Career
At Oberlin College from 1884, he taught in mathematics, philosophy, and theology. From 1902 to 1927, he was president of the college. With a tenure of 25 years, he holds the distinction of being Oberlin"s longest-serving president
In 1919, he served on the King-Crane Commission, whose recommendations on the fair and just disposition of non-Turkish areas of the Ottoman Empire might, had they been followed, would have averted many of the tragedies that have come to pass in the Middle East since that time.
The findings of that commission, suppressed until 1922, were finally made public in the King-Crane Commission Report and shed tremendous light on the wishes of the indigenous peoples of the region, as to who would be entrusted with the various mandates, the future of Palestine, and other vital issues.