• Sketch
• Collection Description
• A. Subject series
  • Box 1 Administrative - Committees
  • Box 2 Comparison - Hutchinson
  • Box 3 Inaugural - Overseers
  • Box 4 Presbyterian - Round
  • Box 5 Segregation - Trustees
  • Box 6 United - War
• B. Annual Reports to Board of Trustees
• C. General Correspondence
• D. Correspondence With Former Faculty, Staff, Trustees
• E. Estelle Groves Papers
• F. Miscellaneous

See Centre College Digital Archives - Presidents for digitized versions of selected items from the following inventory

Walter Alexander Groves was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on March 10, 1898. He enrolled in Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, but left after three years to enlist in the Army. Returning to Lafayette after the armistace, Groves graduated magna cum laude in 1919. In 1922 he received a master's degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and in 1925 was awarded a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. Groves soon left for Tehran, Iran, where he served as a missionary and professor of philosophy and religion at the Alborz American College. In 1931 he took on the additional duties of registrar and dean. By 1940 Groves had decided to return to the United States. Before leaving Iran, though, Groves had been offered, and accepted, a teaching position by Centre College president Robert McLeod.

From 1940 until 1942, Groves held the professorship of philosophy and religion at Centre, but left that year to teach at the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. He remained there until 1946, when Centre invited him back, this time to assume the presidency. Groves took office in January 1947, and was inaugurated on November 15 of that year.

Groves quickly saw the need to increase the size and quality of the faculty to serve the influx of students to the campus following the war. In fact, the faculty increased from thirty-eight in 1946-47, to sixty-three in 1947-48. Along with this growth in numbers, was a growth in faculty salaries. During the decade that he was president, faculty salaries rose over 60%. Groves also encouraged the faculty to earn advanced degrees by offering additional funding and sabbaticals. By the time he left in 1956, nearly 50% of the college's faculty had earned their Ph.D.'s.

To accommodate the new students and the larger faculty, Groves undertook several renovation projects. Breckinridge Hall was remodeled in 1946-47 to become the main residence for men; Young Science Hall was refurbished during that same period, providing new science equipment and more office space; and the library was remodeled in 1949 to accommodate more students and increased holdings. In an effort to increase the quality of freshmen students, Centre began using the Standard Aptitude Test for entrance in 1957.

Other changes included creating the position of Dean of Students and the organization of the Student Congress. To finance these projects, Groves undertook several successful fund-raising efforts that included significant donations from the Franklin W. Olin Foundation, Mrs. Robert G. Evans, and the Ford Foundation. Groves also took the lead in organizing the Kentucky Independent College Foundation in an effort to coordinate fund-raising activities of the member colleges, and was named to its chair in 1951.

In 1956, Groves resigned this office 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.

The collection consists entirely of Groves' office files. The original arrangement and file labels have been maintained.

• Administrative offices - Admissions - Men
• Administrative offices - Admissions - Women
• Administrative offices - Registrar
• Administrative offices - Registrar - Pre-registration reports
• Administrative officers - Registrar - Report
• Administrative organization
• Administrative staff meeting - 1947-55
• African-American students see Day Law
• Alumni Association
• Alumni Association - Board of Directors
• Alumni Association - President's Report
• Alumni - Publicity
• Alumni - Secretary
• Alumni - Cincinnati
• Alumni - Detroit
• Alumni - Louisville
• Alumni - Orlando
• Alumni - Pittsburgh
• Alumni - St. Louis
• Alumni - Reunions - 1898
• Alumni - Reunions - 1903
• Alumni - Reunions - 1954
• American Association of University Professors
• American Association of University Women
• American Council of Learned Societies
• American Council of Education - 1943-56
• American Council of Education - 1957-58
• American Institute of Management
• Anniversary (125) of the founding of Centre 1944
• Association of American Colleges - 1951-54
• Association of American Colleges - 1955
• Association of American Colleges - Dr. Wm. Doty's Visit
• Association of American Universities
• Athletic Policy
• Atlantic Union Committee
• Bloomfield Seminary
• Board of Trustees (see Trustees, Board)
• Brennan, Albert
• Buildings - Alumni Gymnasium
• Buildings - Alumni Memorial Gymnasium
• Buildings - Alumni Memorial Gymnasium - Plaque
• Buildings - Blanton House
• Buildings - Breckinridge Hall
• Buildings - Cafeteria
• Buildings - Library (see Library)
• Buildings - Wiseman - Architects
• Campus Survey
• Cardinal Hill Hospital
• Carnegie Foundation for International Peace
• Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching - Grants in aid for college professors (Centre) - 1949-1952
• Cento
• Centre Forward Program
• Centre Students Killed in WW II
• Chamber of Commerce - Danville
• Chamber of Commerce - Kentucky
• Choir Trip - 1949
• Choir Trip - 1950
• Choir Trip - 1951
• Choir Trip - 1953
• Choir Trip - 1954
• Church-related colleges in the South
• Columbia Lecture Bureau
• Commencement speakers
• Committees - Policy
• Committees - Faculty - Admissions
• Committees - Faculty - Athletics
• Committees - Faculty - Chapels and Convocations
• Committees - Faculty - Communications
• Committees - Faculty - Honorary Degrees
• Committees - Faculty - Library
• Committees - Faculty - Personnel
• Committees - Faculty - Personnel and Social Affairs
• Committees - Faculty - Commencement and Public Occasions
• Committees - Faculty - Publications
• Committees - Faculty - Rules and Regulations
• Committees - Faculty - Scholarships and Prizes
• Committees - Faculty - Student Audit
• Committees - Faculty - Student Readings
• Committees - Faculty - Curriculum
• Committees - Faculty - Discipline

• Comparison income - Colleges
• Conferences - 1949
• Conferences - 1950, 1951
• Conferences - 1954, 1955
• Conferences - 1954 - Man's Right to Knowledge
• Convocation speakers, Suggested
• Convocations and Chapels - 1949-50
• Convocations and Chapels - 1950-51
• Convocations and Chapels - 1951-52
• Convocations and Chapels - 1953-54
• Convocations and Chapels - 1954-55
• Convocations and Chapels - 1955-56
• Danville Campaign
• Danville - Concert Association
• Danville Garden Club
• Danville Ministerial Association
• Danville - Planning and Zoning Commission
• Day Law
• Dean
• Dean of Women
• Desegregation (see Day Law)
• Development Program
• Emergency Fund Campaign - 1951-52
• Emergency Fund Campaign - 1952-53
• Emergency Fund Campaign - 1953
• Emigre Scholars
• Faculty Conferences
• Faculty - Extra-campus Activities - 1950-51
• Faculty - Extra-campus Activities - 1952
• Faculty - Memos
• Federal Aid to Education
• Filson Club
• Football Dinner - 1949
• Ford Self-study petition
• Founders Day
• Fraternity - General
• Fraternity - Interfraternity Council
• Fraternity - Phi Kappa Tau
• Fraternity - Sigma Alpha Epsilon
• Fraternity - Sigma Chi
• General Education
• General Education Board - 1927-46
• General Education Board - 1952-54
• Graduation by Achievement
• Grant, Richard E. (Landscape architect) (see Campus survey)
• Griffith, W. H.
• Hewlett Memorial Service
• Hospital Campaign
• Hutchinson, Ralph C. (President - Lafayette College)

• Inaugural invitations - 1953-54
• Inaugural invitations - 1955-57
• Institute of International Education
• Insurance - College
• Insurance - Student
• Juvenile Delinquency Conference
• Kentucky Association of Church-related Colleges
• Kentucky Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
• Kentucky Council for Education
• Kentucky Council of Churches
• Kentucky - Department of Education
• Kentucky Education Association
• Kentucky Independent College Foundation - 1952-54
• Kentucky Independent College Foundation - 1955
• Kentucky Independent College Foundation - 1956
• Kentucky Independent College Foundation - 1957
• Kentucky Society for Crippled Children
• Kentucky Trust Company
• Landscape architects (see Campus survey)
• Library
• Living Endowment (Scholarships) - 1953-54
• Louisville Presbyterian Seminary
• Marts and Lundy
• Mexico Trip
• E. C. Miller Survey - 1953
• E. C. Miller Survey - 1954
• Mother's Day - May 13, 1950
• Mother's Day - 1951-52
• Mutual Security Agency
• National Commission on Accrediting
• National Council of the Churches of Christ
• National Research Council
• Old-age and Survivors (OASI)
• Oh, Dr. Kyung Sun
• Old Centre - Annual
• Olmstead Brothers (Landscape architects) (see Campus survey)
• Overseers, Board of
• Overseers, Board of - President's Reports

• Presbyterian Church (U.S. & U.S.A.) - Committee on Federated Churches
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.) - Board of Christian Education
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.) - Self Study
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - Board of Christian Education
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - Board of Christian Education - 1937-43
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - Board of Christian Education - Survey
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - E. Fay Campbell
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - Council on Theological Education
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - George Watsonv
• Presbyterian College Union
• Presbyterian College Union - Executive Committee
• Presbyterian Educational Association of the South
• Presbyterian House (Rose Anna Hughes)
• Presbyterian Life
• Presbyterian Vocational Guidance Center
• President's Reports to Synods and Synodicals
• Price, Dr. William Jennings
• Public Law 550 (Korean War Veterans)
• Public Relations
• Quadrennial Convocation of Christian Churches
• Regional Honor Scholarships
• Religious Values in the Curriculum
• Reports - 1947
• Reports - 1948
• Reports - 1949
• Reports - 1950
• Riis, Roger W.
• Rotary Club
• ROTC - Air Force
• ROTC - Army
• ROTC - Marine
• ROTC - Navy
• Round Table

• Segregation (see Day Law)
• Sesquicentennial Fund - Publicity
• Social Science Research Council
• Sound Scriber
• Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools
• Southern Council on Teacher Education
• Southern Education Reporting Service
• Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• Southern Regional Education
• Southern University Conference
• Speeches and Papers - Farewell Address
• Speeches and Papers - Miscellaneous
• Spiritual Emphasis Week - 1952-55
• Student Council - Men
• Student Promotion
• Student Volunteer Movement
• Synod Reports Material 1949
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S. and U.S.A.) - Meeting 1955-56
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S.)
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S.) - Committee on Christian Education
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S.) - Dr. Paul Watson
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S.A.)
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S.A.) - Clerk
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S.A.) - Committee on Christian Education
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S.A.) - Committee on Higher Education
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S.A.) - Committee on Homeless Children
• Synod of Kentucky (U.S.A.) - Alexander Warren
• Synodical Society of Kentucky (U.S.)
• Synodical Society of Kentucky (U.S.A.)
• Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association
• Television Education
• Transylvania Presbytery (U.S.A.)
• Trueblood Recommendations - 1948
• Trustees, Board of - Budget Committee
• Trustees, Board of - Building and Grounds Committee
• Trustees, Board of - College Organization Committee
• Trustees, Board of - Finance Committee
• Trustees, Board of - Financial Promotion Committee
• Trustees, Board of - Fraternity Committee
• Trustees, Board of - General Correspondence
• Trustees, Board of - Committees - Bequests and Annuities
• Trustees, Board of - Committees - Honorary Degrees
• Trustees, Board of - Minutes
• Trustees, Board of - President's Reports
• Trustees, Board of - Prospective Members

• United States - Office of Education
• Veteran's Affairs
• Veteran's Bureau
• Vice-President
• Visitors, Board of - Women's College
• Visitors, Board of - Report - 1954
• War Emergency
• War Emergency - Civil Defense
• War Emergency - Construction
• War Emergency - Engineering Program
• War Emergency - Language Area
• War Emergency - Man Power
• War Emergency - Scientific Resources
• War Emergency - Report of Facilities
• War Emergency - Selective Service Legislation