FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – John Kent is joining the faculty this fall in the department of supply chain management at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

“Dr. Kent is one of the top academic experts on transportation management in the United States. We are very fortunate to have him join our team,” said Matthew A. Waller, chair of the department of supply chain management who holds the Garrison Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Management. “Professor Kent has a rich history both in practice and scholarship in logistics. Given the Walton College’s emphasis on retail and consumer products supply chain management, we are pleased that he also has well known scholarship in this area.”

For the past 17 years, Kent has been director of the Logistics and Supply Chain Management Program at Missouri State University, a program that now includes 150 students. His work at Missouri State included business and general education curricular development, online course transformation, leading AACSB International assessment and teaching more than 20 classes in the school’s China undergrad and graduate programs.

Kent earned his doctorate from the University of Tennessee where his research focused on the role of information technology in retail supply chain management. He received a bachelor of science degree in computer science from Henderson State University and an Master of Business Administration in international management from University of Dallas.  

Kent’s diverse background includes several years implementing specialty information systems including EDI, fuel authorization, network modeling and was a pioneer in developing satellite, cellular and meteor burst mobile communications systems for Burlington Northern Motor Carriers. His industry experience also includes work with containership lines, truck and rail intermodal information systems in North America, Europe and Asia for Sea-Land Service.

He has been an active member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals for 20 years and received their Doctoral Dissertation Award in 1997. His research has been published in the Journal of Business Logistics, Transportation Journal, International Journal of Logistics Management and Journal of Transportation Management.

Kent will live in Fayetteville with his wife Tina, two children and retired mother.