Craig T. Cobane

Executive Director, Mahurin Honors College
Western Kentucky University (WKU)

Cobane received his B.S. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he was awarded the Chancellor’s Leadership Medallion. His M.A. and Ph.D. are from the University of Cincinnati, both in Political Science.  His areas of expertise include international relations theory, terrorism/counter-terrorism, and international security policy. He has published over 100 articles, essays, and reviews.

As Executive Director, Cobane grew the College from several hundred to over 1,300 scholars. He created the Office of Scholar Development, which assists students in applying for nationally competitive awards. WKU was recognized as a “Top Fulbright Producing” university, among master’s comprehensive institutions, five out of the last six years. He is the Principal Investigator on the National Security Education Program (NSEP) funded Chinese Language Flagship Program.

Between January 2012 and September 2017, Cobane served concurrently as WKU’s Chief International Officer (CIO), growing education abroad participation by 37 percent. Based on success during his time as CIO, Diversity Abroad recognized WKU with the 2018 Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion in International Education Award.

Cobane is the recipient of multiple teaching awards. He was selected by the U.S. Atlantic Council to spend time at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. During the 2004-05 academic year, Cobane was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Defense Policy Fellow and in 2018-19 served as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellows.