Introduction
Bill Raffield, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business. He grew up in South Carolina and received a Bachelor of Science in physics from Clemson University. He earned an MPA in environmental management when stationed in California with the United States Air Force, and received his PhD in industrial management from Clemson University. Raffield has taught operations and supply chain management for more than 30 years.
Since his arrival at St. Thomas, Raffield has served in a variety of administrative positions. He was the director of the undergraduate business program, the interim co-dean of the Opus College of Business during its initial creation and the senior associate dean for the Opus College of Business from its inception until September 2009.
Raffield served as an officer in the United States Air Force and worked in industry for both Michelin Tire Corporation and theTruckstopsof America (TA) division of Ryder Systems, Inc. His key focus in operations education is ensuring that rising business professionals understand the application of course material to practice. He brings this focus to all of the courses he teaches.
Raffield's research interests are in the relevance of academic research to practitioners, humanitarian and crises operations, work and process flow, and capacity management. He is a member of APICS, the Decision Sciences Institute and the Production and Operations Management Society.