an eye-opening presentation on implicit bias. Local restaurant owners Kristen Essig and Danielle Sutton (NC ’95), another Newcomb alumna, once again visited Summer Session to talk about the #MeToo movement in the restaurant industry, shining light on the 2017 sexual harassment cases that rocked the New Orleans restaurant world. Last year, a cohort of students conducted a research project on gender issues in restaurants—from discrimination against women chefs to employee harassment— and presented it before Essig and Sutton’s discussion. Evelynn Coffie, who completed her second year of Newcomb Summer Session, said, “From this program, I gained new peers with eye-opening perspectives; trust and respect for my mentors, who fostered progressive environments to build better discussion; and faith in myself, as a woman, that one day I can use the tools from this program to sustain a brighter future.” Newcomb Summer Session Director Molly Pulda notes that, “Now that the program is in its third year, former students of Newcomb Summer Session are returning to campus as Tulane freshmen. They are taking class with Newcomb faculty, applying to the Newcomb Scholars Program, and joining Newcomb-sponsored clubs and organizations. I am proud that we sparked their interest in our feminist community on campus.”
Nora K. Jemisin (NC ’94) was the 34th Zale-Kimmerling Writer in Residence; after her reading and interview with Lauren Wethers (SLA ’15, ’16), Jemisin met individually with students, including second-year Maiya Tate (SLA ’22).
Annual Writer-in-Residence Program Continues to Inspire New Generation of Students Every year since 1985, the ZaleKimmerling Writer-in-Residence Program has brought a renowned woman writer to campus to spend a week among students eager for insight about the author and her writing process. The program has expanded to a comprehensive schedule of events, writing workshops, and seminars that connect Tulane students with their literary heroes. Recent writers-in-residence include Zadie Smith and Rebecca Solnit, while previous participants were acclaimed authors like Ann Patchett, Dorothy Allison,
and Octavia Butler. Coordinated through the Newcomb Institute, and facilitated by a committee of students, faculty, and staff, the 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 Kimmerling Wells (NC ’63). This year marked the first time a Newcomb alumna served
as writer-in-residence: Nora K. Jemisin (NC ’94) has written novels, multi-book series, and short stories. Jemisin specializes in speculative fiction, a genre characterized by elements that are supernatural, futuristic, or otherwise otherworldly. In 2016, she became the first African American writer to win the Best Novel Hugo Award, for The Fifth Season. In 2018, she was the first author to win three Hugos in a row, for her Broken Earth trilogy. She has also won a Nebula Award, two Locus Awards, and a number of other honors. A diverse audience of students and local science fiction fans welcomed Jemisin enthusiastically. Delighted to be back in New Orleans—a city she would like to live in again—Jemisin read a short story set in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, called “Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters.” Jemisin assumed a New Orleans accent for one of her characters, pausing to check with the approving audience on whether she sounded authentic. After the reading, Lauren Wethers (SLA ’15, ’16) of the Newcomb Institute interviewed Jemisin in a conversation that focused on the challenges of writing as a black woman in the predominantly white, male genre of science fiction. Jemisin visited five Tulane classes during the week and answered students’ questions about writing habits, fame, and her memories of Tulane in the 1990s. During an advanced creative writing class, a student asked Jemisin about her pre-writing process. In response, Jemisin took out her laptop, opened the file with the 16-page outline of her current novel, and passed her computer around the room,
so each student could take a look. The class was in awe of Jemisin’s generosity—and the thoroughness of her pre-writing process. Jemisin’s generosity extended to meeting individually with students as well, including a manuscript review that she conducted for third-year Newcomb Scholar Riley Moran. “Hanging out with Nora for the afternoon was a dream. I inhaled The Broken Earth Trilogy and was as nervous as I was excited to meet her but felt so at ease as soon as we sat down together,” Riley said. “Aside from being a fantastic writer and thoughtful reader, Nora is also a kind and cool person. We've since emailed back and forth a few times, and I'm more than grateful for her advice, stories, and general awesomeness.” The 2020 Zale-Kimmerling writer is novelist Lauren Groff, author of the novels The Monsters of Templeton, 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, won the 2015 American Booksellers’ Association Indies’ Choice Award for Fiction, was a New York Times Notable book and Bestseller, and Amazon’s #1 book of 2015. Among her many accolades, she was named one of the Best of Young American Novelists of her generation by Granta Magazine, and in 2018 she received a Guggenheim fellowship in fiction. Save the date—Groff is scheduled to spend a week on campus in March, her residency beginning with a public reading on March 16, 2020.
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DIG IN WITH DANA
Culinary Tips and Tricks from Cordon Bleu
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ana Zale Gerard (NC ’85) is a familiar name around Newcomb, most often associated with the Zale-Kimmerling Writer in Residence Program that she started as an undergraduate English major in 1985. Less well-known is the interesting turn Gerard’s own literary path took when she eventually combined her love for writing with her love for food. At age 47, with two children in college and one in high school, Gerard enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Dallas. The four-year degree program culminated with an apprenticeship as a junior baker for fine-dining Texan chef Stephan Pyles. Going back to school late in life gave Gerard a renewed appreciation for the value of life-long learning; the program tested everything from her creativity and ingenuity to her computer skills. At the time, her own college age children were beginning to cook for themselves and often turned to her for advice and family recipes, inspiring her to start a cooking blog. Titled Dig in with Dana, the blog is “a way for me to connect with my children and pass along my love of food to them—it’s intended for young people who want to learn to cook but are pressed for time,” Gerard said. “The goal is to share some of the knowledge I learned at Cordon Bleu and to map
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out the way I think about menu planning, to try to make it logical and approachable no matter your degree of experience in the kitchen.” Dig in with Dana features simple family recipes and showcases tips and tricks that Gerard says she wishes she knew when she was first beginning to cook on her own. The blog is currently evolving into a physical cookbook and continues to provide a creative outlet for her to teach herself new skills, from food photography to exploring content management systems like WordPress. Her improved computer literacy skills inspired Gerard to contribute to the Zale Family Foundation’s generous donation to support Newcomb Institute’s media labs in The Commons. The donation provided a much-needed hardware upgrade to support a technology internship program for undergraduates. Gerard’s culinary life has provided other ways for her to stay connected to her Newcomb roots. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu, she started a Dallas cooking club with her Newcomb Little, Lynne Siegel (NC ’88). Meeting once every three months under the moniker “The Biscuit Girls,” the group seeks out challenging new recipes to take them outside of their comfort zones. According to Gerard, “It’s a fun, non-competitive atmosphere where we get together and explore different foods and continue to learn new skills.” In addition to the Biscuit Girls, she regularly hosts the Newcomb Alumnae Association book club in Dallas.
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Food on Television
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Food Entertainment Industry
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f you’ve caught even a glimpse of a Food Network show at any point in the last ten years, then chances are you’ve watched Newcomb alumna Martha Tinkler (NC ’05) at work. Tinkler is a food stylist, a culinary producer, a recipe developer and a food photographer. Her culinary creations have aired on major networks from ABC to PBS, from shows like Delicious Miss Brown and Pati’s Mexican Table, to the food section of the New York Times. A quick Google search will tell you that a food stylist is the person who pours motor oil on a stack of pancakes to keep them fresh for a photo shoot, but Tinkler says that’s not really what goes on behind the scenes. A food stylist might work on print productions but they are also behind the scenes of your favorite cooking show, working to build the casserole that Rachael Ray miraculously pulls out of the oven five minutes after putting it in. For print food styling, where food is made specifically for a photo shoot, Tinkler reveals that the amount of fake ingredients involved depends on the nature and audience of the publication in question. “With the Times, [the food] needs to be real, for journalistic integrity; it’s almost libelous if you print a recipe along with a photo of food that is made with fake ingredients,” she explained. “I might spray food with water or olive oil to make it look dewy, or I’ll pull it out of the oven early or let it go long—I might cut things a certain way to make them look good for a photo, but I do very little fake stuff.” Much of Tinkler’s work in the entertainment industry is informed by the intended audience—this especially affects the kind of food that she creates when working as a recipe developer. For FoodNetwork.com, Tinkler develops recipes that are considered 10
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more accessible and less chic than something that might appear in the New York Times—one example is the White Castle Thanksgiving stuffing recipe that she was recently hired to write. “Why anyone would want to eat stuffing made from a White Castle burger is beyond me, but people were searching for it [online] so it needed to be made.” When not styling food on set or developing and photographing recipes at home, Tinkler primarily works as a culinary producer. In food entertainment lingo, that essentially means that she is in charge of the large crew of production and kitchen assistants that work to make a culinary television show run smoothly. Whenever you see an apple pie being made on a tv show, another pie is being prepared in a different kitchen behind the scenes, so that during a commercial break the crew can quickly switch out the pie that was just assembled on-air for the finished version that went into an oven forty minutes earlier. It is the culinary producer’s responsibility to ensure that the two pies are identical, down to the exact measurement of flour and the shape and color of the pie pan involved. The work of a culinary producer involves design details as well, anticipating camera movements while managing several moving parts, all in a high energy environment, under intense pressure and with a strict timeline. “It’s infinitely more complicated than you would think when you’re watching it,” Tinkler said. Her many job titles are all intricately related and part of a complicated system of food entertainment hierarchy. For the last fifteen years Tinkler has worked her way up the chain of command; she started as a kitchen assistant and is now the go-to culinary producer for Food Network’s home studio in New York. However, as a freelancer living in Manhattan, she picks up work when and wherever she can, which is why she continues to work as a stylist and recipe developer. “I’m a worker bee—I work pretty much every day, usually two weekends a month. I don’t really book myself down time,” Tinkler said. Her work ethic is inspired in part by the fickle nature of the entertainment industry, but Tinkler’s natural inclination to hustle dates back to her Newcomb days. As an undergrad she juggled multiple part time jobs to put herself through college, from stacking shelves at Tulane’s law resource library to waiting tables and nannying on the weekends. An American Studies major, Tinkler moved to D.C. after graduating to pursue a career in lobbying, but quickly realized that office life was not for her. During this time, she had continued to pick up “cater-waiting” gigs—working one-off jobs as a waitress for catering companies. This experience, in addition to an apprenticeship as a line cook, eventually led to her first job as a kitchen assistant for Food Network’s now-disgraced culinary personality Paula Deen. Tinkler was witness to another scandalous fall-from-grace while working with celebrity chef Mario Batali, whose shows Molto Mario and The Chew were cancelled after sexual assault allegations surfaced in late 2017. News of the charges against Batali broke shortly after New Orleans chef John Besh was charged with similar sexual assault crimes. Tinkler feels that the chauvinistic environment perpetuated by shows like Hell’s Kitchen create an industry and a culture rampant with sexual assault and harassment. “Common stereotypes of ‘the Business’ are often true—it’s a competitive environment plagued by a culture of fear and shaming,” Tinkler said. “There’s this general idea that being mean and stern makes you a better worker—that yelling and screaming and humiliating people on set is the only way to get things done.” As she has grown into her role as producer and manager, Tinkler has tried to combat sexist and toxic work environments, focusing instead on creating an on-set culture that is positive and welcoming. “On a corporate level, the Batali thing was a big wake-up call—[at Food Network] they’re minding their P’s and Q’s and sending in HR reps to hold sensitivity trainings now,” Tinkler explained. “On an individual level, I try to affect change at work by doing my best to create a culture where people can be open and honest. It’s more productive that way.”
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LOCAL CATERING, Made With Care S
arah Hall graduated from Newcomb in 1999 with a joint degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies. In her senior year she and three classmates received a grant to plan a Women in Politics leadership retreat. The experience was transformative, causing Hall to completely switch her career trajectory a few months before graduating: “At the ripe old age of 21 I realized that I was feeling burnt out on politics. But I did enjoy the planning part of the retreat, and in that way, Newcomb played a pivotal role in my career path.” Hall discovered that event planning posed a fun, interesting challenge: “I had always enjoyed things like interior design, aesthetic elements… this was a side of my personality that I hadn’t focused on before.” With no connections or experience in the event planning world, Hall cold-called local New Orleans catering company Joel Catering, asking for part-time work. She started a week after graduating from Newcomb and quickly worked her way up the ranks, from receptionist, to production manager, to sales manager. One of the first events that Hall managed for Joel Catering was Tulane’s Wave Goodbye celebration—a responsibility she took on just a year after her own commencement. She briefly left the company for a year at age 26 to travel the US selling private party packages for Emeril’s Restaurant, but would return to Joel Catering to become VP and then President of the company. Still in her twenties, Hall managed the company during Hurricane Katrina and the recession in 2008. She restructured the organization and oversaw the purchase of their event space, Il Mercato, in 2013. The historic Spanish-style building, located on Magazine Street across from Sophie Wright Park, was originally an open-air food market built in the 1930’s as a WPA project. Il Mercato events often involve private parties and weddings, but a significant portion of Joel Catering work takes place offsite in the form of corporate dinners and political fundraisers. Former clientele include President George Bush, then-Senator Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as the NBA and Microsoft. According to Hall, the high-security requirements at VIP events most often means “a ton of hoops to jump through and rules to follow” and in general, more work. “With political fundraisers, you’re working closely with the secret service and often the President doesn’t end up eating anything at the event anyway.” Joel Catering is committed to providing quality food and the best possible dining experience for their clients. That commitment is expressed in what Hall describes as the Joel Catering “food identity”—quality ingredients sourced from local and regional farms. “Being where we are in New Orleans, in the Gulf South, the farm to table movement is really important to us and something that is very present in our menus,” Hall said. Joel Catering sources their shrimp, oysters and crab exclusively from the Gulf, in an effort to support the health of the local economy, community, and the planet. In a city known for its unique culinary traditions, and less for its environmental ethos, Joel Catering stands out. Hall explained that operating in a way that is sustainable for the environment is uniquely challenging in a catering business, where large events for thousands of people can lead to an overwhelming amount of single-use plastic waste. “It turns your stomach to see 5 or 6 thousand plates going into the trash after one event, which is why we make our absolute best effort to be eco-friendly.” Joel Catering uses china at most of their private events; for larger gatherings they use bamboo plates, cornstarch forks, and other green alternatives to single-use plastics. Food waste is combatted by giving leftovers to clients, staff, Second Harvest Food Bank and other non-profits. The company’s conscious approach to food as business has personal meaning for Hall. “I think food is so crucial to life and community—I can’t imagine any family or [social] gathering where food doesn’t play a really important role.” She emphasized that good food is most often simple food. “It doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive or fancy… good food just needs to be made by someone who cares.”
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You Are How You Eat The Psychology Behind Compulsive Eating
G
eneen Roth (NC ’73) believes that the way we eat is inseparable from our core beliefs about being alive—that our relationship with food is an exact mirror to our feelings about love, fear, and even God. “We eat the way we live,” Roth says. “Our relationship to food, money, love is an exact reflection of our deepest-held beliefs about ourselves and the amount of joy, abundance, pain, and scarcity, we believe we have (or are allowed) to have in our lives,” she said. “No matter how sophisticated or wealthy or broke or enlightened you are, how you eat tells all.” That premise is the cornerstone of Roth’s New York Times bestselling book Women, Food, and God, and the inspiration behind her nine other books, including When Food Is Love, Lost and Found, and The Craggy Hole in My Heart and the Cat Who Fixed It. When she’s not making guest appearances on national television shows like Oprah, 20/20, The View and Good Morning America, Roth leads retreats and workshops all over the country, teaching participants to examine their personal relationship with food to discover the fulfillment they long for.
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On her website Roth writes, “The way to transform our relationship with food is to be open, curious and kind with ourselves—instead of punishing, impatient and harsh. I've worked with hundreds of thousands of people using meditation, inquiry, and a set of seven eating guidelines that are the foundation of natural eating.” Roth was one of the pioneering authors to examine the psychology behind compulsive eating and perpetual dieting in her first book, When Food is Love. As a child she struggled with eating disorders that would continue to plague her as an undergraduate at Newcomb studying psychology and English. “My relationship with food was always a crazed, hellish relationship,” she said. “By the time I got to Newcomb I saw the world through the lens of the size of my body. I took the size of my body as a measure of my self-worth.” Roth’s eating disorders were only exacerbated by the abundance of delicious food in New Orleans—she and her roommates would have beignet eating contests, sometimes eating up to 14 doughnuts in one sitting. “I just went for it in New Orleans, continuing the diet and binge cycle that I’d been on since I was 11 years old,” Roth said. Roth continued to struggle with her relationship to food well into her twenties: “I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and I became anorexic—I weighed 82 pounds for a year and a half, and then at some point I gained 80 pounds and doubled my weight… I was in anguish. I realized that I couldn’t go on living like that. I really needed to deal with what was going on with me and food.” During this time Roth had enrolled briefly in graduate school programs for pre-med and social work; driven by a natural inclination to help others, she eventually realized she needed to help herself first. “I realized I needed to look inside, to find out why I was using food, what were the emotional and mental reasons, what was going on that caused such extreme behavior.” Roth re-discovered her love for writing during this dark time, using it as a tool to examine her relationship to food. Much has changed since she published her first book in 1991, but her work remains relevant in a fast-paced society that leaves little time for self-reflection. Whether it’s through food, using drugs and alcohol, shopping sprees, toxic relationships, or even an addiction to social media, Roth feels that “we all, every single one of us, have different ways of expressing what we need, what we want, what we feel, what we fear—but we often don’t allow ourselves to express those feelings.” While our social and cultural norms play no small role in the psychology of compulsive eating, Roth focuses her work on individual choice and the inner life as it relates to food. At her week-long retreats, participants meet every day to meditate, move, and eat together—at meal times, Roth’s students dig into the psychology at play when they put food on their plate, from analyzing which food they chose and why, to examining the portion size they allow themselves. “I’m endlessly surprised by what I learn about the psychology of my retreat participants,” Roth says. “Whether I hear things like, ‘I’m grieving because my mother died and there’s nothing I can do to change that so I might as well eat’ or ‘I can’t take too much food because there are people starving in other parts of the world’—your relationship with food is an out-picturing of your relationship with yourself,” Roth said. “What do you think is possible for you, in this body, in this lifetime?” Visit geneenroth.com for more information about Geneen Roth’s work.
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Fighting for the Planet, One Meal at a Time
M
ikayla Stern-Ellis (SSE ’17) became a vegetarian and then a vegan before she ever stepped foot on Tulane’s campus, but her involvement in the Newcomb Scholars Program only helped to strengthen her commitment to animal rights and environmentalism. Stern-Ellis double-majored in ecology evolutionary biology and anthropology, combining those areas in her final research thesis where she analyzed the effects of drought on white-faced capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica. Stern-Ellis travelled to Costa Rica three times during her undergraduate career, with her research culminating in a natural study of the rising mortality rates among a group of monkeys living in Santa Rosa National Park. Because the monkeys lived in a protected environment, the researchers were able to isolate the causes of death, ruling out poaching and other directly human-related causes. “In addition to the higher mortality rates, we noticed that the monkeys’ behavior changed—they weren’t moving as much, there wasn’t as much fruit available for them, so they were searching for insects, which aren’t their primary food source,” Stern-Ellis explained. “I was following these monkeys every day but we weren’t allowed to touch them, we weren’t allowed to help them if they got sick, if they died; we couldn’t get involved because it was a totally natural study,” Stern-Ellis said. “I felt like a bystander to their suffering.” To combat the feeling of helplessness that she experienced while watching the monkeys starve, she began to encourage her fellow researchers to consider a diet with a lower carbon footprint. “The one thing we could do was to change what we brought to lunch everyday… choosing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of turkey would have a positive impact on the livelihood of these monkeys.” Stern-Ellis’ thesis traced the many ways that drought affects our ecosystem and analyzed how greenhouse gases specifically impact the occurrence of drought. She argues that “veganism is one of the best ways that you can individually impact the release of greenhouse gases.” During her senior year, Stern-Ellis worked with Sally J. Kenney and Tulane Professor of Anthropology Katherine Jack to bring primatologist Jane Goodall to Tulane’s campus. Stern-Ellis was able to meet Goodall in person and credits the once-ina-lifetime opportunity to the Newcomb Scholars Program and the close partnerships it fosters between students and faculty. “Nobody would have known that I was passionate about Jane Goodall if I hadn’t been in contact with Dr. Jack or been in Newcomb writing papers on primates—nobody would have included me in the [planning process] and I would have just been one of the hundreds of people in the audience,” she said. “Instead I got the most amazing opportunity—meeting Jane Goodall was a dream come true for me,” Stern-Ellis said. “She was one of these huge figures who really shaped what I wanted to do with my life… the presence that she brings into a room is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It was the cherry on top to my college experience.” Stern-Ellis benefitted from the interactions with her Newcomb Scholars cohort, students with majors outside of her area of study and who she might not have gotten to know otherwise. She said that the guidance and support she received from the program was unparalleled and gave her an advantage over her Tulane classmates who struggled to write their senior theses on their own, with less formal academic support. “I remember several nights spent with Newcomb Scholar friends, sitting in a classroom in the Business School going over and over our thesis presentations—that helped me so much, to have that community. There was so much variety in the areas of study, I was able to learn things [from my peers] about topics I’ve never studied.” Unsurprisingly, Stern-Ellis has continued to travel and grow since graduating two years ago—she spent time living and working on a kibbutz in Israel where she perfected her Hebrew language skills, then became a preschool teacher in San Diego, where she is originally from. She currently lives with her husband and his family in Chennai, India, where she is studying nutrition with plans to prevent eating disorders in children and advocate for healthier meal programs in preschools.
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“Little Acorns Lead to Mighty Oaks” I
n mid-September, Sara Bonisteel (NC ’98) stopped by Newcomb Institute's new home in the Commons to search through the extensive cookbook collection in the Newcomb Archives. Bonisteel was researching Depression-era Southern recipes for a New York Times article; a Michigan native, she has been an editor with the New York Times food desk for the last five years, reviewing daily columns in addition to developing recipes for NYT Cooking, the Times’ subscription-based recipe app. While at Newcomb, Bonisteel studied anthropology and photography, and was actively involved in Tulane’s WTUL radio station. Despite having written several music reviews for The Hullaballoo, she hadn’t seriously considered a career in journalism until she visited Angola Prison Radio Station, where a chance encounter with a New York Times reporter inspired Sara to pursue an MS in Journalism from Medill Northwestern. After graduating from Medill, Bonisteel found work as a general assignment reporter, eventually transitioning into the role of food editor at AOL and later Epicurious. Her journalism career took off right before social media did, and has required constant flexibility: “Back in the day, the job was writing a story, seeing it go to print, being done with it and moving on,” Bonisteel said. “Now you have to be a self-promoter of your work, from the very reporting process where you’re taking photos on your phone that you know you’re going to use for an Instagram post once the story runs, to trying to craft [relevant] tweets to spark discussion.” Coming up in the often unpredictable and unstable landscape of digital journalism, Bonisteel witnessed layoffs and newsroom shakeups, but relied on her formative Newcomb experience to find strength: “In difficult times I remember the Newcomb mantra, ‘Little acorns lead to mighty oaks’… It’s a life lesson that’s hard to learn, but if you’re good at adapting to change, you’ll be fine in life. Over time, if you persist, you survive and you thrive.” Bonisteel is a self-described “project cook”—she enjoys spending her weekends tackling challenging recipes, often paying homage to her New Orleans roots. From king cake to smoked pork shoulder and jambalaya, her love affair with Crescent City cuisine runs deep. So deep, in fact, that she and her husband traveled from New York City to be married in New Orleans by criminal court judge Gerard Hansen (of Hansen’s Sno-Bliz fame), and on her most recent visit, she lugged 3 pounds of frozen crawfish home with her on her flight back to New York with plans on baking crawfish bread in the near future. “I fell in love with New Orleans when I was there for school, and I’m always going to carry it with me wherever I go.” Bonisteel said she could never have predicted her career trajectory, but when asked what advice she would give to current students, she reiterated her commitment to persistence. “If you really want something, you’ll make the sacrifices you need to make and you’ll adapt your skillset until you finally hit your goal.” Bonisteel’s tenacity is reflected in the Newcomb acorn mantra that she repeats to herself on rough days; her formative Newcomb College experience continues to motivate and inspire. “Newcomb connections are such important connections—I feel like I’m part of a sisterhood thanks to Newcomb,” Bonisteel said. “Newcomb women have scattered all over the globe, but wherever they land they end up doing pretty remarkable things.”
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Student VOICES, Student ACTION Samantha Perry (SSE '19) graduated in May as a Newcomb Scholar with a dual major in neuroscience and psychology. She is currently working with Dr. Jill Daniels exploring the impact of estrogens and androgens on the brain and cognition across the lifespan. Steam spiraled up from the plate, the smell of juicy burgers and hot fried rice wafting throughout the room. The ice cream sat chilling in a bowl, its velvety texture tantalizing. Everyone’s mouths were watering, and we could not wait to dive into this delicious meal. The best part? The dinner was healthy. Substituting bananas for cream in the ice cream, black beans for ground beef in the burger, and cauliflower for rice in the fried rice, we created healthy alternatives to some classic meals. I grew up in Santa Rosa, California, where fresh food is abundant and healthy eating is encouraged; during my time at Tulane I have fallen in love with New Orleans culture and cuisine, from crawfish boils to po’boys to large vats of gumbo, but I quickly realized that the healthy habits I was taught from a young age are not the norm here. While New Orleans boasts famous restaurants and a culture often defined by its close relationship to cuisine, it is, in fact, a food desert. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a food desert as an area that has limited access to affordable fresh and healthy food, with 33% or more of the population living farther than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store. In New Orleans, many buy their groceries from corner stores that lack fresh or healthy options, or even avoid cooking altogether in favor of convenient and cheaper fast food. The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine (GCCM) strives to address this by providing accessible nutrition education for the greater New Orleans community.
I volunteered at the GCCM’s community cooking classes once a week throughout my junior and senior years of undergrad. Recently having graduated with my degree in neuroscience and psychology, I have always been passionate about nutrition, especially as it pertains to perinatal health and child development. Volunteering at the GCCM allowed me to work within my community to gain an experiential education that I can incorporate into my future career. Prior to volunteering, I was trained by GCCM chefs and dieticians in basic nutrition, seasoning techniques, chopping do's and don’ts, and more, which prepared me to assist others in the cooking classes. Before each class, I would arrive early to set up each cook’s station with the necessary cookware, ingredients, and recipes. During class, I would help the cooks with their knife skills, their seasoning and flavoring, and just general nutrition questions. Cooking in a state-of-the-art kitchen, participants were able to try many delicious, yet easy to do at home, cooking techniques and recipes. They blackened and baked, rather than fried their fish, they used sesame oil as a nuanced finishing oil, they scrambled tofu in with veggies for a protein-filled breakfast dish; the list goes on. Everyone was enthusiastic and motivated to share in the learning, cooking, and eating processes with each other and the chefs. Each class allowed participants to experiment with new ingredients, preparing meals entered around the Mediterranean diet, emphasizing less meat and more
vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats. The GCCM classes illustrate how healthy eating can be cheap and accessible to all—even in a food desert. None of the ingredients we used were exotic or expensive, and none of the recipes were very complicated. The participants could bring home the recipes and cooking techniques (as well as the leftovers from the meal) to be incorporated as staples into one’s diet. While New Orleans knows how to craft the perfect crawfish étouffée, fuse ingredients from many cultures, and fry up a delicately crispy catfish filet, nutritious eating is an essential aspect of individual and community health. This volunteer experience was transformative for me; I was able to learn more about nutrition, work with community members, facilitate discussion about what we put in our bodies, and help encourage community over something everyone can appreciate—food. To echo the GCCM’s purpose, my hope is that the class participants can take home what they learn and not only use these skills and knowledge in their everyday lives, but to also inspire others in the community to do the same. Education often begins on a smaller scale, but I hope that little by little, people in New Orleans, people reading this article, and all of our connections, can start rethinking how and what we cook and eat in order to better our health.
" This volunteer experience was transformative for me; I was able to learn more about nutrition, work with community members, facilitate discussion about what we put in our bodies, and help encourage community over something everyone can appreciate— food."
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In Memory of Meg Dear Meg, The questions on my mind since the accident renew the ache of your absence because they’re precisely those which I most need your help answering: instead of leaving you behind after death, how can I move forward with your memory? How can I be inspired by your work, motivated by your passions, and strengthened by gratitude for the transformative role you played in so many people’s lives? It’s not hard to feel like I’m moving through my days with your spirit by my side, because you are a part of the fabric of my fledgling adult identity. Maybe this is the case with anyone who had a brilliant college best friend. You came into my life at a time when we were forming our senses of self—figuring out who we were as
feminists, as researchers, as leaders, as mentors to other young women, and as best friends to each other. We were helping each other realize our visions for the types of women we wanted to be and the mark we wanted to make on the world. I said at your memorial service that I didn’t know how to be the grown-up woman I want to be without you. I’m trying though, and it’s helpful that even though you are gone, your memory has united the incredible people in your life. All of your best friends—Sam, Luna, Sara, and I—who were there that awful day and who loved you fiercely and relentlessly, decided to stay in New Orleans together this year. We are supporting each other through this grief and finding hope to move forward together, the only path you would have wanted. Your family is also our family now. Your mom and
Margaret Maurer created illustrations for Professor Thomas Sherry’s upcoming book on tropical insect-feeding birds. Some of this work is now on display in the Newcomb Commons. Original artwork © Margaret Maurer
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I sat on the couch laughing and crying until midnight this summer. Tommy, your brother, now our brother, has committed himself to feminism in an unprecedented way, calling his friends out on toxic masculinity and forging a way for young men to engage with efforts for women’s equality. You inspire him more than I think you ever consciously knew. Your professors miss you too. We had lunch with Dr. Cheruiyot the other day when we picked up your plants, and she cooked us delicious Kenyan food. You’d be delighted to know that your major advisor would become your surrogate plant mama and a lifeline to your best friends. Dr. Ferris has a memorial tribute up for you in her lab, one of the many venues for your ecology research. Dr. Sherry, a conservation biologist, is working with Dr. Smith, the director of the Newcomb Scholars program, to install your scientific illustrations permanently in the Newcomb Institute as an exemplary ideal of interdisciplinary work. Dr. Kelley, the historian you worked with on ethnobotanical projects for the Pointe-au-Chein Indian Tribe, told me over coffee that thinking about you has inspired her to reprioritize meaningful work alongside a more active pursuit of happiness. Dr. Henry, who oversaw the biology classes you assisted teaching, suggested bringing together a creative group once a month so that all the people who think of you every day, who may be writing about you or creating art inspired by you, can continue supporting each other. Your excellence shines through this unified outpouring of love, across disciplines, generations, and geography. It still baffles me that you always knew bringing people together was the most important pursuit; that, beyond academic
and professional mentorship, all of us in mourning could foster love and support in each other’s lives. This type of beloved community is exactly what you would have wanted to inspire, and it’s incredible that even in death, your impact has continued to grow. We hold each other up in the pain of your absence, and move forward together toward everything you believed in. I still surround myself with your energy in all the ways that I can—I visit the Meg’nolia planted on the Academic Quad in your honor, your art is all over our home, in the EBIO offices, printed in lab manuals, and soon to be permanently in the Newcomb Institute, and sometimes I talk to you when I’m meditating or running. I hope you can hear me. I couldn’t be more grateful that we entered each others’ lives so early in college and that your love and light filled up so many of my days. I’m so glad I was with you at the end. And now that it feels like a piece of your memory is lodged in my heart, I’m empowered to walk with the spirit of your kindness, intellect, courage, and generosity everywhere I go. I miss you like crazy. Love always, Kelsey Margaret “Meg” Maurer, was a senior Newcomb Scholar from Forest Lake, Minnesota set to graduate in May 2019. She tragically passed away in an accident on March 5, and the Newcomb-Tulane community has continued mourning the loss of one of our most exceptional members. Kelsey Williams was a Newcomb Scholar who graduated in the Class of 2019 with a degree in Public Health. She now works at the Newcomb Institute.
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THANKS to you... $70,000+ GIFTS MADE FROM ALL 50 STATES, PUERTO RICO, D.C. AND 8 COUNTRIES
73.4% OF GIFTS MADE ONLINE
TOTAL R AI SE D FOR NEWCOMB GIVE GREEN
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11:59 PM
LAST ONLINE
250 100%
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Leave Your Legacy The impact of your charitable bequest can start now and help shape Newcomb Institute for generations. SYLVIA MARGOLIES (NC ’63) made a gift to Tulane in her will to celebrate her Newcomb College 50th reunion.
CONTACT THE TULANE OFFICE OF GIFT PLANNING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MANY BENEFITS OF CHARITABLE BEQUESTS. 1-800-899-0181 or giftplanning@tulane.edu
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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 2018-2019 fiscal year. Thank you for your support. The Newcomb monies benefit today’s Newcomb Institute programs, just as they benefited alumnae 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 our 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.
Marlene Addlestone Nira Agrawal Julie Ahrend Meredith Alexander Suzanne Alexander and Michael Alexander Mary Allen Vanann Allen Jane Allsopp Debra Alpert and Daniel Alpert Nell Amos and Henry Amos Kathryn Anderson and Larry Anderson Elsa Angrist Nicole Anliker Anonymous Donors Lory Arnold and Jacob Bryan Teresa Auch and Michael Auch Lipaz Avigal Joanne Babin and Edward Babin * Evelyn Baker Rebecca Baker Françoise Le Gall and Jeffrey Balkind Barbara Banner and Spencer Michlin * Dorothy Barker Jennie Barker Janis Barker and Lynn Barker Georgia Barlow Jeanne Barnett and Steven Barnett Victoria Barry Sheila Bashinski Beth Bauer Diane Baum and John Baum Emily Baum and Joshua Burke Nina Baumgartner Ariel Baverman Carol Bayersdorfer Cohen and Edward Cohen Abigail Bean Joanna Bean Sharon Beckham Alison Bedell Meredith Beers Dena Belcher and Daniel Belcher Annie Bell Elizabeth Bellino and Peter Towns Joan Benjamin Sallee Benjamin and Thomas Benjamin Anne Bennett Joan Bennett and David Peterson Lisette Betancourt Lavinia Bircher and Edgar Bircher Bernadette Birzer Sue Blackshear * Harriett Bobo Robin Boch Lucile Bodenheimer and James Holiday Joy Booth-Roussel and James Roussel Mary Bostick Zoe Boukalik Margaretta Bourgeois and Lionel Bourgeois Sharon Bourgeois and St Paul Bourgeois Simone Boustead Kelly Boyd and David Boyd
Eleanore Boyse and Matthew Boyse Catherine Brain and David Brain Carolyn Brath Carole Bratter Lillian Breard Barbara Bridges Kathleen Britton and John Britton Erin Brock Mary Brogden Helen Brooks and R. Brooks Jan Brown * Robin Brown Sheila Brown and F. Futterer Mary Bryan Pamela Bryan and Jay Bryan Paula Buchanan Elizabeth Buino Jessica Burt Denise Butler Nancy Cadwallader Barbara Cain Katherine Cain and Gordon Cain Gisele Calderon Lauren Caplan Rebecca Carl Angel Carter Corinne Cartwright Beth Carvell Jane Cease Sherry Cesare Aisha Champagne Bonnie Chapman and William Chapman Sabina Chapman-Altman Wallis Chefitz and Mitchell Chefitz Juliet Chin Elsie Chisholm Chun-Chih Chiu and I-Ping Chiu Jessica Clark Holly Clement and Stephen Clement Jane Cohen and Richard Cohen Christina Collier and William Collier Colleen Consola and Ralph Consola Susan Cook and Clayton Cook Charlotte Cooksey Cynthia Cooper and Scott Cooper Lida Cooper and Charles Cooper Elizabeth Cooperman and Robert Cooperman Heather Corbett Mary Ann Couch and Ellis Couch Amber Countis Kaye Courington Nash Cox Mary Chambers and Jefferson Crain Lisa Cristal and Bruce Cybul Carol Cudd and Robert Cudd Alexandra Cudney Jeanne Cummings and Charles Cummings Lindsey Curewitz Mildred Currie and William Basco Rebecca Curtis and Philip Curtis Barbara Cusachs Suzanne Cusick
Martha Custard 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 Robyn Davies Rebecca Joslin-Davis and Reginald Davis Sally Davis Yvette Davis Sarah Dawkins Frances Day and Richard Day Hannah Dean Mary Dickson and Brooke Dickson Eva Dils Nancy Donoghue and Patrick Donoghue Joan Donovan and Robert Donovan Annette Doskey Elizabeth Doski Rebecca Douglas Melanie Du Mont Gillian Duncan and Raymond Belknap Marian Durfey Elizabeth Dwyer Catherine Edwards and David Edwards George Edwards Paula Eichenbrenner Sherrie Eisenman and Alan Eisenman Lauren Ellis Jane Emling Margaret Engman and Edward Engman Betty Ernewein and Edmund Ernewein Rebecca Espach and Ralph Espach Donna Esteves and Richard Esteves Anna Etheridge Karen Farber and Stephen Farber Ann Farmer and Thomas Farmer Siena Farrar Mercedes Fast Martha Fazio and Steven Fazio Phyllis Feibelman Deborah Felsenthal and Steven Felsenthal Laura Felt and Robert Felt Kristina Fink and Zachary Fink Marsha Firestone and Monroe Firestone Briah Fischer Amy FitzGerald Camille Fitzsimmons Sydney Fleischer and Norman Camp Carter Flemming and Michael Flemming Ann Flowerree Regen Foley Louise Foreman and Mark Foreman Ann Owens and Robin Forman Eleanor Foster Linda Foster and Michael Foster Susan Fox and Barry Fox Diane Frank Gail Frasier
Gale Freedman Linn Freedman and Steven Freedman Ellyn Frohberg Marilyn Frohberg and Erik Frohberg Allyson Funk and Brad Baker Nancy Gajewski Emily Galik Alexa Garfinkle Mary Garrard Kimberly Garrett Dana Gerard and Quin Gerard Marisol Getchell Colin Gillespie Elizabeth Gilmartin and J.J. Gilmartin Kimberly Glinert and Kenneth Glinert Carole Gloger Stacie Goeddel and Michael Etheridge Nancy Goedecke and Glenn Goedecke Jacqueline Gold and Melvin Gold Janice Goldberg DeAnn Golden Donna Golub and Seth Golub Sheila Gorey Petra Gray Lori Grayson and John Grayson Anna Clare Green Emily Greenfield Julie Greenwald Elizabeth Gross and Phillip Gross Teri Guarnaccia Nicolette Guillou Isabelle Haines Allyson Halperin Marilyn Hamly Grace Hanchrow and Jack Hanchrow Amanda Hardy Gwen Harley and George Harley Ann Harris Nita Harris Martha Hart and Charles Hart Stephanie Hartman Kirsten Hawkins Diane Haynes and Vernon Haynes Rosaria Heide and Rudolph Heide Erin Heimlicher David Heleniak Jean Hendrickson and R. Hendrickson J. Henning Julie Henriquez Aldana Helen Herman and M. Herman Betsy Hockstein Nancy Hoffman and Phillip Hoffman Paula Hoffman Reva Holmes and Michael Holmes Louise Horn Francine Horwich Jacquelyne Howard and David Howard Linda Hsu Emma Hurler Alice Hurler and Joseph Hurler Patricia Hurley and Kim Hill Madeline Ilibassi Rebecca Ingrish and George Ingrish
* Mary Irvine Jane Jacobs and Douglas Jacobs Jill Ann Jarrell and Noah Shroyer Anita Jarrett Lauren Elkin and Matthew Jasie Ashley Jensen Chloe Jensen Sarah Jernigan Jean Jew Isabella Johnson Susanne Johnson Melinda Jones and Albert Jones Bettina Jones and Robert Jones Amy Jortland Cheryl Josephs-Zaccaro and Michael Zaccaro Mary Kaiser and K. Kaiser Randy Kammer and Jeff Wollitz Ricki Kanter and Joel Kanter Susan Kantrow and Byron Kantrow Phyllis Kaplan Paige Kapp Sarah Kearney and Patrick Kearney Angela Keesee Esther Kelly and Francis Kelly Rebecca Kelly Tasha Kelly Carolyn Kennedy Piggott Sally Kenney and Norman Foster Ann Keogh Jeila Martin Kershaw Diana Khajautia-Bharucha Margot Kimmel Suzanne Kinney and David Kinney Samantha Klein and Mike Melrose Stephanie Knopp Madison Knott Sarah Covert and Seth Knudsen Mary Kock Lynn Koff Tracy Kohn and Larry Kohn Rosemary Korndorffer Jennifer Kottler and Robert Kottler Rebecca Krause and William Krause Nan Heard and Paul Krogstad Molli Kuenstner Kirsten Kuhlmann Mitzi Kuroda and Stephen Elledge Barbara Kurshan Katherine Kusner and Michael Kusner Chelsea Lafayette and Daniel Lafayette Melissa Lapine Andrea Lapsley and Robert Lapsley Constance Larimer Sandra Lassen Carolyn Leatherwood and Stephen Leatherwood Susan Lebow Hali Ledet Blaine Legum-Levenson Katie Lentz Mary Ann Leo Sophia Leonard * deceased
This information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of July 31, 2019. NEWCOMB FALL 2019
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NEWCOMB Donor Honor Roll Andrea Leverentz Sherry Levy Linda Lewis-Moors and Patrick Lewis-Moors Barbara Lief Alyssa Liehr Gail Little and F. Little Barbara Livingston Joyce Lobrano and Francis Lobrano Loretta Loftus Leann Logsdon Geneva Longlois-Marney and Christi Longlois Michele Longo and Bradley Shore Michelle Luthringshausen and Kelly Luthringshausen Lisa Madden and David Madden Katye Magee Carolyn Mahady Amanda Mahnke Anna Mahoney and Patrick Mahoney S. Mahorner Virginia Maietta Catherine Makk Lynn Maltz Julie Mandell and Robert Mandell Sylvia Margolies and Lawrence Margolies Lucia Marker-Moore Helen Marsh Leo Marsh * Leslie Marsh Deirdre Martel Maglenda Martin Suzanne Martin and Terry Martin Patricia Martin and Thomas Martin Mariana Martinez and Adam Martinez Julie Mathes and Steven Mathes Jamie McCormack and Shawn McCormack Anne McCulloch and Edgar McCulloch Elizabeth McGehee Elizabeth McHugh and Patrick McHugh Meredith McInturff Jean McKinley Phyllis McLaren Sandra McNamee and Douglas McNamee Patricia Meadows and William Meadows Prakriti Mehta Michelle Melo Jennifer Meth and Stephen Thomas Elizabeth Meyer Kimiko Meyers and Charles Meyers Naomi Meyers Jane Meyerson Elaine Miller and Aaron Stambler Leslie Miller and Brett Miller M. Miller and Charles Fleming Jennifer Mills Priscilla Mims Casey Mochel
Andrea Moffitt and Steven Moffitt Eduardo Moreno Penny Morrill and James Morrill Marcia Morrison Andree Moss Keriann Murphy Lamar Murphy and William Murphy Taylor Murrow Jossy Nebenzahl Patricia Nedd-Doski and David Doski Ellen Needham and George Needham Alison Nelson and David Nelson Elizabeth Nelson Heather Nelson Danielle Newlin and Clifton Newlin Tania Newton My Phuong Nguyen Tina Nguyen Sharon Ninno and Mark Ninno Lisa Norris Kim O'Brien Joan O'Connell and James O'Connell Karen O'Connell Jeanne Olivier and Robert Dineen Anneke Olson Judith Olson and Leonard Olson Joanne Omang and David Burnham Statira Overstreet and W. Rich Rachelle Parker and Nathan Parker Marilyn Davis and Robert Passikoff Sybil Patten Nan Peacocke Sofia Pendley and Shane Pendley Amelia Pepper Katherine Peres Clara Perry and Michael Schwartz Samantha Perry Jessalyn Peters D. Phillips Roxane Pickens and Daniel Dickinson Paula Picker and Joel Picker Margaret Pinkston Suzanne Plaisance and Autrey Plaisance Uwe Pontius Genevieve Pope and Jeremy Hunnewell Catherine Posey and Marshall Posey Andrea Price and Todd Price Terryl Propper Molly Pulda and Gary Sernovitz Sharon Purcel and Morris Purcel Ann Queen and Richard Shivar Maureen Quinn Sarah Quintano Mary Radford and Robert Dana Ruth Radin-Legum and Edward Legum Jesse Rando Annette Rau and Jack Rau Shirley Reddoch and Gregg Petersen Erin Reed Jill Reynolds Eva Rezza Lisa Rice Andrea Richardson and Christopher Richardson
Gracibel Rickerfor Amanda Roberts and Sean Roberts Helen Robins Joan Rogers Sonja Romanowski Erica Rose Betty Lee Rosen Emily Rosen Katharine Ross-Merrell and James Merrell Shira Rothman Andrea Royce and Charles Royce Gabriella Runnels Erin Rusonis Emily Ryan and W. Ryan Kathryn Rydberg Lance Rydberg Read Rydberg Sandra Saalfield and James Saalfield Sara Saber and Joel Saber Anisah Sahibul Emma Saltzberg Caroline Sampson Charlotte Sanderson and David Sanderson Aracelly Santana Carolyn Saunders Sallie Scanlan Jessica Diamond and Gary Schaer Lauren Schewel Theresa Schieber and Ray Rybak Janet Schinderman Sally Schloemann Cynthia Schmidt Ellen Schneidau and Marc Schneidau Helen Schneidau Carol Scholl and Wes Scholl Jacqueline Schornstein Rhonda Schornstein and Michael Schornstein Sandra Schwarcz Alexa Schwartz Alexis Schwartz Adele Scielzo and Nicholas Scielzo Sandra Segel and Kenneth Segel Stephanie Selk Karen Seltzer and Steven Seltzer Amie Settlecowski Dorcas Domenico and George Shaffer Susan Shafton Bobbi Jo Shannon Michelle Sharp and Jeremy Sharp Maude Sharp Chloe Raub and Daniel Shedd Brittney Sheena Erin Sheena Helene Sheena and Ronnie Sheena Michelle Sheena Allison Sheridan and Brian Sheridan Carole Shlipak and Louis Shlipak Anne Shusterman and Mark Shusterman Mary Clare Siegel Marion Siegman
Kelley Siemon and Jeff Siemon Whitney Silverman Dee Silverthorn and Andrew Silverthorn Kathryn Sims and Ralph Sims Tracey Sirles Cynthia Skaalen Aidan Smith and Patrick Sullivan Carol Smith Charlene Smith Patty Smith and James Smith Nilda Soler Pamela Spanjer and Byron Spanjer Marcia Spielberger Laura Spriggs Bayley Sprowl David Stacy Ellen Stein Judith Steinberg and Sylvan Steinberg Kathleen Langan and Sidney Steiner Jean Stickney and Robert Stickney Susan Stine Anne Stock and Edwin Stock Jenifer Kelly-Strauss and David Strauss G. Stricklin and Stephen Nichols Ruth Suzman and Andrew Suzman Langston Symon and Robert Symon Merle Templin Tammy Thaggert Sarah Therriault and Russell Therriault Patrice Thomas Kathleen Timmins Victoria Titterington and Kenneth Tittertinton Alisa Toney P. Traficanti and Bryan Traficanti Charlotte Travieso Betsie Tremant Janis Trossman and Don Trossman Madilyn Turken Christine Turner Ruth Ulmer Cranch Ernestine Ulrich Amy Underhill Unknown Donor Lisa Usdan Valerie Vaile and Ernest Vaile Marcia VanderVoort and Thomas VanderVoort Carmen Varley Carol Vatz and Joel Rosch Allie Verlander and David Verlander Sonil Verma D. Veta and Mary Dutton Robbert Vorhoff Deborah Wafer and Ralph Wafer Jacqueline Wagner Susan Walker and Greg Walker M. Walker Leigh Anne Wall Virginia Ward and Michael Ward Sylvia Warren and John Warren Sharon Wasserman Joan Watkins Claudia Watters
Kathleen Weaver Susan Wedlan and Harold Rosen Kathy Weil Betty Weinberger and Stanley Weinberger Sue-Robin Weinhauer and Robert Weinhauer Riki Weinstein and Daniel Morrison Emma Weisner Martha Wells and Max Wells Patricia Westerman Lauren Wethers Ansley Whitlock and Thomas Whitlock Amanda Whitman Gretchen Whitman and Daniel Whitman Nancy Wiener Catherine Wilkins Patricia Williams and David Williams Kelsey Williams Carol Wise Judilyn Wise and Michael Wise Cheryl Wittenstein Laura Wolford Tara Wolman and Steven Wolman Carolyn Wood and Charles Wood Kay Woolfolk and John Woolfolk Heather Yanak Julie Young M. Young Lynne Zak Durban Zaunbrecher and Austin Zaunbrecher Paula Zielonka and Carl Zielonka Christopher Zimmerman
CORPORATIONS AND FOUNDATIONS
Aetna Foundation, Inc. Autodesk Foundation Bank of America Charitable Foundation Betancourt Stuttering Center Blue Grass Community Foundation Boston Foundation Dallas Jewish Community Foundation Deloitte Foundation Delta Air Lines Foundation Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Goldman, Sachs and Company Hampton Roads Community Foundation IBM International Foundation International Flavors and Fragrances, Inc. Kahn Education Foundation National Philanthropic Trust Nebenzahl-Spitz Foundation PricewaterhouseCoopers Charitable Foundation, Inc. Schwab Charitable Fund Shell Oil Company Foundation Specialty Family 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, 2019.
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NEWCOMB FALL 2019
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.
A Reading by
Events
Conceiving Equity Event and 8th Annual
Rachel Kushner
Roe v. Wade Lecture
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
6 pm
6 pm | Reception and poster presentation
Freeman Auditorium Woldenberg Art Center
by Newcomb Institute interns
7 pm | Lecture by Dr. Monica McLemore Associate Professor of Family Health Care Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco
newcomb alumnae
book club Fall 2019 Book Club Selection The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner Time’s #1 Fiction Title of the Year New York Times Notable Book of 2018
Book Discussion Wednesday, November 13, 2019 | 6 pm Hosted by the Newcomb Alumnae Association Newcomb Institute | Third Floor | The Commons
Please respond to newcombalumnae@tulane.edu. Light refreshments will be served.
A talk by
Deondra Rose Annual Salzer Lecture Friday, April 3, 2020 12 pm
Diboll Gallery | The Commons
An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Sexual Violence Interdisciplinary Symposium on Sexual Violence
Confirmed speakers include Research and Scholarship
2020 Mary Koss February | Ray7, Douglas 9am-3pm Jennifer Freyd | Crystal Feimster
February 7, 2020 9 am - 3 pm Newcomb Institute The Commons
An Evening with
Lauren Groff 2020 Zale-Kimmerling Writer-in-Residence
Monday, March 16, 2020 7 pm | Kendall Cram Lavin-Bernick Center for Student Life
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage
PAID
New Orleans, LA Permit No. 358 6823 St. Charles Ave. Tulane University New Orleans, LA 70118
MIGNON FAGE T NEWCOMB COLLECTION
Oaks
Under t he
Proceeds benefit the Newcomb Alumnae Association
Sold exclusively at newcombalumnae.tulane.edu | 888.327.0009
A ceremony honoring Newcomb Institute award recipients, alumnae award recipients, and the Newcomb College Class of 1970
Friday, May 15, 2020