Robert Groves
American sociologist
Robert Martin Groves (born September 27, 1948) is an American sociologist and survey methodology scholar, currently serving as the senior advisor to the president of Georgetown University, following a term as interim president of Georgetown University from November 2024 to July 2026.
He served as executive vice president and provost of Georgetown University from August 2012 to November 2024 and as the 23rd director of the United States Census Bureau from 2009 to 2012.
Early life and education
Groves was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Metairie, Louisiana. He graduated in 1966 from De La Salle High School in New Orleans, Louisiana.
In 1970, Groves graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in sociology. He later received two Master of Arts degrees (sociology and statistics, both 1973) and a Doctor of Philosophy (sociology, 1975) from the University of Michigan.
Academic career
For much of his career, starting in 1975, Groves worked as a research professor in survey methodology at the University of Michigan. He was also a researcher in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, housed at the University of Maryland, College Park. In August 2012, he became the Provost of Georgetown University, succeeding James J. O'Donnell and is also the Gerard J. Campbell, S.J. Professor in the Math and Statistics Department as well as the Sociology Department.
In 1982 Groves was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.
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