Student Voices

Student VOICES, Student ACTION

According to the Campus Vote Project, college students and young people represent one of the largest eligible voting blocs in the United States but are the least likely to vote. As election season approaches, Tulane students are working to change this. Olivia Mullaney, chair of the Civic Engagement Committee for Tulane’s University Student Government (USG), says one focus this semester is educating students about the electoral process. The student-run Instagram account @VoteUpTulane provides “straightforward, non-partisan, local and national election information for Tulane students, by Tulane students.” The Civic Engagement committee is arranging buses for early voting, providing stamps and envelopes for absentee voting and registration, and tabling in front of McAlister Auditorium to register students to vote on their way to class. USG has also partnered with TurboVote to streamline the registration process and will post reminders about voting on Canvas Emma Brick-Hezeau is a senior Newcomb Scholar from Memphis, TN double majoring in economics and linguistics with a minor in political science. She works as a research aide at Newcomb Institute helping Professor Mahoney develop programming and projects related to women's leadership, politics, and voting, including the Louisiana Student Voter Summit held on September 26. In the spring 2020 semester Emma worked on digital projects related

to women in STEM. and WaveSync, online portals where students access course materials and campus activities. USG is also partnering with student-run organizations Women in Politics (WIP), Stitch-it to the Patriarchy, and the National

Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) to support upcoming initiatives.

Graduate student Chinwe Orie and

PhD candidate Gbolade Kayode, president and vice president of

Tulane’s chapter of NSBE, launched

Project emPOWER in October. This initiative brings together a coalition of engineers and student organizers to shift Tulane’s culture around activism and build a platform to encourage student involvement in social justice movements. Kayode says a short-term goal of Project emPOWER is to get young people to vote and get active in their community. The app, called “Empowered,” is designed to

“game-ify” the process in order to connect movements like Black Lives

Matter and My Body, My Choice to specific actions and policies.

Orie and Kayode emphasized the importance of linking STEM fields to social justice and creating spaces to empower and connect Black students at Tulane. “The election is the catalyst, but it’s not the endgame” Orie says, referencing the protests over George Floyd’s death that brought national attention to police brutality and racial injustice this past summer. “You cannot just wait every four years to take action.” NSBE co-signed the Tulane Black Student

Union’s 2020 list of demands to address racism at Tulane, advocating for student action and institutional change close to home. “Students don’t realize how much power they have,” said Raven Ancar, president of tBSU, who said the demands served as a living document for Black student organizations to come together and advocate for one another. She summed up her motivations with a quote by Alice Walker: “Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming.” Brendan Cuti, political science senior and president of Tulane’s College Democrats, recently hosted a conversation with Shreveport mayor Adrian Perkins, who is running against incumbent Bill Cassidy in the upcoming US Senate race. He says the November election will be important for other reasons as well. “As a practical matter there will probably be a supreme court spot opening up” during the next presidential administration, which puts “issues like reproductive rights on the line, LGBTQ rights on the line, and those are really important issues for college students,” Cuti said. He also pointed out several New Orleans judgeships and an antichoice state amendment are on the ballot in November. Tulane student leaders came together with fellow students, faculty, and organizers across the state during the virtual Louisiana Student Voter Summit on September 26th to compare strategies and discuss best practices in civic engagement on college campuses. “At the end of the day, if our vote were not so powerful, if our ability to actually organize were not so powerful, politicians wouldn’t change how they react to policies,” said panelist Janea Jamison from the Power Coalition. “There is power in people” she added, speaking to the strength of collective action, from showing up in numbers at the state capital to turning out the vote at elections. This event, organized by a coalition of academics and professionals at Newcomb Institute, Scholars Strategy Network, Feminist Campus, the Andrew Goodman Foundation, and several New Orleans Universities, gave students the opportunity to network and plan initiatives to turn out the vote in November and beyond. Panelists spoke about ways for students get involved with existing efforts by becoming poll monitors and workers, volunteering to phone bank and text about upcoming policy issues, and having open, authentic conversations with their peers about civic engagement. These student organizers stress the importance of pursuing multiple avenues to enact change in our spheres of influence. “We’re helping bridge the gap from knowledge to action,” Orie said. “Now it’s through the voting process and through community engagement, but tomorrow it could be about education...or designing a more inclusive healthcare system.” Tulane students interested in these initiatives can get involved by:

Promoting one of tBSU’s demands Following @VoteUpTulane on Instagram Stopping by the Civic Engagement committee table on McAlister Checking Wavesync for upcoming events from USG, WIP, and NSBE Checking your state’s Secretary of State website to verify absentee ballot deadlines and information

Student VOICES, Student ACTION

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

Despite Tulane’s student population being 59% female and 41% male1, undergraduate professors are only 36% female2. These figures combined with the sudden switch to online learning pushed Dr. Clare Daniel and Dr. Jacquelyne Thoni Howard of Newcomb Institute to create the “Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online3.” The guide describes feminist pedagogy for online teaching and learning, and includes sample assignments, canvas tutorials and other technology tools, and campus resources. It has now reached 6,400 views, is being circulated on Twitter4 and is getting praise from the wider academic community including those outside of Tulane University. At the time of the guide’s creation, Dr. Daniel and Dr. Howard did not realize just how much the academic community needed a guide such as this one. Now that it is done, the creators reflected by saying “I’m not sure we realized we were filling a need for the wider feminist academic community when we began creating the guide, but the very positive reactions we have gotten indicate this,” said Daniel. “It’s great to see people engaging with the guide and passing along their feedback and suggestions. We look forward to continuing to develop it into a robust digital resource for feminist instructors across fields.” While the guide was made with online learning in mind, it can most definitely be applied to physical classrooms as well as virtual ones. Dr. Howard says she hopes “that with the right instructional technology tools and intentional integration of feminist pedagogy principles, instructors could construct dynamic and active online learning communities similar to what occurs in the traditional classroom.” Lauren Lehmann, one of the copresidents from Feminist Alliance of Students at Tulane, encourages people to read the guide, saying “it is so necessary to include increased gender and sexuality education in Tulane’s curriculum to send Tulane alumni out into the world with a well-rounded and inclusive world view.” With effort from the entire Tulane community, hopefully this guide for feminist teaching can be implemented to create an inclusive and encouraging educational environment.

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

Student VOICES, Student ACTION

LaKia Williams is a current senior at Tulane studying neuroscience with a minor in Africana Studies on the pre-med track with the goal of one day becoming a gynecologist and abortion provider. She is a reproductive justice advocate, previous president of Students United for Reproductive Justice, and founder of Big Easy E.C.

Madeline "Madi" Bolin is a sophomore at Tulane University from Slidell, Louisiana. She is majoring in Political Science and Communications and minoring in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Madi is the Co-President of and a writer for Her Campus Tulane and frequently directs shows for and is on the executive board of Tulane University Performing Arts Society.

LaKia Williams: Bringing Reproductive Justice To a Campus Near You

By Madi Bolin

What is reproductive justice? What are emergency contraceptives? Who is LaKia Williams? These are all questions I explored when I interviewed LaKia Williams over the summer to learn about Big Easy E.C., a service that is committed to providing free emergency contraception and other sexual health products to students on Tulane and Loyola’s campuses.

What is Reproductive Justice?

LaKia: “So my definition of reproductive justice is informed by SisterSong who kind of gave it a definition, but essentially it is having autonomy over one's body, having the right to choose to become pregnant, the right to choose to have children, not to have children, and to parent those children in a safe and healthy environment. So, essentially, the right to have an abortion, the right to have children, if you want them. So think about eugenics and how people have been forcibly sterilized so that they cannot reproduce and have children, or think of climate justice and how so many Black and brown people live near industrial plants that can affect health, or the over policing of Black and brown neighborhoods and how police brutality is a threat to people’s lives, these are all components of reproductive injustice.

To break that down, reproductive justice is a movement to liberate marginalized people when it comes to the larger picture of reproduction, including choice, abortion, pregnancy, birth, and raising children."

Madi: “So, in a phrase, reproductive justice is taking reproductive rights and making them intersectional.”

Lakia: “No. So that's a common misconception that reproductive justice was kind of reactionary to reproductive rights not being inclusive to other people. Reproductive justice is kind of its own separate thing that just happens to have overlap with reproductive rights or abortion access. But it more so focuses on the lived experiences of oppression of marginalized people, mainly Black and brown women, but also femmes and nonbinary people as well.”

What is SURJ?

SURJ stands for Students United for Reproductive Justice, a Tulane student organization that LaKia was president of last year who she partnered with for the creation of Big Easy E.C. SURJ is dedicated to promoting reproductive justice and bringing it to our community.

What is Emergency Contraception?

Emergency contraception, E.C. for short, is a pill that you can take after unprotected sex to reduce your chance of unintended pregnancy. There is also an IUD version of E.C., but the most accessible form of E.C. is the pill, often referred to as “the morning after pill.” These pills usually work by preventing ovulation.

What is Big Easy E.C.?

LaKia: “Emergency contraception is pretty expensive. It's up to $50. You can get it around $40 if it's off brand. And I know in my experience with me and my friends, freshman year, we couldn't have cars on campus, so just getting off campus and getting to the E.C. was hard. There was the burden of transportation and then the cost of transportation, and then the actual cost of the medication.”

Madi: “Plus the judgment that comes along with the process. I know there are so many people that I've talked to that are like, “Yeah, I don't buy things like condoms or emergency contraception because I feel so ashamed to be in there and so and so people are judging me for it.”

LaKia: “Right. Definitely. That's a big part of it. So because of all those things, it was definitely prohibitive to get E.C. as a college student. And in general, honestly.”

To address these issues, LaKia reached out to a local New Orleans organization, ReJAC.

LaKia: “ReJAC is the Reproductive Justice Action Collective. And they do a PLAN B NOLA program where they provide free E.C. to the New Orleans community. I connected with them and asked them, “Hey, I want to start this program [at Tulane]. I'm looking for any guidance.” And they connected me with Kelly Cleeland, who is the director of the American Society for Emergency Contraception."

From there, LaKia connected with student activists all across the country who created programs similar to Big Easy E.C. She went to a conference in Washington D.C. where she met one student who was actually able to get a law passed in their state to stop certain prohibitions on access to E.C. and several students who had started peer to peer E.C. distribution programs on their campuses.

LaKia: “That’s where [Big Easy E.C.] was born, at that conference. I was like, “Wow, I can really do this.” It's different when it's adults who do this, but these people are my age who would have the same fears as me doing this. So it gives you the confidence to move forward with it.”

At the beginning of the 2019 school year, SURJ , led by LaKia, met and got Big Easy E.C. off the ground. Big Easy launched its program by tabling at the Sexual Health Festival hosted by Tulane’s chapter of NAMI that year, and within fifteen minutes of packing everything up, their hotline was getting texts with requests for E.C. LaKia: “And at that time we were taking donations because we had our first supply of E.C., but we were anticipating buying the rest. Then, later down the line in Big Easy E.C.'s life, the Tulane Health Center found out about us, and at the time they were providing E.C. in the pharmacy during their open hours, which are pretty limited. But because of our organizing they decided to provide their E.C. for free and to supply us with our E.C. that we distribute to students. So we no longer ask for a donation because we have a steady supply from the Tulane Health Center. So that was amazing. I was very excited about that. Not all schools have that, which is why we also supply to Loyola students because of their university’s restrictions.”

How Does Big Easy E.C. Work? How Do I Utilize It?

Big Easy E.C. operates through their sexual healthline number at (504-215-8634), which is available 24/7 for students to text to ask for emergency contraception. Big Easy has about ten volunteers who sign up for two to three shifts per month in which they are on call 24/7 to answer the texts sent into the healthline.

When you text the healthline, they respond and ask you about how you would like to get your emergency contraception delivered to you. You pick the place and time, and they will meet you then and there with a discrete package containing emergency contraception and condoms. It is one hundred percent free, discrete, and on the terms of those requesting the emergency contraception. LaKia points out that this is an effort of reproductive justice because it is a free and accessible way to provide people with the option to not have children, if that is what they choose, and to have full bodily autonomy.

Big Easy E.C. is now also providing free pregnancy tests. Although they do not require donations for their other services, because this service is new, they are accepting donations for this.

After they leave, you are sent an optional, but encouraged, follow up survey asking you some questions so that Big Easy can continue to provide this service and make changes and improvements where necessary.

Madi: “What exactly does the survey say?”

LaKia: “So the survey finds a lot of information about demographics. So it asks for your gender, sex, race etc. And then there's a question that asks if you're on financial aid to see if we're meeting the needs of students with the most financial need. And then it asks about their experience with Big Easy E.C. to see how they learned about us, and would they recommend us. And if they have any notes that they want to share.”

How Do You Prevent People From Abusing This Service?

While I was preparing for my interview with LaKia, I was talking to my fairly conservative father about the topic, and he was quite skeptical. He did not immediately reject the idea, but he had his questions; specifically, he asked me how do you prevent students from abusing the service.

Without realizing it, my father had pointed out a common dog whistle used by people who oppose reproductive justice. They might ask about services such as Big Easy, “How do you prevent people from abusing this service?” so that they can mask their disapproval of the service altogether.

Dismissing the argument would be short-sighted: despite it being a façade opposers use to discredit reproductive justice services, the argument has become an actual concern for people who are not aware of the agenda behind it. The point of the argument is to sow seeds of doubt of these initiatives into peoples’ minds to make them question the efficacy of the initiatives, in turn making them more vulnerable to people calling for their dismissal altogether. Also, me avoiding the argument will not prevent people from continuing to think of it.

So, I decided to genuinely ask the question.

Madi: “How exactly do you guys get ahead of the possibility of people abusing the service?”

LaKia: “And what do you mean by abusing it? How would they abuse it?”

Madi: “Getting too much? Do you guys have a limit on how many individual pills you give out at a time or how many times people use it in a month or so?”

LaKia: “So I don't believe that people can abuse it. I think that if people are routinely using

(Left) LaKia at a rally at the Supreme Court for the June Medical Services, LLC vs. Russo case and (right) with SisterSong founder Loretta Ross at the Let's Talk About Sex Conference in Atlanta, October 2019.

emergency contraceptives, that means that they probably don't have access to more traditional, long term forms of birth control, the pill, the patch, etc. And that is a barrier within itself. So they have to use this free service, you wouldn't want to have to call someone every time you need birth control. You'd rather just own your own supply. So, obviously there's a need, and we want to service those people with those needs. Something that has been discussed but we haven’t moved forward with at this point is partnering with a campus department to hopefully have a program where we can identify people who are using it more often and offer them support if they're having issues with affording birth control. Finding funding or different ways for them to be able to afford birth control on their own. But it's not like they're in trouble for using Big Easy E.C., we want to help them. But if there is a way we can better help them by giving them resources to get something that would be more beneficial, we would prefer to do that.”

Is This Feminist Work?

This question turned out to be much more loaded than either of us first realized. I first asked if she thought that Big Easy E.C. was doing feminist work, but then I backpeddled and stipulated that, in my opinion, there cannot be feminism without it being intersectional. Even then, we kept having to make explanations and stipulations about what feminism is that revealed a lot about our goals as feminists and as advocates.

LaKia: “So, obviously, I'm a Black woman and I have this contentious relationship with feminism. I'm definitely a Black feminist. And Big Easy E.C. is run and founded by a Black woman. But still... Ok, I am a Newcomb scholar, which is an honors program based on feminist scholarship. I'm a feminist, I guess. And I would say it's feminism, but I would say it's more than that because it's within the reproductive justice framework. So I say yes, hesitantly. And I have a better answer now. I think that Big Easy E.C. is a reproductive justice project. And I don't necessarily think it's feminist because reproductive justice embodies classism and racism and ableism and all the other “isms.” And I think that feminism has not, on a large scale, embraced all those “isms” in the way that reproductive justice has.

Madi: “And, not to make assumptions, but to make an assumption: I think that a lot of the possible hesitancy on labeling it feminist work is because so much of what is seen as feminist work is the work of white feminists, that it's not intersectional feminist work. And specifically because Big Easy E.C. is a work of reproductive justice, it's supposed to be intersectional.”

A few months after the interview LaKia qualified her original answer after interning with the national Reproductive Justice organization, SisterSong, and learning more about the history of Black feminism.

LaKia: "When first asked this question I was at a point in my life where I was really fed up with mainstream feminism or White feminism and its exclusion and focus on optics rather than justice and equity. So in my response I stated that Big Easy E.C. is a reproductive justice project and not a feminist project. But this was a misguided, un-informed answer. Since interning at SisterSong: The National Women

LaKia Williams' podcast, Black Feminist Rants, centers the experiences of Black women and femmes navigating social justice spaces and the world. Artwork by LaKia Williams.

of Color Reproductive Justice Collective and having the privilege to interview Loretta Ross, one of the Founding Mothers of RJ, I have since learned that reproductive justice is fundamentally a Black feminist creation. And just because I have my issues with how mainstream entities have misconstrued feminism does not mean that feminism should be thrown away. I now 100% say that my work is a feminist practice, one rooted in Black feminism and Reproductive Justice. I think this evolution speaks to how we are all learning and growing, I have had this development in a 3-4 month time span, which looking back seems so wild to me that I would ever say my work is not feminist, I was essentially allowing white women's isolation and exclusion of people like me to lead me to disqualify my work from what it was rooted in. That is something I regret but also something I have learned from. And I am grateful to elders like Loretta Ross who call the newer generation in and educate us and remind us to stand in our power. And that no matter what white feminists and women do or don't do, that will never change the work that we are doing and the work of the people before us who paved the way and created theories around Black feminism and womanism."

Where are SURJ and Big Easy E.C. Going From Here?

LaKia: “I think we're definitely on an upward trend. And I'm very excited for SURJ’s new executive board and for what they're going to do. I would really like for us to use some of our privileged money that we have from the endowment of Tulane, realizing that Tulane has been led by slave owners and enslaved people have worked on this land. So I think it's important to use some of that money to give back to the community. I want us to delve into anti-racist thinking around reproductive rights. Reproductive justice already does that, but reproductive rights does not. I hope that we get more and more marginalized identities involved in SURJ because right now I think our E board is more diverse than our general body. But then again, that's just the nature of Tulane. I want it to be a place where marginalized people feel like they can be involved and that it's not like a just a white feminist space. That's one of my really big goals.” I would like to thank LaKia Williams for allowing me to interview her and to provide this information and insight to our community. SURJ and Big Easy E.C. are providing vital resources to our campus and our community, and it is imperative that they receive our support. Look out for more reproductive justice initiatives led by LaKia Williams such as her recently created podcast “Black Feminist Rants.”

In Memoriam

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

Shirley Anne Grau (1929-2020) Shirley Anne Grau graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Newcomb in 1950 with a BA in English. She is known for winning the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for fiction with her novel “The Keepers of the House.” She published six novels and four story collections before her death. Her award-winning novel drew critical praise but also threatening phone calls for its depiction of a long romance between a wealthy white man and his black housekeeper in rural Alabama.”

Tricia Ann Greene (1946-2020) Tricia “Trish” Ann Greene graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Newcomb in 1967 with a degree in math and as a member of Alpha Omicron Pi. She attended Newcomb on scholarship and was able to finish her education in three years. Greene was an important member of the Newcomb community and over the years she was active in many Newcomb and Tulane alumni activities serving as president the Newcomb Alumnae Association. She was awarded the Newcomb Alumnae Service and Loyalty Award.

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

Dottie Charbonnet (1938-2020) Dorothy “Dottie” Nelle Storey Charbonnet graduated from Newcomb in 1960 with a degree in History as a member and officer of Pi Beta Phi. She was very involved in her community and was the wife of Rex and mother of a Rex queen. She would never miss a Rex ball or a Meeting of the Courts.

Anita Pelias Georges (1930-2020) Newcomb alumna Anita Pelias Georges adored her husband, family, and church and played a large role in the Greek community of New Orleans. She was a kind soul who was known to have hosted everyone from lonely guest sfor holidays to Greek diplomats and dignitaries, and she was often a guest at the Greek Embassy in Washington DC and in Paris. Jane Silverberg (1930-2019) Jane Silverberg attended Newcomb before transferring to University of Michigan where she earned her degrees in social studies and education. She was very involved in her community, had a strong interest in politics, and was a major advocate for civil rights. She even marched with St. Petersburg's striking sanitation workers to promote better pay and working conditions. Jane was an active member of the NAACP.

Susan Chase (1944- 2019) Susan Chase attended Newcomb from the years ’62-’66 and double majored in art history and sculpture. She pursued her love for sculpture throughout her life, and was very involved in her community through art. She even started an art program at Falmouth Academy, then moved with the headmaster to Cape Cod Academy, started the art program there, and taught until 1991.

Holly Berkowitz Clegg (1955-2019) Holly Berkowitz Clegg graduated from Newcomb in 1977 with a BA in Art History and a minor in English. She attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in London and Le Jules Verne in Paris. Over her 30-year career, she published 17 cookbooks, sold over 1.5 million books, became a nationally recognized healthy eating advocate and improved the lives of countless individuals. During her career, Holly's television appearances included the Today Show, Fox and Friends, and more.

Berthe Amoss (1925-2019) Berthe Amoss graduated from Newcomb in 1946 and continued her education at Tulane University graduating with a Master’s in English and Art in 1986. She continued to remain involved in the Tulane community when she taught children's literature at Tulane from 1981-1993 and again from 2001-2003. At Tulane, she was the first recipient of the Newcomb College Authors Fellowship, and founded and directed Trial Balloons, a children's literature program at the university. She established the Amoss collection of children's literature at Tulane's Howard Tilton Memorial Library. Vivian Gussin Paley (1929-2019) Vivian Gussin Paley graduated Newcomb with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1950. She then went on to earn a PhB from the University of Chicago, become a teacher, and research in a lab. Vivian wrote a series of books based on her research and received many awards, including the Erikson Institute Award for Service to Children in 1987 and the John Dewey Society’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2000.

Florence Ross Deer (1934-2020) Florence Ross Deer graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Newcomb in 1955. During her time at Newcomb she was a member of the Rho Chapter of Chi Omega Fraternity. Florence was active in her community as a member of the Arkansas Arts Center's Fine Arts Club, where she served as President, co-chaired the biennial Tabriz benefit, and chaired the Decorative Arts Symposium on The White House Collection among many other roles throughout her life.

Sue Francis Balmer (1934-2020) Ms. Sue Francis Balmer graduated from Newcomb in 1956 and then continued at Tulane University for her master’s degree in education. During her time at Tulane, Sue was involved in the Chi Omega Sorority and continued to hold the organization close to her heart even after graduating when she served as president of Chi Omega's New Orleans alumnae chapter (RHO).

Dr. Demaris Moore Coorigan (1961-2019) Dr. Demaris Moore Coorigan graduated from Newcomb Summa Cum Laude in 1983 but continued her education at Tulane University by pursuing a JD from the Tulane School of Law in legal history and a MA from Tulane University in Classics. A very accomplished and knowledgeable woman, Dr. Demaris studied under some of the world’s leading thinkers and educators, spoke Latin, Ancient Greek, Italian, German, and French and was the author of a book, Riders on High: The Cavalry of Alexander the Great, as well as several journal articles.

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

In Memoriam Barbara Ferguson Ginsberg

Newcomb College Class of 1951

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Respectfully submitted,

Michael P. Kuczynski Professor of English

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

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

Events

2020 ZALE-KIMMERLING WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE

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

Celebrating 35 years of the Zale-Kimmerling Writer-in-Residence Program

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

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