 Through the efforts of Rasmus Bjørn Anderson, Kumlien accepted a position in the faculty of Albion Academy, in Albion, Wisconsin.From 1867 to 1870, he taught not only botany and zoology, but also foreign languages; he left when financial turmoil hit the college.He took a position with the State of Wisconsin in 1870, collecting specimens for the University of Wisconsin in Madison and the teacher training school (the university's collections were destroyed in a fire in 1884).