There was much controversy within the university regarding the curriculum, which had expanded to include medicine, agriculture, and engineering as well as the establishment of mandatory chapel, military drill, and religious instruction.

Wolfe studied a diverse range of topics during his schooling and after a rough start, he was a very successful student in his junior and senior years, earning nine A's and 3 B's.

Though he could have continued his education at one of many American graduate programs, Wolfe decided instead to travel to the University of Berlin, well-known at the time for its innovative curriculum.

Upon arrival in Berlin, Wolfe began to pursue a degree in the classics with the intention of returning to the United States as a college or university professor.

[1] In the fall of 1884 Wolfe ended his time in Berlin, for unknown reasons, and traveled to Leipzig to study with Wilhelm Wundt.

A possible explanation for this is that Ebbinghaus did not have professorial rank and was unable to supervise Wolfe's doctoral thesis, which he would write in psychology, no longer pursuing a degree in classics.

In 1895 George Washington Andrew Luckey to the department was hired to teach pedagogy taking over some of Wolfe's courses.

In the years following the creation of the society Wolfe was a frequent speaker at local round tables, education meetings, to parent groups and at some commencement activities.

He was a popular speaker, knowledgeable about the child study literature, and inspiring in his call for people to join the "greatest educational movement" the world has ever experienced.

[6] This occurred six weeks after he and other faculty were charged by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents with "hesitating, halting and negative support of the government" (during World War I).