Jen Blackhurst

Education

• PhD Industrial Engineering, University of Iowa (2002)
• MS Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Ohio University (1997)
• BS Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Ohio University (1995)

Biography

Jennifer Blackhurst’s work, which is both highly cited by fellow academics and utilized by industry practitioners, broadly examines supply chain management risk and how to handle supply chain disruptions. In one recent study that she conducted while at the University of Iowa, Blackhurst and her colleagues developed a model that simulates supply chain behavior over time considering varying disruption scenarios. Her findings showed that fostering modularity and leveraging real-time information enhances system resilience. This influential paper won the Journal of Operations Management 2024 Ambassador Award.

In another groundbreaking paper that she published in 2007 while on the faculty at Iowa State University, Blackhurst and research collaborators were the first to determine how and why one supply chain disruption would be more severe than another—providing valuable insight for companies trying to mitigate the financial risks associated with disruptions. Several years later, their paper was recognized for its proven impact from more than 15,000 other papers published in leading business publications such as the Harvard Business Review, Journal of Marketing and Journal of Finance.

At Auburn, she is focusing her research on how companies structure and manage relationships in the supply chain so they’re not inadvertently exposing themselves to risk.

Blackhurst has served in key leadership roles during her career, including as associate dean of graduate and professional programs at Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, where she and her colleagues developed a new online executive MBA degree, which today enrolls more than 2,000 students and is ranked in the top 25 programs nationwide by U.S. News & World Report. She is also an associate editor of Decision Sciences and Journal of Business Logistics—two of the preeminent research publications in the field. 

In the fall, Blackhurst will teach supply chain strategy (SCMN 7800).

She earned her doctorate in industrial engineering from the University of Iowa. In her spare time she enjoys reading, exercising and various outdoor activities.