Faculty Trustee: Karen Brakke, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology, Spelman CollegeB
B.A., Carleton College, 1985
Ph.D., Georgia State University, 1996
Spelman College Board of Trustees: Elected in 2021
City of Residence: Atlanta, Georgia 




Karen Brakke, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Spelman and serves as director of the College's Teaching Resource and Research Center. She joined the Spelman faculty in 1999 and subsequently served as psychology department chair from 2008-2014 and special assistant to the Provost in 2014-2015. Dr. Brakke is trained as a developmental psychologist, with research interest in early childhood development, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and narrative identity in emerging adulthood.

She has authored over 20 peer-reviewed articles, a peer-reviewed monograph, and several other publications relevant to these areas of inquiry. In addition to teaching a variety of psychology courses at Spelman, she has mentored approximately 100 students on thesis, research, or independent study projects and has worked with multiple federally-funded undergraduate research training programs.

Dr. Brakke is active in the national psychology and developmental science teaching and research communities. A former president of the Southeastern Psychological Association, she currently serves as co-chair of the American Psychological Association's Committee on Associate and Baccalaureate Education and on the editorial board of the journal Teaching of Psychology. She regularly participates in scientific and institutional review activities, which keep her abreast of issues facing higher education.