Weatherford, OK – Dr. Howard A. Kurtz, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), has been named president of the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice (SWACJ). His one-year term began in 2026 after approximately 20 years of involvement with the association. He was elected to its board three years before becoming president.

SWACJ brings together criminal justice educators, professionals and students from Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The organization is affiliated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and holds an annual conference for research presentations, professional development and student competitions. SWOSU students regularly participate and earned first place in the academic competition and third place in the forensic competition in 2025.

Kurtz hopes to increase participation among Oklahoma students and faculty during his presidency. His responsibilities include selecting a conference theme and helping plan the 2027 annual meeting at the Hard Rock in Tulsa. The conference gives students opportunities to present their work beyond campus, meet researchers, and learn about scholarship at other universities.

“Universities are at their best when they support scholarship and create opportunities for students and faculty to share their work,” Kurtz said. “Service to organizations such as SWACJ is one way we can strengthen those opportunities and encourage the next generation of criminal justice scholars.”

Kurtz also serves as editor of SWACJ’s academic journal, the Qualitative Journal of Criminal Justice and Criminology, a position he has held for the past year and a half. He worked with SWOSU’s digital librarian to bring the journal to Digital Commons, the university’s online repository for research and scholarly work. According to Kurtz, the journal has recorded more than 60,000 downloads across more than 120 countries since being added to the platform.

Kurtz is a Bernhardt Scholar at SWOSU and previously served for many years as chair of the Oklahoma State Criminal Justice Research Consortium. Through SWACJ, SWOSU students have opportunities to use the research, analysis and communication skills they develop in their social sciences courses. Presenting research and participating in competitions give them experience explaining their work and responding to questions beyond the classroom.

For more information about SWOSU’s social sciences programs, visit swosu.edu/social-sciences. Information about the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice is available at swacj.com.

About Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) was founded in 1901 and offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs across three locations in Weatherford, Sayre, and Yukon. The university serves more than 5,000 students and prides itself on affordability, small class sizes, and over 200 faculty and staff committed to helping students achieve their academic and personal goals.

For more information about Southwestern Oklahoma State University, visit www.swosu.edu.

Copyright 2026 Paragon Communications. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.