[1] He was recognized for his work during an incredibly tumultuous time in United States history, as life proved difficult amidst the Vietnam War.

After receiving his doctorate in 1941, Braden worked as an economist in Washington for the entirety of World War II, until he decided to serve four years in the Air Force.

This experience greatly prepared him to work in developing liberal arts colleges, where teachers were becoming increasingly qualified and further educated.

With the funding they did receive, however, Braden's presidency established new master's programs in Western European Studies, as well as Physics, Economics, Sociology, and Political Science.

[7] To tackle all of these ideas, Braden created the University Planning Committee, a group that would track the achievements of academic and aesthetic endeavors in the coming years.

[8] Despite the progression towards an academic and structural ideal, Illinois State University faced great strife in student contentment.

While previous president Robert Bone had already dropped the campus alcohol ban, students were still unhappy with the restrictive rules placed on them.

During Braden's presidency, he attempted to appeal to the community for open housing, to diminish the need for strictly on-campus living.

However, the city of Bloomington-Normal denied these requests until March 4, 1968, when referendum voters favored open housing by a small majority.

While students were able to live more comfortably, these occurrences during Braden's presidency seemed to show the growing hindrance that the university was placing on the city.

On May 15, 1968, Braden appointed a Task Force on Inter-Group Relations, which had composed recommendations for improving campus diversity.

[10] However, for the next year of his presidency (1968–1969), civil rights protests and outbreaks damaged the school's reputation with local authorities.

They were granted these wishes, and president Braden created an organization consisting of black students, who would determine what African-American idol the East Gate building would be renamed after.

He described his leave as "neither hasty nor capricious," and felt that he no longer wanted to grapple with the issues that faced university presidents at that time.