Samantha Keppler

Samantha Keppler is the NBD Bancorp Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Her expertise is on how private sector companies and organizations influence public education. She focuses on three private sector domains: (1) educational supply chains including retailers, wholesalers, and online platforms, (2) generative AI companies like OpenAI, and (3) educational services provided by nonprofit or community organizations.

Her research on education systems has been published in top peer reviewed journals in the operations management field, including Management Science and Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and has been featured in the top media outlets The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and NPR. Her ground-breaking research in collaboration with the largest teacher crowdfunding platform DonorsChoose has won a number of research awards, including the 2023 Best Paper Award from the Service Special Interest Group of the MSOM Research Society, the 2022 Responsible Research Award from the MSOM Research Society, and the 2022 Applied Research Challenge Award from the POMS Research Society. As a thought leader in education operations, her research has also been featured in education media outlets like Education Week, K-12 Dive and District Administration, and invited for presentation at the nation-wide annual state superintendents conference. 

Professor Keppler earned her PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she was a public high school math teacher for three years in the Bronx, New York.