TAMIU Professor Named First Hispanic Female SWACJ President

Dr. Claudia E. San Miguel, associate professor and director, Texas A&M International University College of Arts and Sciences Criminal Justice Program, has been named the first female Hispanic president of the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice (SWACJ), a criminal justice academic organization.

“It’s an honor and privilege to serve the Association. I’ve been a member of SWACJ for years and have seen it mature in its commitment to quality scholarship in the field. I’m excited to work alongside colleagues in member states to further SWACJ’s mission,” said Dr. San Miguel.

SWACJ is an academic organization affiliated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Its mission is to promote scholarship in the field of criminal justice, provide opportunities to share research on a wide array of criminal justice-related topics, and encourage communication among individual members, other organizations and associations of higher learning and agencies of the criminal justice system.

SWACJ promotes scholarship and communication in the field of Criminal Justice among faculty, professionals, practitioners, and students. Member states include Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

San Miguel’s duties as president include presiding over the executive board meetings and association meetings, representing the Association at national criminal justice conferences and coordinating the Annual Conference.

The yearly Conference offers opportunities for participation in roundtable discussions and paper and poster presentation on criminal justice and/or criminology-related topics. Professionals from around the world are also encouraged to submit manuscripts for publication in the SWACJ official peer-reviewed journal on qualitative research, Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology.

“I am equally excited about representing TAMIU and the Criminal Justice Program in this leadership role as it will provide me many opportunities to highlight the accomplishments of faculty and students in our program as well as the accomplishments of our University,” she added.

A native of Laredo, Texas, San Miguel earned her B.S. and M.S. in criminal justice from TAMIU and her Ph.D., also in criminal justice, from Sam Houston State University.

For more information, contact San Miguel at csanmiguel@tamiu.edu or call 956.326.2529.

University office hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.

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