Delivering hope: building servant leaders through supply chain education, outreach

Harbert alumni and faculty partner with global, local nonprofits to help those in need while creating unique student-learning experience

The partnership between Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business Supply Chain Management Department and nonprofit organizations Samaritan’s Feet International and Big House Foundation did not begin with a formal agreement or fundraising initiative. It began with a bold vision from a few passionate alumni and faculty members who wanted to create a course that would enable supply chain students to develop servant-leadership skills by solving a real-world supply chain problem for non-profits.

The Global-Auburn connection

Samaritan's Feet is a humanitarian aid non-profit that inspires hope by providing shoes to those in need around the world. Since its founding in 2003, Samaritan's Feet and its partners have served over 12 million people across 113 countries and over 625 U.S. cities. Samaritan’s Feet is, at its core, a supply chain operation with a humanitarian purpose to eliminate foot-borne illness and create a world with zero shoeless people. The organization manages a distribution center in Charlotte, ships shoes worldwide and even operates a manufacturing facility in Ghana.

Kyle Alexander ‘92, a Harbert alumnus and longtime supply chain professional, began his involvement with Samaritan’s Feet first as a volunteer, and now serves as regional program manager for the Southeastern United States. Over the years he began to see a natural connection between the organization’s mission and Auburn’s charge to develop servant leaders.

He began to wonder, “what if Auburn supply chain students could learn servant leadership not at mid‑career, but now—through hands‑on work that blends logistics, community engagement and compassion?”

Partnership with a purpose

Alexander approached Beth Davis‑Sramek, professor in supply chain management known for her passion for service‑based learning. He shared his vision to integrate Samaritan’s Feet initiatives into the curriculum so students could experience real‑world supply chain challenges while serving their community.

Davis‑Sramek immediately recognized the potential. She had implemented similar initiatives as a faculty member at the University of Louisville and understood how transformational they could be. Together, she and Alexander began shaping a sustainable, long‑term partnership and one that would become part of the department’s culture rather than a one‑off event.

“We wanted to make this initiative something that can continue for decades, a permanent fixture in the college that will endure long after individual leaders move on,” Alexander said.

To ensure the partnership thrives for generations, they established an endowment which raised more than $20,000 through a Tiger Giving Day project, and the effort has continued to gain momentum.

All in the Auburn Family

Alexander and Davis-Sramek knew that they would need help from other passionate Auburn alumni to get this initiative off the ground. That’s when Susan Kirkpatrick ‘81, retired CFO of Buddy Moore Trucking, and fellow Auburn alumna, joined the team.

Kirkpatrick was already actively engaged with the college both personally and professionally. Buddy Moore Trucking was one of the Center for Supply Chain Innovation’s earliest supporters and over the years the company sponsored the center’s Fusion events, career fairs and facilitated internships to Harbert students.

“I wanted Auburn supply chain students to not only be given an exceptional education, but for them to recognize that they could use their talents for the good of their communities,” Kirkpatrick stated.

From classroom to community

The inaugural course, taught by Davis‑Sramek, began the in spring 2024 with the goal of helping a local nonprofit, Big House Foundation. Big House’s mission is to impact the lives of children in foster care in a positive way through meeting their needs and serving their foster families.

Throughout the course, students gained a better understanding of the supply chain needs of Big House and helped manage its inventory of shoes and other supplies donated through Samaritan's Feet. Students were tasked with developing solutions for inventory organization, storage utilization, ordering decisions, and distribution planning, all critical components of an effective supply chain.  

---

"One of the most rewarding aspects of this partnership is seeing students realize that supply chain management is about more than moving products. It is about improving lives. By applying their skills to help organizations serve people in need, students learn that leadership begins with service and that business can be a powerful force for good."

Beth Davis-Sramek, Gayle Parks Forehand Professor in Supply Chain Management

---

“The students were truly a joy to work with. They were hands-on in every phase of the project and conducted themselves with competence and professionalism,” said Heather Lee, Big House Foundation director of operations.

Reese Pezent, a student who participated in the course, recalled how this experience gave her a fresh perspective on how her supply chain education could be used to better her community.

"Working with Big House showed me that the concepts I learned in class can be applied to so many different areas and types of organizations, even ones that we may not immediately think of as needing supply chain management," she said.

"The local connection made the experience deeply personal. We weren’t just learning supply chain skills—we were learning empathy, leadership and how to be better servant leaders in our community.”

###

Learn more and support the Samaritan's Leadership Endowed Fund for Excellence