By Larry Jones
April 16, 2012

U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves announced on April 10 that he would be leaving the Bureau in late August to become the provost of Georgetown University in Washington (DC). Groves was nominated by President Obama to serve as census director in April 2009 and confirmed by the Senate in July that same year. He is praised by the leadership of both political parties in Congress for outstanding leadership in conducting a successful census count in 2010. In spite of the numerous challenges he faced—i.e. flaws in handheld computer, privacy concerns, immigrant language concerns and cost over-run concerns in the middle of a recession – he was praised for completing the 2010 census on time and $1.9 billion under budget.

Groves is widely regarded as a friend of the Conference of Mayors. He never missed an opportunity to meet with mayors to share information on the Bureau’s plans and to solicit their views on how best to achieve an accurate census count in 2010. In a press statement Groves said, “While I am honored by this rare personal and professional opportunity to help lead Georgetown to even greater heights than it already enjoys, I must tell you that I am enormously proud of the work we have accomplished together over the last three years.”

Working in academia is not new for Groves. Before his appointment as census director, he served as director of research at the University of Michigan and professor of research at the University of Maryland.