Gronicka attended a Gymnasium in Icking near Munich before going to East High School in Rochester, New York.

These studies were followed by a PhD at Columbia University on Henry von Heiseler under the direction of Robert Herndon Fife, Jr. From 1942 to 1944, Gronicka taught specialized Russian courses during World War 2 in the army.

At Columbia, Gronicka was the curator of the German House (1961–1962) and a program director to teach Russian to the Airforce officers.

[2] He founded the Max Kade German Center and co-founded the first Modern College Language House at the University of Pennsylvania.

from the University of Pennsylvania and was an honorary member of the Modern Language Association of America (MLA).