Walter A. Groves | |
|---|---|
 Groves, c. 1957 | |
| 16th President of Centre College | |
| In office January 1, 1947 – August 31, 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Robert J. McMullen |
| Succeeded by | Thomas A. Spragens |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 10, 1898 Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | September 22, 1983 (aged 85) Albany, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Crown Hill Cemetery Albany, Georgia, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Estelle Crawford (m. 1925) |
| Education | Lafayette College (B.A.) University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Rank | Second lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Walter Alexander Groves (March 10, 1898 – September 22, 1983) was an American missionary, minister, educator, and academic administrator who was the 16th president of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Central High School before enrolling at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He spent three years there before leaving to enlist in the army during World War I. After the war's conclusion, he returned to Lafayette and graduated in July 1919. He spent the following three years studying at Princeton Theological Seminary but came one class shy of meeting the requirements for his degree. He returned to Lafayette to teach in 1922 and was ordained as a minister the following year; in 1925, he left the United States for missionary work in Tehran and spent the majority of the next fifteen years there.
Groves and his family left Iran in July 1940, shortly before the Anglo-Soviet invasion of the country. While on the ship home, he received a telegram from Centre College president Robert L. McLeod offering him a job as professor of philosophy and religion. Groves accepted and taught his first class at Centre in October 1940, the morning after arriving on campus for the first time. After teaching at Centre for two years, Groves became professor of theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and spent four and a half years there before returning to Centre as its president in January 1947. During his ten-year term in charge of the school, Groves managed personnel issues with the faculty and students; he started a campaign to encourage professors to pursue doctoral degrees.
Groves strengthened Centre's ties to the Presbyterian Church; he held the church's pro-desegregation views and wished for those views to be adopted by the college. Disagreements with the board of trustees on this issue ultimately led to his resignation effective August 1957. He returned to Iran shortly after and spent time in administration at the Abadan Institute of Technology and Pahlavi University before returning to the United States to retire. He went back to Iran a final time in 1966 to preach; while there, he helped to found Damavand College. He died in Albany, Georgia, in 1983.