---

News Release

Last modified: Monday, March 30, 2009

Dennis Groth named associate vice provost for undergraduate education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Sonya Stephens today announced the appointment of Dennis Groth as Indiana University Bloomington associate vice provost for undergraduate education.

Groth has been associate professor of informatics and associate dean of undergraduate studies for the School of Informatics on the Bloomington campus. The appointment takes effect immmediately.

As associate vice provost, Groth will be responsible for curricular procedures. His portfolio also includes outreach, e-learning, service learning and civic engagement, continuing education, general studies and other lifelong-learning and community-centered programs.

"Professor Groth has shown extraordinary commitment to undergraduate education on the Bloomington campus," said Stephens. "He has been repeatedly recognized, both by his students and colleagues, as an outstanding teacher, most recently winning a Trustees Award for Teaching Excellence in 2005 and a nomination for the IUSAA Student Choice Award for three years in a row.

"He works tirelessly to develop new initiatives and to enhance the academic experience of undergraduates and those who teach and support them. At the cutting edge of technology in education, Groth is truly an innovator himself, both in matters of teaching and learning and in shaping the student academic experience," Stephens said.

Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson also praised Groth's dedication to undergraduate education. "I'm very pleased that Dennis will play a key role in the recently created Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education," said Hanson. "Dennis brings to the office a passionate commitment to undergraduate success and a wealth of experience that will serve our students well."

Groth said he looks forward helping to build on a legacy of success in undergraduate education at IU Bloomington.

"I am absolutely delighted to work with Vice Provost Stephens and all of our colleagues at Indiana University on the critical mission of undergraduate education," Groth said. "I feel privileged to engage with students, faculty and staff on improving on an already excellent undergraduate experience."

Groth received his doctorate degree in computer science from Indiana University. His responsibilities in the School of Informatics include curricular programs, student services, advising, academic operations and career services. His research focuses on the development of new database access and data mining techniques in support of data visualization activities. He explores ways in which visualizations can be manipulated in the same fashion as the data that generates the visualizations. Creating such techniques will enhance the ability of users to explore the visual space, thereby improving the knowledge discovery process, Groth said.

Groth has more than 15 years of experience in the software development industry. He has designed and developed systems for healthcare, pharmaceutical sales and financial services applications. He applies his industrial management experience in the School of Informatics' senior capstone course, in which student teams develop an information system based on the requirements of a real customer.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education was created as part of a restructuring of campus administration that placed the broad functions of the former office of academic affairs and dean of the faculties under the leadership of two vice provosts. The office oversees programs and initiatives in support of outstanding academic experiences for all IU Bloomington undergraduate students.

---

---