Likert graduated from U Michigan with an AB in economics and sociology in 1922. He received his doctorate in psychology from Columbia U in 1932. During the next decade his work involved the interpretation of surveys and the handling of questionnaires. He joined the faculty of U Michigan in 1946, becoming the founding Director of the Institute for Social Research in 1949.

http://www.amstat.org/about/statisticiansinhistory/bios/LikertRensis.pdf Fuller biography and photograph.