Quantcast
Curtis Granderson and David Koehler

New York Yankee Curtis Granderson's marketing professor, David Koehler, recalls the centerfielder's eagerness to learn. "He wanted the opportunity to have a career after baseball. He knew that education was the key."

"When I was drafted aftermy junior year of college, David pushed me to keep pursuing my degree," says Curtis. "His dedication and enthusiasm kept me focused."

Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher.

Curtis Granderson and David Koehler

 

Curtis Granderson was born in 1981 on March 16th in Blue Island, Illinois, to Curtis Sr. and Mary Granderson. With both of his parents working as teachers, Curtis grew up understanding the importance of education.

Curtis attended Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing, Illinois, where he was selected SICA Central All-Conference and received All-Area recognition from the Illinois Times and Daily Southdown during a dominant senior year campaign.

In 2000 Curtis started as a freshman at University of Illinois-Chicago, leading the team in both home runs and walks. During his sophomore campaign Curtis was named Second-Team All-American by Baseball America and USA Today’s Baseball Weekly. As a Junior he was named Third-Team Louisville Slugger NCAA Division 1 All-American following his junior season. Curtis graduated with a degree in business administration.

After being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2002, Granderson started his minor league career with The Oneonta Tigers. In 2004 he was selected to the Double-A All Star team and made his major league debut in September of that year. In 2009 Granderson was selected to the Major League All Star game and was dubbed the 2009 Marvin Miller Man of the Year by the Major League Baseball Players Association for his off-field work. In December of 2009 Granderson was traded to the New York Yankees, where he is now the starting center fielder.

David Koehler is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing at UIC.  He obtained his MBA from Governors State University and his undergraduate degree from Illinois State University. His teaching career led him to UIC in 2001 where he began as a full time lecturer of Marketing. He teaches several Marketing and Entrepreneurship courses and his classes are project based. Over the past several years his student teams have competed on a national level and have won advertising contests for such clients as Honda, Target, Department of Defense, CIA, FBI and Navy. 

David has been honored as the recipient of the Distinguished Silver Circle Teaching Award for Excellence three times. He received the UIC Flame Award for Teaching Excellence recognized by alumni this past spring. He has been awarded the College of Business Outstanding Faculty Service Award for 2006. In 2005 and 2010 he received the Teaching Recognition Award. He is the faculty advisor for several student organizations such as the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO). He is the director of undergraduate enrollment for the Marketing department. This past year, David has served as the Faculty Advisor Representative (FAR) for student athletes and will continue in that position this year.