Stan Kleppinger joined the UNL School of Music in 2007 as an assistant professor of music theory. He holds a Ph.D. and a master's degree in music theory from Indiana University and a bachelor's degree in music education from Drake University. He has also served as assistant professor at Butler University and visiting assistant professor at Indiana University.

Dr. Kleppinger's research interests focus on pitch-centric music of the twentieth century. The Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University presented him the 2006 Dean's Dissertation Prize for his work on Aaron Copland's music of the 1940s. He is also a recipient of the Irving Lowens Article Award, which is presented annually by the Society for American Music in recognition of an article that "makes an outstanding contribution to the study of American music."

Dr. Kleppinger's research has been published in the journals American Music and Indiana Theory Review. He presented his work at the annual meeting of the Society for Music Theory in Los Angeles in November 2006, and will also do so at the College Music Society's 2008 national conference in Atlanta and the 2008 conference of the Society for Music Analysis in Cardiff, Wales. He has spoken about his research at events sponsored by Music Theory Midwest; the Rocky Mountain Society for Music Theory; the Indiana University Symposium of Research in Music Theory; the Indiana University Music Theory Colloquium Series; the University of Iowa Colloquium in Musicology, Music Theory, and Ethnomusicology; the Florida State University Music Theory Forum; the University of Missouri-Kansas City; DePauw University; and the Midwest Graduate Music Consortium.

Dr. Kleppinger oversees the second year of the School of Music's sequence in music theory and aural skills. He teaches courses in music theory and has designed classes in tonal analysis (focusing on Schenkerian theory) and theories of rhythm and meter. Butler's chapter of the Mortar Board Honor Society named him teacher of the year for the Jordan College of Fine Arts in 2005 and again in 2007. He also serves as a reader for the College Board's Advanced Placement exam in music theory.

Dr. Kleppinger has a diverse musical and professional background. He is a former member of the board of directors for the Iowa Composers' Forum, and his compositions have been performed throughout the midwest and in Europe. As a trumpeter he has performed with a wide variety of university, community, and professional bands, orchestras, and chamber ensembles. He has experience as a middle- and high-school instrumental music teacher in rural school districts in Iowa, and additionally has conducted musicals and community bands.

Dr. Kleppinger is the secretary for Music Theory Midwest, and has also served as an area representative to its executive committee. He has served as reviews editor for Indiana Theory Review and editorial assistant for Music Theory Online. He is a member of the Society for Music Theory, the Society for American Music, the College Music Society, the International Trumpet Guild, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Pi Kappa Lambda.