In 1922, Brittain accepted the position of president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, then called the Georgia School of Technology, an office he would hold until his retirement in 1944. During his 22-year tenure at Georgia Tech, Brittain was credited with doubling student enrollment, establishing what is now the second largest aerospace engineering faculty in the United States, and playing an influential role in securing Georgia Tech's position as a leading technical institute and research university. After his retirement, Brittain wrote "The Story of Georgia Tech" (1948), a history of the Institute published shortly before his death in 1953.