H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, or Newcomb College, was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter. Newcomb was the first women's coordinate college within a United States university. This model was later used in partnerships such as Pembroke College at Brown University and Barnard College at Columbia University. In 2006, Newcomb College was merged into other Tulane undergraduate colleges, as part of Tulane's Renewal Plan following the major losses and damage of... Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Alleged heirs of Mrs. Newcomb sued, challenging Tulane on the issue of donor intent and seeking to preserve Newcomb as a separate coordinate college within the university, but the lawsuit ended in 2011 after appellate court rulings in support of the university's position. Josephine Louise Newcomb established the college as a memorial to her daughter Sophie, who died in 1870 at the age of 15. Following an initial donation of $100,000, she made gifts totaling $3 million.
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