He served as the Director of the Division of Education and Cultural Relations in the U.S. Office of the Military Government, and directed reconstruction of the German education system following World War II.

[1] He was ahead of his time in several initiatives, advocating longer school days and increased partnership between students and parents.

[2] He left his Professorship at the University of Rochester in 1938 to serve as Commissioner of Education for the State of Connecticut.

He resigned in 1948 to direct educational reconstruction efforts in Germany.

He later served as Chairman of the University of Chicago school of Education and as Associate Dean of New York University's School of Education.