New Mexico State University

Master of Criminal Justice, New Mexico State University
Master of Public Administration, Minor: Women’s Studies, New Mexico State University

Email: charms@nmsu.edu

CV: CV_C.-Shroulote-Duran_2021-.pdf

Charlene Shroulote-Durán, originally from northern New Mexico, is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Acoma Native American tribe. Earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Chicano Studies with a minor in Sociology, she also earned two master’s degrees in Public Administration and Criminal Justice from New Mexico State University (NMSU). Charlene has taught over 20 different courses in Criminology, Criminal Justice, Political Science, and Sociology at Lincoln Memorial University, New Mexico State University, and the University of Tennessee. She has taught online for the NMSU Department of Criminal Justice since 2018, although her first class taught here was on campus in the Spring of 2014.

Charlene has worked at Texas A&M University in the role of Associate Director for the Institute for Sustainable Communities (IfSC) where she prioritized social justice issues as part of the Environmental Grand Challenge. This initiative seeks to create resilient people, communities, and ecosystems by integrating research, education, and engagement to derive practical solutions, that guide a broad range of human activities onto a path toward sustainability. Issues of poverty, racism, mass incarceration, and racial justice were at the forefront of priorities during her tenure at the IfSC. Previously, Charlene was employed with the Juvenile Citation Program in Las Cruces, NM where she worked with first-time juvenile offenders, their families, and law enforcement officials. Through outreach, education, and advocacy, she strived to deter youth from further involvement in the formal justice system.

Past research topics include vagrancy and the homeless, examining charity services by formerly incarcerated homeless individuals through a neoliberalism lens, undocumented youth and access to higher education, and women of color and recidivism. Current research efforts include examining how social stereotypes and/or labeling impact individuals, communities, and law enforcement practices during disaster response and recovery stages, sustainability and resilience within the context of traditional native practices, and racialized patterns of police violence. Charlene approaches teaching through a critical lens and employs a variety of theoretical and practical methods that challenge students to critically think about issues impacting society and our criminal justice system.  

Currently, Charlene teaches part-time as an online instructor for the Department of Criminal Justice at New Mexico State University. She lives in Texas with her husband, kids, and grandkids where she also works as a full-time administrator for Community Outreach in the Public Partnership Office at Texas A&M University.