Timothy Bray
Bio
Dr. Timothy M. Bray is the Director of the Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas. IUPR truly believes that the fruits of research and community development must motivate the caliber of sustainable change necessary to improve quality of life and build a better world, one community at a time. The Institute directs its efforts toward those ends by conducting strategic and evaluation research that informs the direction of community-oriented organizations provides training and technical assistance to increase organizational and programmatic capacity and provides specific project-based consulting and guidance.
Dr. Bray is also on the faculty of the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he teaches in the Public Policy and Political Economy (PPPE) and Social Data Analysis and Research (SDAR) programs, and teaches graduate and upper division courses in quantitative methodologies and structural correlates of social disorganization. His Urban Issues Workshop pairs advanced doctoral students from many social science fields with community organizations that need assistance with research. He works closely with graduate and undergraduate students in a variety of projects and serves on several dissertation committees. His teaching includes professional development, as well, with several courses developed for non-profit professionals.
Dr. Bray serves on the Urban Institute’s National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, is a partner in the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, and as a member of the Editorial Board of the Academy of Criminal Justice Science’s Justice Evaluation Journal. Locally, he serves as President of the board directors of Allen Sports Association, and as a member of the Boards of Directors for the Greater Dallas Planning Council, Catholic Charities of Dallas, Trusted World, and the Foundation for Allen Schools. He advises other boards in a strategic capacity and is active in numerous community organizations.
Dr. Bray received his Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Before earning his doctorate, Dr. Bray served as an Assistant Bureau Chief with the Illinois State Police, where he headed the strategic and operational research units. Upon leaving the State Police, Dr. Bray was awarded the Achievement Medal for his innovative approach to solving contemporary and traditional policing issues. Before heading research operations for the Illinois State Police, Dr. Bray worked in areas of strategic planning and performance measurement, then in an advisory capacity to the department’s Deputy Director for the Information and Technology Command. In addition to state police experience, Dr. Bray has worked in city and county agencies.
Dr. Bray's current research focuses on the development of multidimensional indicators for quality of life and disparities in quality of life and the collective efficacy of private-public community-based partnerships. He was instrumental in the Institute’s launch of the Wholeness Index, a comprehensive index of disparities in quality of life that taps 12 key dimensions of social dislocation. Also, Dr. Bray’s research includes the development and application of hierarchical models to explain variation in neighborhood levels of social dislocations, including assessing and controlling for spatial dependence in the data.
A native of St. Louis, Dr. Bray resides with his wife and five daughters in North Texas.
Alma Mater
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