 Griffis was named a trustee of Cornell in 1930 and led Paramount Pictures from 1935 to 1942.He became involved with diplomacy and non-governmental organizations during World War II, serving as special envoy to several western European nations from 1942 to 1943, and directing the Motion Picture Bureau, a division of the Office of War Information, between 1943 and 1944.In a subsequent two-month stint as diplomatic representative, Griffis tried to dissuade Swedish manufacturers of ball bearings from exporting to Germany.