A nation must think before it acts.
Audrey Kurth Cronin
Member, Board of Editors - Orbis
Professor Audrey Kurth Cronin has had a combination of academic positions and government service throughout her career. She is currently a Distinguished Professor at American University. Prior to that, she joined George Mason’s School of Public Policy (Arlington) in September 2011. She was professor and director of the core course on military strategy at the National War College (2007-2011). She came to the war college from Oxford University, where she was Director of Studies for the Changing Character of War program (2005-2007). She continues as a non-residential Senior Research Associate at Oxford. Before that, she was Specialist in Terrorism at the Congressional Research Service, responsible for advising Members of Congress in the aftermath of 9/11. She has served periodically in the Executive branch, including in the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Policy, where she drafted portions of the Secretary’s strategic plan. Professor Cronin has written or edited four books, including How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns (2009), and dozens of articles. She graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, won a Marshall Scholarship to Oxford (St. Antony’s College) and held a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. She is married to Dr. Patrick M. Cronin; they live in Washington, D.C. with their two children.
