Walter A. Groves was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on March 10, 1898. He graduated from Lafayette College in 1919, received a master's degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1922, and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1925. Groves soon left for Tehran, Iran, where he served as a missionary and professor of philosophy and religion at the Alborz American College. In 1940 Groves decided to return to the United States. Before leaving Iran, though, Groves had accepted a teaching position at Centre College. From 1940 until 1942, Groves was professor of philosophy and religion at Centre, but left that year to teach at the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. He remained there until 1946, when Centre offered him the presidency. In 1956, Groves resigned to return to the Middle East, and become the president of the new engineering college at Abadan, Iran. He remained there until 1961, when he became dean of the engineering school at Shiraz. Groves died in 1984.
From the description of Oral history interview with Walter A. Groves, 1983 April. (Centre College). WorldCat record id: 456430042
