wachman taught history for fourteen years at colgate university, and was director of the salzburg seminar in austria for two years. in 1961 he was asked to become president of lincoln university, an historically black institution, which was having financial and accreditation problems. he hired new faculty, increased enrollment, and raised money to reestablish the university's academic standing. in 1969 he was appointed vice president for academic affairs at temple university, and in 1973 became president. during his tenure he founded new campuses in tokyo, japan, and in the center city of philadelphia. he retired in 1983, and served as president of the foreign policy research institute in philadelphia from 1983 to 1989. during the 1990s he served as interim president of albright college in reading, pennsylvania, and the philadelphia college of textiles and science, now known as philadelphia university.