Dr. Rick Morley

Assistant Professor

Dr. Richard (Rick) Morley holds a Doctorate in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on Culture, Human Development, and Learning from the University of Texas. Dr. Morley’s research focus relates to the impact of mindfulness meditation on criminality, aggression, antisocial behavior, and brain networks associated with violence. Dr. Morley has published multiple articles and has spoken at a variety of professional conferences concerning the intersection of violence, criminality, brain networks, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Also, he has conducted professional talks on several related topics including mindfulness, mental health, religiosity, self-compassion, and antisocial personality disorder. Dr. Morley was awarded a research enhancement grant to study the intersection of brain networks and aggression using brain imaging data collect from the Human Connectome Project. Moreover, he received the Texas State College Achievement Award for Scholarly/Creative Activity in the Fall of 2015. Dr.Morley has a published TED talk titled “Compassion as an Antidote for Violence” at TEDxTexasState.

Dr. Morley arrived in the Austin area after he graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in Corrections from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Soon after his arrival in the Austin area, he went to work as a Parole Officer for the Parole Division of Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He left working for the Parole Division to pursue his Master’s Degree in Human Resource Development at Texas State University. Following his graduation, Dr. Morley became a placement specialist at Goodwill Industries of Central Texas where he helped former inmates find jobs. He transitioned into part-time employment to pursue his Ph.D. Also, he served as Chair of the Evidence Base Practice Subcommittee of Travis County Reentry Roundtable.