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Newcomb Institute Awards Ceremony May 20, 2022

Event Speakers

Executive Director

Sally J. Kenney, Ph.D.

Executive Director of Newcomb Institute

Address to Graduates

Lily Mae Lazarus (LA ’22)

International Relations and Arabic

Acknowledgment of the Alumnae

Helene Sheena (NC ’87, M *91)

President of the Newcomb Alumnae Association

Awards and Recognition

Newcomb Alumnae Association Awards

Since 1974, the Newcomb Alumnae Association has honored the achievements of outstanding alumnae through its award program.

The Awards Committee is soliciting nominations for the 2023 awards cycle. Please contact the Newcomb Alumnae Office for additional information at newcombalumnae@tulane.edu or 800.504.5565.

Newcomb Alumnae Association Outstanding Alumna

The Outstanding Alumna Award is given to a Newcomb College alumna who reflects Newcomb’s tradition of excellence and exhibits prominence in a business or professional field and in her contributions to the well-being of the nation, state, or community life. The recipient’s accomplishments and contributions should have been sustained over a long period of time. Ideally, the recipient should have achieved some measure of recognition on the national or international level.

Pamela A. Geller, Ph.d. (NC ’88)

Inspired by her Newcomb College experience, Dr. Pamela A. Geller’s career trajectory has involved integration of varied disciplines, including clinical and health psychology, public health, and maternal and infant mental health. Dr. Geller graduated from Newcomb College magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with departmental honors in all areas. She received the Senior Scholar Award from both the Art and Psychology departments. She received her MS and PhD in clinical psychology from Kent State University and completed a NIH postdoctoral fellowship in psychiatric epidemiology at the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University. Dr. Geller is an Associate Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Director of Clinical Training for the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She is also Research Associate Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology in Drexel’s College of Medicine.

Dr. Geller’s innovative work in women’s health and perinatal mental health over the past 30 years has served to advance the field and drive change while also having a significant community impact, particularly for underserved populations. Her work focuses on the psychological aspects of events surrounding pregnancy and childbearing, such as infertility, pregnancy loss, and postpartum depression. Dr. Geller is a founder and co-director of Mother Baby Connections, an intensive outpatient perinatal mental health program at Drexel for pregnant and postpartum women experiencing anxiety, and depression and their infants. She is currently leading a team in the creation of a digital solution to support universal mental health screening for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) parents. Through her Women’s Health Psychology Lab at Drexel, Dr. Geller serves as primary mentor to undergraduate, Master’s and doctoral students. In Drexel’s Psychological Services Center, Dr. Geller is a clinical supervisor of PhD students who provide psychotherapy and behavioral medicine services to individuals from the Philadelphia community.

Dr. Geller serves on the Executive Council and chairs the Research Committee of the National Network of NICU Psychologists, an organization she helped to found. She was recently appointed to the Board of the National Perinatal Association. In addition to over 65 peer-reviewed publications and 20 book chapters, Dr. Geller is an editor of the Health Psychology volume of the Handbook of Psychology, as well as the book Women’s Health Psychology. She has presented her work both nationally and internationally and has been featured on BBC Radio programs.

Newcomb Alumnae Association Community Service Award

The Community Service Award is given to a Newcomb College alumna in recognition of their significant, long-term commitment to community service.

Amy Gatzemeyer (NC ’06)

Since graduating from Newcomb College in 2006, Amy Gatzemeyer has stayed true to her passion for exploring service learning and active citizenship and fostering conditions for others to serve. Immediately following graduation, Gatzemeyer spent one year teaching middle school in New Orleans, during which she implemented a service-learning program. Following that, she served for four years as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. She served in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2009 to 2010, earning a Bronze Star Medal for Service.

In 2017, Gatzemeyer completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in a special program for cadets, military service members, and veterans at the United States Military Academy (West Point) and immediately followed up by completing an additional 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training. In 2018, she worked with other veterans to create a yoga training program for military members who want to integrate the tools of yoga into their units. This program has since become the 501c(3) organization We Teach Resilience, Increase Balance, and Endurance (TRIBE). TRIBE’s mission is to teach the tools of yoga—both the physical practice and mindfulness techniques—that align with the military’s culture in order to enhance the resilience, mental and physical endurance and strength, physical vitality, and overall physical readiness of our nation’s active-duty personnel and their families. In addition to being one of the lead trainers and curriculum designers, Gatzemeyer currently serves as the Administrative and Financial Head of TRIBE.

Newcomb Alumnae Association Young Alumna Award

The Young Alumna Award is given to a Newcomb/Tulane alumna who has exhibited ongoing contributions or achievements. Nominees are eligible for fifteen years beyond graduation and should be under the age of 40.

Saira A. Mehmood, Ph.d. (SLA ’08, SLA *09)

Saira Mehmood graduated from Newcomb-Tulane College in 2008 as a Newcomb Scholar and Oak Wreath recipient, and with a Master’s in anthropology from Tulane in 2009. After graduating from Tulane, she was a Mayoral Fellow with the City of New Orleans, where she analyzed mental health services in New Orleans and worked on mental health policies in the Mayor’s Office and with other city departments and state legislators. Dr. Mehmood continued her work with the community and research on mental health services for her dissertation, “I am not my illness!: Navigating the mental healthcare system in New Orleans,” which she completed for her Ph.D. in 2019 at Southern Methodist University.

As an activist-scholar, Dr. Mehmood’s work extends to the community and her profession. During her time conducting fieldwork in New Orleans for her dissertation research, Dr. Mehmood was also active as a core organizer with the New Orleans Palestinian Solidarity Committee (NOPSC). From 2016 to 2019, she co-led community meetings, direct actions, teach-ins, and served as a guest speaker for numerous venues, including serving as a panelist for Community Action Council of Tulane University Students (CACTUS). Dr. Mehmood with NOPSC co-created the Tahrir Fellowship program, a paid internship made possible through funds raised from the annual New Orleans Palestinian Film Festival, to teach Palestinian youth skills in community organizing and legislative advocacy for effective social justice work.

Dr. Mehmood has received numerous awards and grants over the years for her research, including the American Anthropological Association’s Minority Dissertation Fellowship. From 2019-2021, She was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Spelman College. Currently, Dr. Mehmood is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellow, with a placement at the National Institutes of Health. Working within the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Distinguished Newcomb Fellow

The Newcomb Fellows Program is a voluntary collegial association of faculty drawn from all undergraduate colleges of Tulane University. Newcomb Fellows support women’s leadership and gender equity, and participate in activities of the Newcomb Institute that foster faculty-student interaction and research.

Since 1994, an accomplished member of the Tulane faculty has been named Distinguished Newcomb Fellow. Newcomb Institute is proud to carry on this tradition, annually recognizing one Fellow who is judged to have made an extraordinary contribution to the Newcomb community.

Karissa Haugeberg, Ph.D.

We are honored to recognize Karissa Haugeberg, Associate Professor of History at Tulane University, as this year’s Distinguished Newcomb Fellow.

Professor Haugeberg’s first book, Women against Abortion: Inside the Largest Moral Reform of the Twentieth Century, charts the experiences of women who shaped the contemporary anti-abortion movement. The book received an honorable mention from the Western Association of Women Historians’ Frances Richardson Keller-Sierra Book Prize Committee in 2018. Karissa serves as the co-editor of Women’s America: Refocusing the Past, a popular textbook on the history of women and gender in the United States.

Karissa’s next book project, Nursing Revolution: Civil Rights, Feminism, and the American Nursing Profession, 1965-90, explores how nurses have supported and sometimes resisted social justice reforms. An article drawn from the book received the 2019 Stanley Jackson Prize from The Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. At Tulane, Karissa advised Students United for Reproductive Justice and currently advises Come As You Are, a student organization dedicated to organizing alcohol-free social events. Her courses on US women’s history, the history of medicine, and the history of gender-based violence offer studentsopportunities to conduct archival research and oral histories and to produce original podcasts. She is proud to have identified as a Newcomb Fellow since her arrival at Tulane in 2011.

Mortar Board Teaching Awards

Each year, the Newcomb-sponsored chapter of the national honor society Mortar Board honors one tenured and one non-tenured Tulane faculty member with the Excellence in Teaching awards.

Alexis Culotta, Ph.D.

Dr. Alexis Culotta is a professor of practice in art history at Tulane. She specializes in the art and architecture of sixteenth-century Rome. Her research investigates the working relationships of artists and how the tensions of competition, collaboration, and innovation drove artistic and architectural practice in the Eternal City and beyond. Dr. Culotta’s teaching interests include all topics relating to the Renaissance and Baroque eras, but of particular appeal are the Renaissance reception of and response to antiquity, the modes of workshop exchange during the era, and the reach ofand reaction to period thought around the globe, and the benefits of digital humanities applications within the field.

David A. Mullin, Ph.D.

Dr. David A. Mullin is an associate professor of cellular and molecular biology at Tulane. He runs a successful and beloved lab in the department affectionately known as “the Mullin Lab”. The work in the Mullin Lab is split between two main projects: advanced liquid biofuels development and antimicrobial drug development. The first project uses bacterial fermentation reactions to produce a variety of solvents including butanol, an advanced liquid biofuel for internal combustion engines. The second project focuses on development of a new chemical class of antimicrobial agents that we discovered called the TU-195s. One of these, 4-TU-1956, is effective in vitro against all gram-positive bacterial pathogens tested including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains (MRSA). The results found by Dr. Mullin and his students have been cited thousands of times throughout the scientific community, and he himself has produced many scientific publications.

Mortar Board Class of 2022

Mortar Board is a national honor society recognizing college seniors for their exemplary scholarship, leadership and service. Congratulations to the Tulane Mortar Board Class of 2022:

Jordan Battle, Madison Beach, Kaylee Bowers, Grace Chapel, Marilyn Clisham, Rebecca Douglas, William Dunford, Kathryn Elder, Abigail Farho, Alexa Garfinkle, Molly Graham, Bennett Haight, Emily Herbst, Jenna Hinden, Zoe Hopewell, Victoria Kutz, Clara Lang, Alexis, LaRosa, Evelyn Lee, Sydnie Lesser, Charles Lieberman, Michael Margolis, Maiya Margolis, Allison Medina,Tara Nored, Hinali Patel, Alvaro Jiraldo Paucar, Colette Puleo, Lauren Reyes, Jackson Rice, Caroline Richter, Zachary Rubin, Jessie Ruchman, Crystal Singh, Estrella Varnagy, and Mark Xiao

Josephine Louise Award

Newcomb Senate serves as the liaison between the past and present Newcomb student body of Tulane University. The organization preserves Newcomb traditions as they support the current vision of the Newcomb Institute, while seeking to incorporate new traditions that promote strength and growth.

Every year Newcomb Senate selects a staff member to receive the Josephine Louise Award for outstanding contributions benefitting the undergraduate student body.

Jennifer Hunt

Jennifer Hunt is the Assistant Director of the Well for Health Promotion in Campus Health at Tulane University. She oversees the development, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive sexual violence prevention programming while acting as the very proud advisor of Sexual Aggression Peer Hotline and Education (SAPHE). She earned her B.A. from Loyola University New Orleans in Women’s Studies and History and her M.A. from University of Texas at Austin where her research focused on trauma and interpersonal violence. Following graduate school, Hunt built a career in crisis intervention, survivor support advocacy, and violence prevention education working for community agencies that serve torture and sexual violence survivors, refugee and asylum seekers, and community members experiencing resource insecurity. She is an Office of the Attorney General-certified sexual assault survivor advocate and has extensive experience organizing student populations around sexual violence prevention and intervention initiatives.

Newcomb Institute Awards

The Newcomb Institute Awards recognize students who have demonstrated superior academic excellence, outstanding leadership, character, and integrity, and have created influential initiatives in university and community service.

Involvement Awards

Cynthia B. Taffaro Memorial Award: Tulane International Society, Doris K. Joffrion Award: Lilly Byrne, Newcomb Institute Resident Advisor Award: Chandler Brock, Shelley Coverman Memorial Award: Zoe Locke and Bailey Montgomery

First Year Award

Shirley Gauff Award: Makenzie Sanders

Sophomore Award

Class of 2005 Jennie C. Nixon Award: Vaishnavi Kandala and Winna Xia

Junior Award

Dorothy Young Memorial Award: Adia Handy

Senior Awards

1914-2004 Award for Exceptional Character: Kathryn Elder, Class of 1909 Prize to the Outstanding Senior: Alexa Authorlee, Rachel Tabor, and Maiya Tate, Gifford Darling Riess Award: Lilyon Conroy and Annika Shamachar, Sylvia Dreyfus Memorial Award: Lindsey DuBose and Emma Schreier, Under the Oaks Award: Carly Shaffer

Oak Wreath

The Oak Wreath is bestowed upon graduating seniors who have distinguished themselves through an engaged pursuit of learning, leadership in student activities, commitment to the mission of Newcomb Institute, and contribution to the Newcomb-Tulane community.

Alexa Authorlee, Leah Barry, Jaguar Buie-Smith, Taegan Bunch, Sydney Busby, Annika Bruno, Lilyon Conroy, Caroline Culp, Rebecca Douglas, Lindsey DuBose, Kathryn Elder, Isabelle Haines, Lily Lazarus, Chang Liu, Zoe Locke, Tran Ngueyn-Phuong, Liandra Niyah, Emily O’Connell, Rena Repenning, Emma Schreier, Carly Shaffer, Annika Shamachar, Rachel Tabor, Sophie Tanen, and Maiya Tate

Newcomb Institute Grant Recipients

Research, Conference, and Community Engagement Grant Recipients

Newcomb Institute administers a number of grant programs in support of research, conference attendance, and community engagement. Newcomb Institute also supports a number of experiential learning opportunities, including participation in Feminist Camp, the Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN), and internships within the corporate and non-profit spheres. Congratulations to our graduating grant recipients:

Research and Conference Grant Recipients

Avery Anderson, Doris Cai, Eleanor Casement, Eliana Chiovetta, Phuong Anh Duong, Carli Knight, Miranda Kramer, Mei-Ling Malecki, Liandra Niyah, Grace Olwell, Mary Ellen Owings, Emma Schreier, Kendall Walker, and Mark Xiao

Feminist Camp Grant Recipients

Lauren Berg and Mary Ellen Owings

PLEN Grant Recipients

Jaguar Buie-Smith, Sydney Busby, Charlotte Ehlers, Emily Gilbert, Victoria Li, Chang Liu, Molly McClure, Adithi Namboodri, Caroline Richter, Carly Shaffer, Brynn Stevens, and Yamei Wu

Summer Internship Funding Recipients

Avery Anderson, Annika Bruno, Lauren Flowers, and Lauren Lavey

Newcomb Institute Interns

Class of 2022 Technology and Digital Humanities Lab Interns

Newcomb Institute’s Technology Initiatives promote feminist leadership in technology-centered communities through student programming and digital scholarship. Our paid Digital Research Interns and Information Technology Interns work on a team while learning valuable tech skills and building a digital portfolio. Newcomb also awards grant funding to students to participate in the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women and Computing conference every fall.

Digital Research Interns

Erica Casareno, Isabelle Haines, Emily O’Connell, Kristen Osborne, Rena Repenning, Piper Stevens, Rachel Tabor, Chloe Uhls, and Danielle Walder

Informational Technology Interns

Sarah Fox, Emily O’Connell, Rena Repenning, Kelly Romer, Rachel Tabor, Sophie Tanen, and Danielle Walder

Grace Hopper Celebration Grant Recipients

Hannah Bartels, Isabelle Haines, Emily O’Connell, Madison Lynch, Rena Repenning, Kelly Romer, Sophie Tanen, Chloe Uhls, Danielle Walder, and Jaclyn Wilson

Gender and Technology / Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC) Scholar Grant Recipient

Emily O’Connell

Class of 2022 Reproductive Rights, Health, and Justice (RRRH) Interns

Newcomb Institute coordinates with local reproductive rights and reproductive health organizations in New Orleans to provide paid internships for undergraduates. Internship positions provide students with the opportunity to develop valuable skills, knowledge, and connections related to this field. Every year the RRRH interns present their research projects at our annual Conceiving Equity event.

Leah Berry, Doris Cai, Mariama Drammeh, Darreille Ellis, Tabita Gnagniko, Natalie Pruitt, and Janice Zha

Class of 2022 Feminist Summer Internship Program Participants

Newcomb Institute’s Feminist Summer Internship Program provides opportunities for students to work with organizations across the nation focused on gender equity. The Institute offers an internship stipend to each intern to help cover living expenses and travel. Students complete at least 240 hours of work on a project defined by partner organizations such as Ms. Magazine, Planned Parenthood, PLEN, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, and more.

Mariama Drammeh, Grace Fay, Hannah Hilgeman, and Hope Juzon

Class of 2022 Sexualities and Sexual Cultures Interns

The Sexualities and Sexual Cultures Internship Program is an ongoing Newcomb Institute initiative that brings together Tulane University students and community members to theorize, research, and shape the university’s sexual culture.

Calvin Belton, Caitlin Jones, Evelyn Lee, Troy Moore, and Emma Schreier

Newcomb Institute Student Workers

We thank and recognize our graduating student employees for their service to Newcomb Institute.

Camille Boechler: Graduate Assistant, Newcomb Archives and Vorhoff Collection, Sydney Busby: Front Desk Team Member, Josephine Fischer: Front Desk Team Member, Joy Liu: Front Desk Team Member, Molly McClure: Events Team Member, Hadley Sayers: Undergraduate Research Assistant to Dr. Aidan Smith, Carly Shaffer: Undergraduate Research Assistant to Dr. Anna Mahoney, and Emma Zawacki: Graduate Assistant to the Newcomb Scholars Program

Student Organization Leadership

Newcomb Institute supports over twenty student organizations. Graduating students who have served in leadership roles in these organizations include:

Molly Anapolsky, Serene Azafrani, Lauren Berg, Sonali Bhatnagar, Jenny Bond, Kaylee Bowers, Rachel Brady, Jaguar Buie-Smith, Sydney Busby, Amy Brouillette, Annika Bruno, Mary Carter, Grace Chapel, Luisa Cuellar, Kelsie Donovan, Lindsey DuBose, Charlotte Ehlers, Kathryn Elder, Hannah Ellis, Chloe Fontaine, Megan Garcia, Emily Gilbert, Elise Gjertson, Jessie Gonon, Hunter Greenberg, Danielle Greenberg, Camille Grout, Fiona Hellerman, Jenna Hinden, Madison Jones, Lila Jordan, Lauren Lavey, Evelyn Lee, Sydnie Lesser, Victoria Li, Chang Liu, Elena Lompado, Maggie Loversky, Paige Magee, Maiya Margolis, Leah Martino, Molly McClure, Allison Medina, Abigail Mulmat, Adhithi Namboodri, Sophie Natal-Short, Liandra Niyah, Avanti Patel, Addie Overend, Lisa Radin, Natalie Rendleman, Rena Repenning, Caroline Richter, Emily Robinett, Katelin Romano, Tovah Rubinsky, Mia Schneller, Julianna Siegrist, Carly Shaffer, Julia Sterling, Brynn Stevens, Rachel Tabor, Maryam Tanveer, Amber Tharakan, Rachel Topolski, Chloe Uhls, Paige Veal, Danielle Walder, Olivia Weik, Chloe Weinstein, Deja Wells, Yamei Wu, Mark Xiao, and Janice Zha

Spark Residential Learning Community

Launched in 2017, the Spark Residential Learning Community (RLC) encourages first-year students to build and engage in creative, intellectual, and social justice communities at Tulane, in New Orleans, and beyond. Graduating members of the Spark Residential Learning Community are:

Juliet Alise, Sydney Busby, Gillian Cotulla, Rebecca Douglas, Marie Gosserand, Isabelle Haines, Leah Jackson, Seanna Mohan, CC Monett, Carly Rinehart, Jamie Roa, Annika Shamachar, Hannah Snyder, Sonil Verma, and Anna Wight

Newcomb Scholars

At the beginning of every school year, first-year Tulane students vie for a spot in the selective Newcomb Scholars Program, an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary learning experience focused on feminist leadership. Newcomb Scholars participate in undergraduate research, seminars, and exceptional learning opportunities. Upon completing the program, the Newcomb Scholars present their research at the annual Scholars Symposium.

The 2022 Cohort of Newcomb Scholars

Avery Anderson

English and Communication | Research: Butch Bruce Springsteen’s Queer Fanbase: From “Mary” to “Terry”

Hannah Bartels

Architecture, English, and Public Policy | Research: Architectures of Standardization

Annika Bruno

Sociology and Social Policy | Research: Corporate Activism in the Age of Racial Justice: Understanding the Relationship Between Major Brands and the Black Lives Matter Movement

Eva Chilson

Political Science, History, and Spanish | Research: Svetlana Alexievich: The Missing Voices of Soviet History

Lindsey DuBose

Psychology, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Public Health | Research: The “Feminization” of Education in Southern Louisiana

Kathryn Elder

International Relations and Russian | Research: Russian Policy in the South Caucasus: Great Power Intervention in Separatist Conflicts

Lauren Flowers

Political Economy and Strategy, Leadership, and Analytics | Research: The Transformation of Louison Cheval: A Free Woman of Color’s Proprietary Evolution in Colonial and Antebellum Louisiana

Hannah Hilgeman

English with a concentration in Creative Writing | Research: A White, Well Woman: Normative Womanhood in Works by Women Authors

Lauren Lavey

Anthropology | Research: Crip Wisdom and Deaf Gain during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Maya Lavinier

History | Research: Interpreting Tara: Cultural Narratives and the Memory of Antebellum Plantations

Sloan Livaccari

Environmental Biology and Environmental Studies | Research: Phenology of Palm Trees in the Chocó Rainforest

Liandra Niyah

Biomedical Engineering and Public Health | Research: COVID-19 in Indian Country

Mary Ellen Owings

Public Health | Research: Unpacking the Structural Inequalities Perpetuating the SARS-CoV-2 Racial Disparity for Black Americans

Jamie Roa

Public Health, Political Science, Spanish, and History | Research: Equitable Healthcare: How does the Gender of the World Leader and the Nation’s Type of Health Care System Impact their Response to COVID-19

Hadley Sayers

Economics and Political Science | Research: Women for Biden but Biden for Women? The 2020 US Democratic Presidential Primary and General Election Debates

Emma Schreier

Public Health and Music | Research: Sexuality Education at Public Four-Year Colleges and Universities in the American South

Carly Shaffer

Political Science, Communication, and Gender and Sexuality Studies | Research: ‘Breaking Up is Hard to Do’: Fifty Governors’ Responses to COVID-19 and the Future of Federalism in the Divided States of America

Hannah Snyder

Public Health, Jewish Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Religious Studies | Research: A Jewish Case for Reproductive Rights and How American Abortion Bans Infringe on Religious Freedoms

Newcomb College History

Harriott Sophie Newcomb and Josephine Louise Newcomb

Josephine Louise Newcomb founded the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in 1886 in memory of her only daughter, Harriott Sophie Newcomb. Her gift to the Tulane University Board of Administrators created the first degree-granting college for women within a university in America.

The mission of the College evolved with political and societal events. During both World Wars, Newcomb women filled military roles abroad and support roles at home. During peacetime, the student body grew and became more diverse. The women’s movement encouraged Newcomb students to enroll in classes and pursue fields traditionally reserved for men.

Newcomb Institute began operating on July 1, 2006 to provide academic and leadership programs. Each year since its inception, the Institute has hosted speakers across academic disciplines and professions; presented events focusing on leadership, academics, and career preparedness; funded student research, faculty development, and community rebuilding initiatives, and upheld the traditions of the College through events such as Under the Oaks.

The Daisy Chain was part of Newcomb College commencement ceremonies since the College’s early days. The chains were made from clover, oleander, magnolia or daisies and were collected from campus gardens and neighbors’ yards. Later chains consisted of more than 1,000 daisies assembled by outstanding representatives of the junior class. Although daisy chains were once a frequent sight on women’s college campuses, the Newcomb Institute chain is one of the few remaining in the country.

Mission Statement

The H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College Institute shapes the future by educating students to achieve gender equity. It is our mission to develop leaders, discover solutions to the intractable gender problems of our time, and to provide opportunities for students through curricula, research, community engagement, and close collaboration with faculty.

Daisy Chain

The Daisy Chain was part of Newcomb College commencement ceremonies since the College’s early days. The chains were made from clover, oleander, magnolia or daisies and were collected from campus gardens and neighbors’ yards. Later chains consisted of more than 1,000 daisies assembled by outstanding representatives of the junior class. Although daisy chains were once a frequent sight on women’s college campuses, the Newcomb Institute chain is one of the few remaining in the country.

The Commons, home of Newcomb Institute

Traditions

Newcomb Pin

The Newcomb pin is a longstanding tradition, carried forward from 1894 to commemorate the first Newcomb class pin.

Newcomb Mortar Board Decal

The Newcomb Mortar Board decal—the blue “N”—is formed by three pillars representing past, present and future.

The Brown Robes

The brown robes seen on stage at the Under the Oaks ceremony are replicas of the robes made at the beginning of the 20th century and passed from class to class to be worn by the Class President and Class Speaker. The original robes were embroidered each year with the year of the graduating class beginning in 1910. They have been placed in the Newcomb Archives. Robes bearing the Newcomb crest that adorned the original gowns were made in 2001 and will continue to be passed from one graduating class to the next.

Newcomb Leadership Commemorative Cord

The Newcomb Leadership Commemorative Cord is a new way for our student leaders to remember their time at Tulane and involvement with Newcomb Institute. The threads of the cord weave together to bond each one into a stronger cord, symbolizing that we are strongest when we work together.

Traditions like the pin, the decal, our Daisy Chain, and the brown robes have bound together Newcomb Alumnae throughout the generations. Congratulations to the Class of 2022. Welcome to the Newcomb Alumnae Association.

Newcomb College Alma Mater

Written by Fannie Heaslip Lea (NC 1904), Music by Walter Goldstein

Where stars arise in Southern skies

And loyal love in laughter lies,

O Newcomb fair, we bring to thee

Our hearts’ allegiance, bold and free.

We bring to thee, where e’er shall be

The star of our ascendancy.

Chorus

O Alma Mater, Stand we nigh,

Thy daughters lift Thy flag on high!

The Newcomb College Alma Mater performed by Tulane University Ladies’ A Cappella (TULA)