Kathleen H. Gruben

Kathleen H. Gruben, Associate Professor Emerita of Marketing, joined the Georgia Southern faculty after completing her Ph.D. in 1998. She was awarded emeritus status on August 1, 2020. She has raised nearly $400,000 in grants, sponsorships, and scholarships during her tenure. Grant work for PPAI, Promotional Products Association International, has gained her recognition as one of the industry’s leading experts.

Since 2001, she has provided opportunities for 97 students to participate in national and international inter-collegiate competitions, all expenses paid. As director of the Center for Retail Studies, she developed a partnership with the National Retail Federation, which has helped the program gain national attention. She also led a General Motors Marketing Internship class to second place in a national competition. In addition to the national and international competitions, she has led students in work for dozens of businesses, both on the local and national level companies such as Toys “R” Us and Target. Gruben’s greatest pride is in giving students opportunities that make a difference in they types of careers students are able to secure upon graduation.

Gruben has published in academic journals on the subjects of sales rep’s relationships, gender differences in the work place, the impact of the Olympics on tourism in host cities, as well as several case studies. She has also published numerous books and articles as the result of her grants in the promotional products industry. In her service to the academic community, she served as Track chair, program chair, president, and, eventually, executive director of the Atlantic Marketing Association. She also served on the editorial review boards of two academic journals. She was the first academic to serve on the board of directors of the Georgia Retail Association.