After receiving her Ph.D, Cobb became a biology teaching fellow at
New York University while also working for the
National Cancer Institute at
Harlem Hospital (1950–1952). ===
Sarah Lawrence College === From 1960–69, Cobb was employed as head of the biology laboratory at
Sarah Lawrence College. While there, she conducted research for participants in the
National Science Foundation. Upon accepting the position at Connecticut College, she stated: "This is a college in transition, moving forward at an exciting pace. We need more black students and teachers to help us formulate and carry out our bold new plans." During her time at Connecticut College, she implemented a Black Scholarship program that provided financial assistance to at least 37 Black undergraduates at the college. The scholarship intended to increase financial assistance for students of color. in addition to being elected Director of the
American Council on Education, (1973–1976). Dr Cobb, as member of the National Science Board and advisor to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, chaired a conference of 30 minority women scientists to provide recommendations to schools, policy-makers and the US government on how to recruit more women of color into the sciences. The highly influential report was published as
The Double Bind: The Price of Being a Minority Woman in Science. Due to the many roles, Cobb worked long hours. She did laboratory work in the early morning followed by administrative work before teaching in the afternoons. ===
Douglass Residential College === In July 1976, Cobb decided to leave Connecticut College and become a dean and professor of Biological Sciences at
Douglass Residential College at
Rutgers University and a full-time administrator for the Women's division of Rutgers. Cobb's greatest hesitation in leaving the College concerned limitations in continuing her research to the same degree due to her new role. ===
California State University, Fullerton === Cobb was appointed President of
California State University, Fullerton in 1981 where she began to improve campus facilities from the start of her term. At Fullerton, some faculty members did not share Cobb's interests in research and rebuilding, holding that the primary mission of the college was to teach. Her decision to enter into the agreement to build the hotel on campus and to add a satellite campus in the southern part of
Orange County thus generated criticism on campus. Cobb brought both of these issues to the Faculty Senate for a vote. Both times, her decisions were upheld. In 1990, aged 66, she was forced to retire under a rule imposed by
W. Ann Reynolds, the Chancellor of the
California State University System, requiring all campus presidents aged 65 or older to retire. In response to her departure, Julian Foster, a campus leader and prominent political scientist, expressed Cobb's emphasis on research and scholarship to be her most important contribution to
Cal State Fullerton. In 1990, after retiring, Cobb was named
California State University Trustee Professor for its
Los Angeles division. She became a life member of the board of trustees in 2005. In 1991, she became the principal investigator at Southern California Science and Engineering ACCESS Center and Network, which assists middle school and high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds pursue a future in the fields of science and engineering. In 2001, Cobb became the principal investigator for Science Technology Engineering Program (STEP) Up for Youth—ASCEND project at California State University, Los Angeles. == Research ==