Moon

Dr. Melissa Moon earned her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati. She joined NKU in August, 2000. She was the assistant chair in the Political Science and Criminal Justice Department from 2001-2006 and has served several terms as coordinator of the criminal justice program. Dr. Moon teaches Introduction to Criminal Justice, Institutional Correction, Careers in Criminal Justice, the Death Penalty, and Research Methods. She has also taught Research Methods and Data Analysis for the Master's in Public Administration program.

Dr. Moon’s research interests have been varied. She has published in areas such as correctional effectiveness, attitudinal surveys on organizational commitment, the death penalty and juvenile justice, and being a successful classroom teacher.  More recently, her research interests include myths and realities about the bullying-school shooting connection, the effectiveness of active shooter responses, and the psychological impact of active shooter drills.

Dr. Moon is very active in service to the community. She was the lead researcher on the Boone County Safety and Satisfaction Survey conducted in partnership with the Boone County Sheriff's Department. She also worked with faculty at the NKU SteelyLibrary and received a Community Partnership grant for $71,000 to determine the effectiveness of a jail library at the Kenton County Detention Center. Finally, she partnered with Lexington Fayette Urban County Government, Division of Community Corrections, on an inmate satisfaction survey regarding medical services.

Dr. Moon also conducts presentations and research in the area of responses to active shooters/attackers. She is trained in traditional lockdown; Run. Hide. Fight.; the Safe Schools Program by the Kentucky State Police; and SARC (School Attacker Response Course). She is a certified instructor in CRASE (Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events) and ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate).  She has delivered presentations on responding to active shooter events for nearly seven years at the K–12 and collegiate levels. In addition to presentations, she and her co-authors recently published the first peer-reviewed article comparing single versus multi-option responses to school shooters in the Journal of School Violence. They also have a recent publication in Best’s Review.

In her spare time, Dr. Moon enjoys reading books by James Patterson (the Women’s Murder Club series are her favorite), Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell, and Michael Crichton.  Dr. Moon is also a retired 3rd degree black belt in taekwondo—she retired after two knee surgeries. Currently, she and her husband are on a mission to visit every National Park in the United States. Each year they travel to a different location. They have been to Acadia, Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and the Grand Canyon. In Spring , 2018 they visited the Mighty Five in Utah (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches, and Capitol Reef). She and her husband also stay very busy with their blended family that includes four children. One recently graduated, two are in college, and one is in high school. Needless to say, her calendar is typically overflowing with events and activities.