Tara Kolar Bryan
Associate Professor
Specialties: Strategic Management, Nonprofit and Public Organizations, Civil Society Organizations in Central Europe, Community-Engaged Research and Teaching
Biography
Dr. Tara Kolar Bryan is an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee’s Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, where she also serves as Director of the Master of Public Administration online program. Her research focuses on nonprofit management, organizational capacity, and the role of evaluation and data in strengthening accountability and effectiveness within nonprofit organizations.
Bryan’s work explores how nonprofits build resilience, navigate uncertainty, and serve communities, with particular attention to leadership development and equity-focused initiatives. She has led numerous funded research projects examining nonprofit capacity building and support for leaders of color, and her scholarship has been published in leading journals such as Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly and Journal of Nonprofit Management and Leadership.
Before joining the University of Tennessee, Bryan spent over a decade at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she held faculty and leadership roles, including Chair of the Master of Public Administration program. She was also a Fulbright Scholar at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, where her research examined nonprofit resilience and governance during the Ukrainian refugee crisis.
Her work reflects a strong commitment to bridging research and practice, fostering meaningful partnerships between academic institutions and the communities they serve.
Education
Ph.D., Public Administration and Public Affairs, Virginia Tech
M.P.A., Public Service and Administration, Texas A&M
B.A., Political Science, St. Mary’s University