Newcomb was influenced by Ida Richardson and the college was associated with the Progressive Movement from its earliest years.

To ensure girls and young women were academically prepared for college, Dixon established the Newcomb High School, which operated from 1888 to 1920.

This reflected both a progressive interest in craft and parents' desire for their daughters to learn a practical, "industrial" skill in the economically difficult postwar years.

One of the commissions was for Resurrection, part of a triptych designed in memory of her daughter, Harriet Sophie Newcomb, for whom the college was named.

Other Tiffany windows were designed for an area behind the altar of the original chapel in memory of Josephine's husband Warren Newcomb and her mother Mary Sophie LeMonnier.

Newcomb contributed greatly to the early development of basketball and other sports for women, which added to its reputation.

In 1895, Newcomb's physical education instructor Clara Gregory Baer published the handbook Basketball Rules for Women and Girls.

On March 13, 1895, Newcomb students played the first public basketball game in the South before 560 other women at the Southern Athletic Club.

As it grew, the college reflected many social changes, such as the wider roles of women during and after World War II.

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), in the early 1960s both the university and college integrated to adjust to a new moral imperative.

The focus of the curriculum changed over the years, and women were offered more science and business classes.

Some of the faculty had believed that Newcomb's separate status had adversely affected promotions, for instance, as well as other academic opportunities and had long encouraged a realignment within Tulane University.

In May 2007, NCI inaugurated "Under the Oaks," a Commencement awards ceremony recognizing the accomplishments of Tulane University students involved in Newcomb Institute programs.

[18] Molly Travis of the Tulane Department of English was appointed as the second Interim Executive Director at NCI, serving 2008–2009.

[21] Newcomb Institute's current mission as of January 4, 2024 is "We are an academic institute advancing research, training, and practice focused on gender equity and empowerment so all people, regardless of their social characteristics, can achieve their full potential academically, socially, professionally, and in positions of leadership.

We work with students and community partners to create the next generation of gender equity scholars and leaders[22]."

[23] Evans wrote that was because "Mardi Gras heavily intrudes itself in college life" at Newcomb and because the area's debutante season lasts from November to March.