He enrolled at Michigan State University as an Alumni Distinguished Scholar in 1970, completing a bachelor's degree in urban policy through MSU's James Madison College in 1981.
He became active in voter registration efforts in East Lansing in 1971 following the ratification of the U.S. Constitution's 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
In 2016, Grebner again ran for Ingham County Commissioner, this time as a resident of district 8, including precincts on the western edge of East Lansing.
[7][8] The results of the research were published in multiple academic peer-reviewed journals, including American Political Science Review.
[11] From 1974 to 2004, he published Grading the Profs, which reported student survey results on Michigan State University teaching faculty.
[28][29] Grebner has been frequently involved in public controversies, typically as an advocate for liberal positions, for voting rights, for freedom of information, and for the interests of university students: