Dr. Timothy M. Bray is Director of the Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas. As the only research institute to be established by a grass roots community building organization, the Institute retains a flavor that makes it unique among its peers. While many institutes engage in "research for the sake of research", the Institute for Urban Policy Research truly believes that the fruits of research must serve the underserved by motivating the caliber of sustainable change necessary to improve quality of life and build a better world. The Institute continues to build friendships in the communities we serve, helping residents realize their visions of lasting change.

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 political economy and criminology programs. He teaches graduate and upper division courses in quantitative methodologies and structural correlates of social disorganization. He also mentors graduate students, and involves graduate students in the research work of the Institute. Dr. Bray received his Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.