Dr. William W. Cobbs entered Roanoke College at age 13 and graduated in 1948 with a BA. He was a member of Sigma Chi, the Brackety-Ack, and the Poetry Club. He continued his education at Colgate University and Penn State University, and earned his masters degree at Columbia University. Dr. Cobbs went on to earn three doctoral degrees from the University of Paris, and these included degrees in American/English Literature, Linguistics, Geopolitics, and an LLD).
Dr. Cobb was chairman of the board of trustees at Columbia for five years, and he and his wife founded the internationally known Martin Luther Academy for the Gifted, which has locations in England, Switzerland, and Florida. Dr. Cobb also developed a system for teaching brain dysfunctional children, and he was asked by Charlie Chaplin to come to Switzerland and work with his children.
Dr. Cobb had extensive collections of arts and books, and even has possession of one the rarest books in the world (as of 1988); a double first edition of Dante's Inferno. Dr. Cobb took part in an hour-long weekly radio show on National Public Radio, which was hosted by John Sikorski. Callers from around the nation would call in and ask questions to Dr. Cobb about rare books.
Dr. Cobb wrote countless books, including over 60 children's series for Western/Whitman publishing.
William W. Cobbs, II received the Roanoke College Medal in 1990.