 He pursued further education at the University of Washington, graduating with a master's degree in 1950.He earned a doctorate in 1955 from the University of California, Berkeley and put his degree in educational administration and finance to work by taking an associate professor position at Ohio State University, where he would eventually become provost and vice president of academic affairs, positions held until he accepted the chancellor position at Syracuse University in 1969.Corbally replaced William Pearson Tolley as chancellor at Syracuse and reorganized the school's administration structure to match what he had experienced at Ohio, adding a provost and multiple vice president positions as opposed to the single vice chancellor position that the university had before.