He pursued graduate study at NYU and the Union Theological Seminary before earning a Ph.D. at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Germany.

[4] He joined the NYU faculty in 1896 and was promoted to assistant professor shortly before accepting the role of president at Westminster College in 1899.

[5] When MacCracken came to Westminster, his age raised alarm among some of the supporters of the university, and his modest personality and quiet nature did not immediately assuage his doubters.

He taught one of the earliest courses in city planning in the United States, and he served as vice president of the university senate.

[8] During his time as president of Lafayette College, MacCracken was one of the founding advisors during the creation of Alpha Phi Omega, the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States.

[9] MacCracken's daughter Louise married Robert Olmsted, a trustee of Vassar College and the namesake of the school's biological sciences building.