Director of Criminal Justice Alan Scharn Set to Retire After 10 Years at Corban

During his extensive career in law enforcement, teaching had always been a component of Alan Scharn’s various roles. But when Corban reached out to him in 2011 with the opportunity to spearhead the growth of their new criminal justice major, Scharn was eager to step into a new role, helping young individuals connect with the passion he was introduced to more than 30 years ago. 

“I jumped in with both feet and started building that program,” says Scharn. “It was a great opportunity to serve our students and community by teaching and helping to train our future criminal justice professionals. And it was a great opportunity to work in a Christian environment, which I had never done before.” 

Under his direction, the program grew each year and has now more than doubled since he began. Scharn was also instrumental in establishing the new forensic psychology major and the Master’s in Public Safety Administration degree, as well as building Corban’s diverse and expert pool of adjunct instructors. “When you work in the criminal justice profession for 30 years, you meet and know a lot of people,” Scharn says. “I was able to go out and contact people I knew that I had worked with on cases and get them excited about coming in and teaching at Corban.” 

One of the first individuals he turned to was Dr. Sandee Flint, who is now Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Forensic Psychology at Corban. “She’s an awesome instructor with a 30-year background in the FBI and law enforcement,” says Scharn. “We’ve been very fortunate to have people like Dr. Flint come in and teach in our program.”

With Professor Scharn set to retire from his position as Director of the Criminal Justice program at the end of this school year, Dr. Flint is poised to continue where he left off. “2021 will be my tenth year at Corban, for a total of 40 years in the field. So, I thought it was probably time for me to retire and let others step in,” says Scharn. “I know Sandee will come in just like I did and really take this program to the next level.”

Professor Scharn’s service has left an indelible mark on the Corban community, and the law enforcement community he faithfully served for more than 40 years. “It’s been an honor teaching at Corban,” he says. “I’m going to really savor my last semester.”