Census director Robert Groves leaving

WASHINGTON — Census Bureau director Robert Groves is stepping down, having overseen the 2010 census but raising questions about the future stewardship of an agency grappling with potential cuts to government surveys.

Groves says he will leave in August to become provost of Georgetown University. He has been director since 2009, leading the agency's once-a-decade count of the nation's population. That census was generally praised for being accurate and coming $1.9 billion below budget.

His departure comes at a time of transition for the bureau and just before the November elections. It will leave a vacancy until President Barack Obama nominates a new director who is approved by the Senate.

In years past, presidents have sometimes been slow to successfully nominate a census director, leaving the post vacant for many months.