 Father and son ran a small manufacturing business in Minominnee, Minnesota, until the younger Graham embarked on a career of public service.Graham was awarded a bachelor's degree in engineering from Cornell University in 1942.He earned a master's degree in education from Catholic University in 1970; and he continued his studies, earning a Ph.D. in philosophy in 1972 from what was then the "Union Graduate School", now the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio.