Newcomer, Kathyrn

(b.1949, Omaha, Nebraska). Ph.D. Political Science, University of Iowa; M.A. Political Science, B.S. Secondary Education/Social Studies, University of Kansas.

Newcomer's main intellectual contribution to evaluation has been sorting out the relationships between performance measurement and program evaluation in public and nonprofit agencies. In practice, Newcomer has helped train hundreds of master's degree and doctoral students over two decades in evaluation skills and has overseen dozens of pro bono evaluation projects conducted by students for many nonprofit (and some public) agencies over the years.

J. Wholey and H. Hatry have served as her intellectual mentors, having collaborated on research, conferences, evaluations, and textbook design. Wholey's thinking about logic modeling and the use of evaluation work and performance measurement has been especially influential in shaping Newcomer's evaluation teaching and writing. Hatry's ideas about practical performance measurement have also greatly shaped her work.

Newcomer has served in leadership roles in several professional associations, and she was Chair of the Center for Accountability and Performance of the American Society for Public Administration. She has received teaching awards on being nominated by her students: the Peter Vaill Award (1996) and the George Washington Award (2000).