thumb|right|Robert GrovesRobert M. Groves is the director of the United States Census Bureau. He is also an author and research professor in survey methodology at the University of Michigan and University of Maryland, College Park. He was an associate director and later a visiting researcher at the Census Bureau from 1990 to 1992, and he has published several books on the subject of statistical sampling.

Early life

Groves grew up in Metairie, Louisiana and graduated from De La Salle High School in New Orleans.Nola.com article In 1970, he graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College with an A.B. degree in sociology. He later earned a master's degree and a PhD from the University of Michigan.

United States Census Bureau

In the early 1990s, Groves served as an associate director at the United States Census Bureau. At that time, he argued that potentially millions of minorities who typically voted Democratic were being undercounted. Groves advocated for the use of statistical adjustments to account for this discrepancy, but his suggestion was blocked by Robert Mosbacher, a Republican and the Secretary of the Commerce Department that oversees the Census Bureau.
On April 2, 2009, Groves was nominated by President Barack Obama to head the Census Bureau. During his confirmation hearings, Republican senators raised concerns based on Groves' previous actions that he would apply statistical adjustments to populations believed to be undercounted, thereby inflating their numbers and affecting the apportionment of congressional seats. Groves ruled out the use of statistical adjustments during the hearings and his nomination quickly proceeded to the full Senate in May. However, senators Richard Shelby and David Vitter continued to delay his confirmation due to lingering worries regarding statistical adjustments. They also sought assurance from the Obama administration that the controversial community group ACORN would not be involved in grassroots outreach related to the 2010 Census. On July 13, 2009, after several weeks of opposition by the two senators, majority leader Harry Reid used a procedural motion to force an end to the gridlock, which led to the confirmation of Groves by a vote of 76-15. He began his duties on July 15, 2009.

Publishing history

Groves is the author of several books, including:

• Surveying Victims (2008) ISBN 0309115981

• Survey Errors and Survey Costs (2004) ISBN 0471678511

• Survey Methodology (2004) ISBN 0471483486

• Survey Nonresponse (2001) ISBN 0471396273

• Nonresponse in Household Interview Surveys (1998) ISBN 0471182451

Groves is the editor of several books, including:

• Measurement Errors in Surveys (2004) ISBN 0471692808

• Telephone Survey Methodology (2001) ISBN 0471209562