2025 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Samantha Keppler, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

Samantha Keppler
Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

“Professor Keppler is by far one of the strongest professors I’ve had during my time at Ross. Her pedagogy is top tier. As a former K-12 Educator pre-MBA, I immediately recognized the way Prof Keppler created a classroom environment where learners at all levels were able to engage with the content. Folks who were statisticians were adequately challenged and Prof Keppler was always open to feedback. Our section voted her Professor of the Year, for our core classes and as someone who came into school needing to sure up my quant skills. Prof Keppler provided the foundation I needed to be confident in moving forward.” – Kenny Berrouet, MBA

Samantha Keppler, 39, is the NBD Bancorp Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. A pioneer in the field of education operations—the study of how schools and districts function—her research focuses on three key areas: school supply procurement, the implementation of technology and generative AI, and the use of community-based services. At Michigan Ross, she teaches Applied Business Statistics in the MBA core.

Before graduate school, Keppler taught 9th grade math at KAPPA International High School in the Bronx as a Teach For America corps member (NYC ’08). During her three years in the classroom, she saw how even strong teaching and sound pedagogy could be undermined by operational failures like insufficient supplies, ill-suited technology, and underutilized external resources. Motivated to improve the systems behind schools, she pursued a PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management Science at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, earning her degree in 2015.

Since that time, Keppler’s research on education operations 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 contributed to a significant change in education policy. Her research continues to influence state education leaders, contributing to the reallocation of over $116 million in public funding toward teachers to make school supply procurement more efficient and less wasteful.

Keppler’s research has won multiple awards, including the 2024 Best Paper in Management Science, 2023 Best Paper Award from the Service Operations Group of the Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Research Society, the 2022 Responsible Research Award from the Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Research Society, and the 2022 Applied Research Challenge Award from the Production and Operations Management 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. 

BACKGROUND

At current institution since what year? 2015

Education: Northwestern University (MS 2012, PhD 2015), City University of New York Lehman College (MSEd 2010), Clark University (BA 2008)

List of MBA courses you currently teach:  Applied Business Statistics

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when…I was in graduate school. I wanted to be the kind of professor who acted like a public servant: creating knowledge and changing practice in a way that improves people’s lives. When I found out business schools were a place where professors could conduct research with practitioners and change organizations for the better, I wanted to be a part of that community. 

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? I’m currently trying to understand the ways generative AI will impact K12 education operations, specifically how it will impact teacher work. A lot of tech people think it’ll make teacher work a lot easier, but that’s not what I’m seeing in my early research. What I’ve discovered so far is that teachers can use generative AI in two ways (broadly): to help them complete tasks they already have in mind to do, or to help them figure out what tasks to do that could help their students learn most effectively. The latter strategy seems to have a bigger impact on teacher productivity. After all, when it comes to teaching, it’s about getting it right not just getting it done. 

If I weren’t a business school professor…I’d be working in EdTech. Maybe a founder! 

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I pride myself on knowing my students personally—I quickly learn names and faces, and I notice who’s in class. That connection builds trust and accountability. (And yes, if I know you missed class and see you strolling through Ross later…I’ll probably call you on it!)

One word that describes my first time teaching: Love 

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: Everyone has a different idea of what it means to be a business school professor. That means you can be the kind of professor you want to be. 

Professor I most admire and why: I admire so many professors, But if I had to pick, it would be the three professors who believed in me when I was just beginning as a graduate student: Paul Leonardi (UCSB Technology Management), Karen Smilowitz (Kellogg), and Jim Spillane (Northwestern School of Education and Social Policy). I owe them so much. 

TEACHING MBA STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? I love how they bring their experience and expertise into the classroom. It’s powerful when students give examples of how they approached analytics problems in the prior work, or when something we are learning about could have been used to solve a problem they had in the past. Some of my favorite moments, however, come simply from interacting with students in small groups, which I typically do by walking around the classroom

What is most challenging? MBA students vary a lot in their background with data and analytics: some have a lot of experience, and others have none. Moreover, many of my Michigan Ross students come in with bad past experiences with math and statistics. The challenge I set for myself every year is to make sure everyone has a positive and powerful experience with analytics that makes them feel confident in their capabilities moving forward.  

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: The ones who aren’t afraid to be wrong out loud. They bring good questions, a sense of humor, and embrace the uncertainty that comes with working with real data. 

I one word, describe your least favorite type of student: The ones I struggle with are the ‘just give me the steps’ students. Data problems rarely follow the same steps—so learning to think flexibly and critically is the real goal.

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… caring a lot about attendance. I value consistency, effort, and showing up. 

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? Reading novels, Swimming/biking/running, and cooking 

How will you spend your summer? With my newborn son! 

Favorite place(s) to vacation: Europe, Hawaii, and Colorado

Favorite book(s): I think every MBA student should read “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro. I have read and love all books by both Barbara Kingsolver and Marilynne Robinson. 

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? I watch TV to relax and laugh, so my favorite show is Taskmaster on YouTube. It’s a British panel show where comedians have to complete silly tasks for fake points, like eat as much watermelon as you can in 1 minute – only to find out the watermelon isn’t cut and you don’t have a knife.

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? Beyonce, Leon Bridges, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, Cardi B — artists who don’t just stay in one genre and are focused on storytelling and emotion. 

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this…If I had my way, the business school of the future would train a new generation of MBAs who know how to strengthen the systems that hold society together through operational excellence. Less ‘move fast and break things,’ more ‘slow down and build better.’ 

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at…In edtech and beyond, private companies love to claim positive impact on public systems—but too often they don’t understand those systems and the work people do in those systems. At Ross, we believe building a better world through business means doing the homework first—then proving your value with evidence.

I’m grateful for…working at the best business school with the best colleagues and students! Go Blue!  

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