The Transportation Institute and Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver Partner to Appoint Supply Chain Expert for Joint Faculty Role

DENVER—The University of Denver moves to strengthen its impact on the future of transportation by announcing the appointment of Jack Buffington to begin as a joint faculty member in supply chain shared between the Transportation Institute (DTI) and the Daniels College of Business.

“This appointment is an important step in the university’s strategy to amplify our positive impact on the development of a smarter sustainable transportation system by building on the Transportation Institute’s twenty-year history of developing high-caliber industry leaders,” said Michael McGuire, dean of University College where DTI is housed. “This unprecedented partnership with our great colleagues at Daniels supports the interdisciplinary goals of DU Impact 2025, the strategic plan for the university, and allows for more robust programming and research by combining resources.”

Buffington is responsible for warehousing and brewery fulfillment for MillerCoors, the second largest beer manufacturer in the United States. In this role, Buffington is responsible for developing and implementing a distribution strategy for its U.S. market. Buffington brings a professional background that spans leadership positions in supply chain to manufacturing and finance across the consulting and consumer products sectors.

“This is a perfect point in time to launch a world class supply chain program,” said Buffington, who earned a Ph.D. in Industry Marketing/Supply Chain Management from the Lulea University of Technology in Sweden. “Markets are impacting supply chains, supply chains are impacting markets, and companies, universities and students need to keep up with the pace of change.”

Buffington’s research focuses on the development of the 21st century supply chain system that will revolutionize the economy and society, and how supply chain systems will lead to a new definition of sustainability that will enable environmental innovation and enterprise profitability. His research in the area of supply chain and sustainability has won global awards, and he has an upcoming book on how supply chain will address global environmental and economic challenges, to adding to his collection of five published books on the topics of economics, outsourcing, management and environmental sustainability.

“We, at Daniels, are committed to developing students who possess the necessary technical as well as the adaptive capacities required in  a hyper-competitive and ever-changing market,” ,” said Brent Chrite, dean of the Daniels College of Business. “We know Jack’s superb expertise in supply chain will only prepare our students better and his focus aligns with the Daniels and DU vision of creating leaders who can address global challenges in a sustainable way.”

Buffington started his faculty appointment in mid-February at the University of Denver and will spearhead the launch of a new supply chain program aimed to engage the business community.