MIAMI — Julie Tarr, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s program director for Philadelphia and State College, has been named evaluation director of the foundation, reporting to President Alberto Ibargüen. Tarr will continue her work as program director for State College.

In her new position, Tarr will oversee evaluations across the foundation, including community, national and journalism funding. She will focus on ensuring the transformational impact of the foundation’s grant making. 

“We needed someone who sees evaluation as a living, functioning part of the work of the foundation. Julie fits that bill and she’ll make us all better by holding us to our goals and objectives and helping us learn what works and why,” said Ibargüen.

Tarr has been program director for the Philadelphia and State College communities since 2001. She helped launch Knight Foundation’s Community Partners Program, which seeks opportunities to transform and improve the quality of life in the communities the foundation funds. 

Tarr is the former associate director for the Center for Early Education Research at Rutgers University. She also previously worked for the City of New York and City of Chicago in housing and community development. She holds a doctorate in educational administration from Rutgers University Graduate School of Education, a master’s in urban planning and a bachelor’s in arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of the communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. To see and hear stories of Knight’s transformational funding, visit www.knightfdn.org/annual.