TCU Institute of Child Development

Karyn Brand Purvis, Ph.D.--Director

Karyn is the Director of the Institute of Child Development which became a Vision-In-Action initiative of Texas Christian University in June of 2005. The Institute of Child Development is an outgrowth of a 1999 research collaboration with her colleague David Cross and focuses on the development of research-based interventions for vulnerable children. She travels extensively nationally and internationally, providing training and consultation for families and professionals working with at-risk children. She is a member of the advisory board of the Texas Association of Infant Mental Health and is co-author of The Connected Child, a feature book of McGraw Hill which was published in the US and in the UK.

Karyn received education at TCU including a Bachelors Degree in 1998, Masters of Science in 2001 and Doctorate of Philosophy in 2003. She has been honored as Green Chair Honor recipient, Mortar Board Preferred Professor, and with her colleague, Dave Cross, as the Research/Academic Hero in Healthcare Award by the Dallas Business Journal. She is a member of the Texas Association of Infant Mental Health, Society for Research in Child Development and the American Psychological Association.

Karyn is a former foster parent, a mother of three boys, and a grandmother of six -- two of whom are adopted.

David Cross, Ph.D.--Associate Director

David is the Associate Director of the Institute of Child Development, where his primary responsibilities are to assist the Director, Dr. Karyn Purvis, and to supervise the research activities of the Institute. He is also Director of the Developmental Research Laboratory, which includes three doctoral students, 3 honors students, and ten undergraduate research assistants. And he is Professor in the Psychology Department, where he teaches courses such as Principles of Behavior, Child Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Graduate Developmental Psychology, and Multivariate Analysis.

David earned his B.S. from California State University Fresno with a major in Psychology, and then attended The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for graduate study, beginning in 1980. He earned an M.A. Psychology and an M.A. in Statistics, and then earned a Ph.D. in Education and Psychology. In 1985, he accepted a position as Assistant Professor in TCU's Department of Psychology.

Other Institute Staff

Jackie Pennings, M.S. -- Research Coordinator

Vicki Lindsey -- Executive Assistant

Developmental Research Lab--Graduate Students

Amanda Howard, M.S.

L. Brooks McKenzie, M.A.

Casey Call, M.Ed., LPCi

Meet our People