2026 Executive Board Candidates

Brenda Vose
University of North Florida

Personal Statement
Dear Friends and Colleagues,  

I would like to humbly ask for your support for my candidacy for 2^nd Vice President of the Southern Criminal Justice Association.

My involvement in SCJA dates to 2012, when I served as Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for the SCJA Conference in Atlantic Beach, FL. I was struck by the collegiality of SCJA members, the rich history of the organization, and the quality of scholarship at the conference. In subsequent years, I have served SCJA in a variety of roles, including SCJA Executive Board (Director-at-Large, 2022-2025), Chair of the Audit Committee (2022-2025), Chair of the Professional Conduct Committee (2025), and, currently, as a member of the Outstanding Professional Committee (2026). I have also been an editorial board member of the American Journal of Criminal Justice since 2018 and now serve as an Associate Editor.

If elected, I will enthusiastically serve the organization, work collaboratively to grow membership, continue to recognize the outstanding work of students, colleagues, and practitioners, and help organize and deliver, what I believe, is the best academic conference in the discipline.

Thank you in advance for your support, and I look forward to seeing you at the conference in Fort Lauderdale! 

Biographical Sketch
Brenda Vose (Ph.D., 2008, University of Cincinnati) is Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of North Florida, where she teaches and researches in the areas of community corrections, offender assessment and classification, offender treatment, evidence-based interventions, and law enforcement staffing. Given the size of the offender population, budgetary constraints, and the ever-present concern for public safety, she believes that research efforts are needed to recognize offenders’ individual risks and needs and to identify, implement, and improve effective treatment strategies through collaborative research-practitioner partnerships. She has previously served on the Southern Criminal Justice Association Executive Board, was selected as a 2025 Bureau of Justice Assistance, Reaching Rural Fellow, currently serves on the editorial board of Corrections, Policy, Practice, and Research, and is an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Criminal Justice. Her published work appears in Federal Probation, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Criminology and Public Policy, American Journal of Criminal Justice, Policing: An International Journal, Deviant Behavior, and The Prison Journal.

Kevin Buckler
University of Houston-Downtown

Personal Statement I am seeking election as a Director-at-Large for the Southern Criminal Justice Association because I believe my record of academic leadership, professional service, and long-standing engagement with the discipline has prepared me to contribute meaningfully to the organization’s governance and continued growth. Throughout my career, I have consistently taken on service roles that require collaborative decision-making, policy development, committee leadership, and stewardship of institutional priorities, all of which closely align with the responsibilities of the Director-at-Large position.

My service record reflects sustained leadership across departmental, college, university, and professional contexts. At the University of Houston-Downtown, I have served as Department Chair, Interim Department Chair, Associate Dean, Faculty Senator, member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Chair of the Chairs’ Council, and in numerous policy development and search committee roles. These experiences have required balancing competing perspectives, working collaboratively toward institutional goals, and approaching governance decisions with transparency, professionalism, and a focus on the organization’s long-term health. Beyond the university, my professional service has included editorial leadership as Editor of two criminal justice journals, advisory service with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, manuscript reviewing, legislative testimony on criminal justice policy issues, and mentoring students and emerging scholars.

My involvement with SCJA has included conference participation as both presenter and attendee, service on the Student Awards Committee, and lead service on the Tellers Committee. These experiences have given me an appreciation for the important role SCJA plays in fostering scholarly exchange, professional connection, and disciplinary community across career stages. If elected, I would bring a practical understanding of governance, a strong commitment to service, and a collaborative approach to helping advance the mission of the Southern Criminal Justice Association.

Biographical Sketch I am a Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Houston-Downtown, where I have spent much of my career teaching, mentoring, writing, and probably talking a little too much about crime, justice, media, and popular culture. I completed my PhD at the University of Cincinnati. My scholarly interests range from courts and criminal justice policy to qualitative methods, media representations of crime, and the ways films, television, and music shape how we understand justice. I am particularly drawn to scholarship that asks interesting questions, crosses methodological boundaries, and makes the discipline feel intellectually and humanistically alive.

A long-time SCJA attendee and presenter, I value the association not just as a conference, but as a professional community where ideas are sharpened, collaborations begin, and friendships are built. In the past, I’ve served in editorial leadership roles in journals and have spent my academic career balancing scholarship, teaching, administration, and service. Outside the classroom, I’ve contributed to public conversations about criminal justice through media commentary and policy engagement. I am honored to be considered for the Director-at-Large role and would welcome the opportunity to give back to an organization that has been an important part of my professional journey.

Kyle McClean
Clemson University

Personal Statement SCJA is without a doubt the best regional conference in criminal justice. The reasons are numerous: (1) it is always extremely welcoming of students and junior scholars; (2) it has long embraced the critical role of partnerships with people doing the work in the field (e.g., see the annual Outstanding Professional Award); (3) it runs one of the best journals not just in the region, but in the country, in the American Journal of Criminal Justice; (4) oh, and the conference is always in a fantastic location (Hello, Fort Lauderdale Westin). It is an absolute honor to be nominated for a Director-at-large role with SCJA and I promise, if elected, to continue promoting SCJA to ensure its continued dominance in those four domains. I will work to promote SCJA as an organization that is welcoming to new scholars, embraces practitioners, publishes high-quality research, and knows how to have fun in great locations.

Biographical Sketch Kyle McLean received his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University and his Master’s and Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. He served as an Assistant Professor in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University from 2018-2020 and is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice at Clemson University, as well as the Director of the Center for Public Safety Research at Clemson. His research interests focus on policing and efforts to make policing more responsive to public demands. His work has appeared in a wide range of journals including Criminology, Justice Quarterly, and Criminology and Public Policy. He is the 2018 recipient of the Southern Criminal Justice Association’s Outstanding Doctoral Student Award and has served SCJA as member of the audit committee. Additionally, he has supported the American Journal of Criminal Justice both as an author and a reviewer.