Dr. Kurtz is a university professor, noted criminologist, and Bernhardt scholar. He was once the youngest chair of a criminal justice department in the United States. He also developed one of the nation’s first courses on Crime Victims. He founded the Oklahoma State Criminal Justice Research Consortium, a statewide research consortium, The John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University and The National Institute of Justice, which was identified as an Innovation in government.
He has been a university professor in Oklahoma for 47 years. During that time he was awarded the highest rank of Full Professor at both Oklahoma City University and Southwestern Oklahoma State.
He has worked closely with local state and federal agencies such as the FBI and US Marshalls to facilitate programs and student involvement at the state and national levels.
He has consulted and appeared on Television on over 200 criminal cases with local and national media including the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. The Discovery Channel
He established graduate programs with the Republic of China, The US Military at Fort Sill General Motors, and the Petroleum Industry.
His course International Systems of Justice allowed Oklahoma College students and professionals to study in Great Britain, Germany, China Taiwan.
He has published 50 articles and books and made over 150 scholarly presentations at National and International Scholarly Meetings. He has received numerous grants from Oklahoma to study the criminal justice system. He has appeared on Television over 200 times as a crime consultant.
He received his PhD from The University of North Texas and completed two Post-doctoral studies at Rice University funded by the Melon Foundation. During his Doctoral work, he received grants from the National Institute of Justice to develop innovative counseling techniques for inmates.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Awarded by the Oklahoma Sociological Association for teaching sociology, 2005.
Recognized as one of the "Outstanding People of the 20th Century" by IBC, Cambridge, England, 1999.
Served as an officer of the Texas Federation of Ph.D.'s Alumni Association, 1992-93.
Honored by the Central Police College, Republic of China, for contributions to police science and international exchange, January 1988.
Listed in Who's Who in Intellectuals, 1987; Who's Who in Law and Social Control, 1986; Who's Who in Technology Today, 1984; Who's Who in the Southwest, 1984.
Received the Olson Award and Honorarium for Best Faculty Research at Oklahoma City University, 1983.
Completed postdoctoral fellowships at Rice University, funded by the Mellon Foundation, in Crime and the Media, 1982, and Intergovernmental Policy Making, 1981.
Named Scholastic All American, 1981.
Vice President of Alpha Kappa Delta, National Sociology Honor Society.
Member of Alpha Chi, National Honor Society, and Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice Honor Society.
Featured in Who's Who at North Texas State University, 1977-78, 1978-79, and Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, 1977-78, 1978-79.
Recipient of the Youth in Achievement International Award, 1979.
For an extended BIO contact. howard.kurtz@swosu.edu
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