News Archives - 2005
Bob Groven Named Honors Program Director
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Robert
Groven |
Robert Groven, associate professor of Communications Studies, has been named to a three-year term as Director of the Augsburg College Honors Program, replacing long-time director Larry Crockett, who will be departing on sabbatical and then returning to full-time teaching in 2006.
Groven holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School and a Master of Arts in Speech Communication from the University of Minnesota. He is 1989 graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., where he participated in the honors program in humanities. Groven, who has been a member of the faculty since 1997, also is director of Augsburg's award-winning Forensics program and has led it to national prominence in recent years.
In announcing the appointment, Chris Kimball, Provost and Dean of the College, said, "Dr. Groven's philosophy of education, his vision for an honors program education at Augsburg, and his commitment to student development and community building make him an excellent choice to assume leadership of the program." Kimball noted that an Honors Program Council will be established this year to work with the new director to guide the development of the recently revised program.
Kimball said that the Honors Program - as noted in its operational statements - both celebrates and enhances the signature elements of Augsburg's Core Curriculum: Christian vocation, global citizenship, the importance of service, the value of diversity, and the role of the city in framing the College's beliefs and values. About 115 students participate in the program each year.
Crockett, who is professor of Computer Science, has served in the role of director or co-director for 16 years, the longest tenure in the history of the program. "Professor Crockett has been instrumental in the program's growth and success," Kimball said, "and under his leadership, it has been a model not only for the Augsburg community but for many other institutions as well."
Crockett holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary (with a year of the program done at the Princeton Seminary). He also is a member of the Episcopal clergy, the author of three books, and a frequent speaker about the Honors Program at colleges, universities, and churches across the nation. He has received a Rockefeller Fellowship (Princeton), two National Science Foundation grants, a Templeton Prize, an Outstanding Teaching Award, three Honored Faculty Awards, and a number of faculty development grants.
Kimball said a reception to recognize and thank Dr. Crockett for his many years of service and contributions to the program is being planned for April 19. "We would like to honor him and provide a chance for many of his former students and colleagues to join in this recognition."