Dr. Christian served in the United States Army as a Field Intelligence Chief with the Helicopter Airborne Assault Force. After leaving the armed forces, he entered the Police Administration program at Michigan State University and graduated with honors in 1959.

Dr. Christian joined the Enforcement Training Division as an Assistant Supervisor, responsible for the development of training curriculums for more than 5,000 city, county and state law enforcement officers in Minnesota.

Dr. Christian was awarded a United States Department of Justice Competitive Fellowship for graduate study in criminal justice. He received his Master of Science in 1970 and was one of the first 10 students to be accepted into the Criminal Justice Doctoral Program at Michigan State University. As a Doctoral student he worked with Professor Frank D. Day, to develop The Officer and the Law videos that have been used by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan and several colleges and universities.

Dr. Christian was a professor in the Leadership and Management Program in Security for the School of Criminal Justice, establishing MSU/CJ as a worldwide leader in the field of security.