Timothy Holdiness 

News Editor 

 The Department of Criminal Justice, History and Social Sciences at Northwestern State University has had Sharon Green on staff as an associate professor since 2009. 

Green is currently the Chief Deputy Coroner for Vernon parish.  

“Those real-world experiences she continues to have allow her to keep what she talks about current and fresh,” Dr. Mark Melder, department chair of criminal Justice, History and Social Sciences, said. 

In 2014, Green received her basic certification with the American Board of Legal Death Investigators and then continued to receive the advanced certification this year, becoming only the fourth person in Louisiana to do so.  

“I’m very proud of her recent achievement because it enhances her ability to teach our students,” Melder said. 

“It was more of a personal accomplishment for me,” Green said. 

“Professor Green keeps the classroom interesting with her real life experiences as a deputy coroner,” Rachel Chimeno, a senior criminal justice major, said. 

When she is presenting cases at the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners Conference and when teaching at NSU, having the advanced board fellowship certification shows that she knows what she is talking about.  

While finishing her bachelor’s degree at NSU and taking some of the same classes she is now teaching, Green participated in an internship with the Vernon Parish Coroner’s Office. 

Enjoying the work led her to continue her education and obtain her master’s degree in forensic science and then a doctorate in business administration concentrating in criminal justice.   

“Her teaching resonates with students. She is able to tie the academic lessons from the text to very concrete experiences on the ground,” Chimeno said.  

“This is my second class with her and I do plan to take one more with her,” Chimeno said. “She inspires me to pursue my education further.” 

“Most professors get limited feedback each year but then there are some students that really touch us and connect with us and go on to work in the field,” Green said.  

“Having trained many state police officers over the years, it is really an accomplishment to see somebody out there on the scene that has been so successful and tells me they learned a lot from my classes,” Green said. 

Green said that Dr. Melder allows her to run with the forensic classes and in the fall, they are going to have a nice new lab set up. 

Green said she enjoys the work she does in the field and in the classroom. 

“If you have a passion for it, then when you wake up every morning you want to go to work. And there’s something to be said for that,” Green said. 

“Decide what you want to do, or even if you don’t know what you want to do, try a little bit of everything,” Green said. “When you find something that clicks, go with it.”