Bryn Mawr College appointed Katie Tarr as the Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education & Wellness, effective April 1, 2026.
First named to the interim position in July 2025, she guided Bryn Mawr Athletics while continuing her longstanding commitment to student-athlete success and departmental operations.
A familiar and respected leader within the Bryn Mawr community, Tarr brings more than two decades of experience at the College to her new role. She has served as Senior Woman Administrator since 2009 and was promoted to Associate Athletic Director in 2016, overseeing key areas including facilities, department budget, game operations, sports medicine, communications, and strength and conditioning.
"Katie has demonstrated a transformative vision for our athletic department," said Interim Dean of the Undergraduate College Tomiko Jenkins. "One that centers on a 'championship mindset' while remaining deeply rooted in the College's mission of academic excellence and student empowerment."
In the spring of 2016, Tarr was promoted to Associate Athletic Director at Bryn Mawr. Tarr's role as Associate Athletic Director included oversight of many of the day-to-day operations of the department. She served as the director of facilities and operations, including gameday procedures as well as leadership of the department's sports medicine, athletics communications, and fitness/strength and conditioning programs. She also managed the department’s budgets.
Tarr’s career at Bryn Mawr began as head coach for the Owls lacrosse team, a position she held from 2003 to 2016. Tarr's teams succeeded both on and off the field, with her squads and players receiving too many academic awards and recognitions to list. Tarr posted the highest career winning percentage with the lacrosse program of any coach since 1994. Tarr also served as the head basketball coach at Bryn Mawr for five seasons, and once again she is the winningest coach in that program since 1994. She also served as an assistant field hockey coach for two seasons.
During her playing years at Swarthmore, Tarr was a dominant force on the lacrosse field. She set the Centennial Conference record for most goals scored in a career with 260, a record that stood late into the 2000s. She was named both First Team All-Centennial Conference and Eastern Coast Athletic Conference All-Star twice. Tarr also built successful basketball and field hockey careers at Swarthmore. Across twelve seasons of varsity athletics at Swarthmore in three sports, Tarr never experienced a losing season. She received both the May E. Parry and the Eleanor Kay Hess awards for dedication to Swarthmore athletics and leadership in the department. In 2018, Tarr was inducted into the Garnet Athletics Hall of Fame.
Tarr received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Swarthmore College in 2002 and a Master of Science in Education, Higher Education Administration from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003.
