Sarah Alvarez, a groundbreaking journalist who is nationally known for forging new ways to serve economically challenged communities, is joining Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication as the James B. Steele Chair in Journalism Innovation.
Alvarez, who began her career as a civil-rights lawyer, is the founder and editor-at-large of Outlier Media, a Detroit-based news and information service focused on investigative and accountability journalism. Outlier has won many national journalism awards for its innovations, including the use of SMS-based reporting and distribution systems that empower low-income residents in dealing with landlords, utility companies and public entities.
In 2024, Alvarez and her Outlier colleague Candice Fortman won the Online News Association’s Impact Award, which honors “trailblazing individuals whose work in digital journalism and dedication to innovation exhibits a substantial impact on the industry.”
The James B. Steele Chair in Journalism Innovation was created in 2016 through a $2 million gift from the Philadelphia-based Wyncote Foundation. The chair was named after Jim Steele, a former investigative reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer whose groundbreaking work in data journalism garnered two Pulitzer Prizes. The endowment was designed to attract cutting-edge thinkers to the Klein College.
The first occupant of the chair was Aron Pilhofer, a digital-journalism pioneer who came to Temple from The Guardian, where he was chief digital officer. Pilhofer left the university last year after a successful stint that included the creation of The Tiny News Collective, which provides infrastructure for local-news startups.
Klein College Dean David Boardman said he was ecstatic on learning Alvarez had accepted the opportunity to be the next Steele Chair.
“Sarah is truly the right person at the right time for this unique position,” Boardman said. “Her work to empower communities through journalism is a perfect match with the work we do at the Klein College. Our faculty are excited to have her as a partner, and our students are going to learn so much from her.”
Alvarez said she is “thrilled” to be joining Temple University and the Klein College.”
“I’m excited to work with dedicated and brilliant colleagues, and to be innovating from a public university,” she said. “I look forward to developing models for news and information systems built in the public interest, and to learning with and from colleagues, students and Philadelphians.”
In addition to running Outlier Media, Alvarez is a founder of News Futures, a collective of journalism leaders focused on the vitality and utility of local news. Before founding Outlier, Alvarez worked as a senior producer and reporter at Michigan Radio, the statewide NPR affiliate.
LaSharah Bunting, a journalism-industry leader and vice president of the news site The 19th, said: “Temple University is incredibly fortunate to have Sarah join its faculty, bringing her visionary leadership, wealth of experience and unwavering dedication to redefining journalism’s role in society. She will inspire the next generation of journalists to think critically, innovate boldly and center their work in public service.”
Richard Tofel, former president of the investigative news site ProPublica, called Alvarez “one of our most original thinkers about the role of journalism in our communities.”
“Her appointment is a big win for Temple, her prospective students and the field as a whole,” Tofel said. “I can’t wait to see what comes of it.”
Alvarez is a graduate of the University of Michigan, of the Columbia University School of Public Health and of the Columbia University School of Law. In 2015-16, she was a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University.
Alvarez will join the Klein College faculty in July.