Before being named dean, Axe was the university administrator of the V-12 Navy training program at KU. While serving as dean, he took a year of leave to serve as the director of the new department of administration of the State of Kansas. He was elected vice-president of the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business (now known as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, or AACSB). He was a member of the KU faculty for 28 years.