Biography
Dr. Christopher Near (Chris) joined Northern State University in 2020 as an assistant professor and became an associate professor in 2025. He taught previously at Northern Arizona University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His current research focuses on organizational wrongdoing, whistleblowing in organizations, and recidivism among corporations that violate government regulations. Dr. Near has served on the thesis committees of several honors students and has supervised McNair Trio students and student internships in criminal justice. 
 

Ph.D., Sociology, University of Michigan, 2016

B.A., Sociology, Indiana University, 2010
 

Past Research: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bekDZj4AAAAJ&hl=en
 

Courses Taught (current, previous and scheduled)
CJUS 201 Introduction to Criminal Justice
CJUS 203 Policing in a Free Society 
CJUS 380 Research/Data Analysis in Criminal Justice 
CJUS 401 Law and Society 
CJUS 433 Criminal Procedure 
SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology 
SOC 209 Statistical Reasoning 
SOC 351 Criminology 
SOC 455 Juvenile Delinquency 
SOC 492/592 Drugs in Society