About the Center for the True Blue Core 

Located in Peck Hall on the west side of campus and staffed by a full-time director and assistant director, as well as an administrative coordinator, the True Blue Core Center provides support and a physical space for students completing the general education requirements at MTSU, but also administers the program and ensures ongoing, high-quality curriculum to promote student recruitment, retention, and success. 

Founded on the premise that a general education is fundamental to a university education and to academic and career success, the Center provides programming for students that fosters a diverse, inclusive, and intellectually rich environment, while also offering assistance to students in navigating the Core curriculum.  

The Center’s primary obligation is to students, but as part of that obligation, the Center also supports faculty by fostering interdisciplinary and collaborative ventures that encourage students to see connections and engage in integrative thinking.

As part of the commitment to teaching excellence, both the director and the assistant director teach courses in the Core.

Center for the True Blue Core Priorities

• Select and recognize True Blue Core Scholars annually for academic achievement across the Core. 
• Collaborate with and support advisors to provide students with an individualized, curated path through the Core.
• Collaborate with the Center for Teaching and Mentoring to offer programming for faculty and students that highlights the skills and knowledge gained in Core education. 
• Administer micro grants to faculty for program and professional development.  including micro grants for faculty to enhance inclusive teaching, develop high-impact practices, implement problem-based learning, apply reflective practice to assessment, and create and maintain Blueprints.  
• Administer the Outstanding Teaching in General Education/True Blue Core Teaching Award. 
• Oversee a robust plan of assessment that fosters assessment as reflective practice, and allows the core to grow, to improve continuously, and to change over time as the needs of students change, even as it meets the obligations to the MTSU  accrediting body. 
• Coordinate and administer any add-on components to the program such as Blueprints and Study Abroad in the Core and facilitate collaboration among faculty. 
• Support the True Blue Core Committee in their work of curriculum review, approval, and course recertification. 
• Collaborate and partner with other university programs with regard to curriculum and assessment: Teaching and Mentoring, the MTSU Career Center, the  MTSU Center for FJE, MTEngage, EXL, the Office for Education Abroad (OEA), the Reading History Initiative, the Data Science Institute, MTSU Online, the Office of Student Success, and MTSU advisors. 

Dr. Christina Cobb, Director, True Blue Core & Center for the True Blue Core

Christina M. Cobb is an Associate Professor in the University Studies Department where she teaches mathematics, first-year seminar, and graduate professional studies courses. At Tennessee State University, she earned a Bachelor’s and a Master of Science in Mathematics, and a Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. Cobb joined the University Studies Department in 2011 and became the True Blue Core Implementation Coordinator in Fall 2022. She has taught numerous general education courses in Mathematics and served as the 2021-2023 Inclusive Teaching Fellow with the LT&ITC. Dr. Cobb was recently appointed Director of the True Blue Core, MTSU’s general education program. In this role, she works collaboratively with faculty and leadership across campus to shape meaningful and integrative learning experiences for undergraduate students.

She has served as co-principal investigator on various student success initiatives, including the Mentoring and Mathematics (M2) program, and was the recipient of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ High Impact Practices Grant. Dr. Cobb has also been actively involved in the Scholars Academy early arrival program, leading mathematics skill-building sessions to support first-year students.

In addition to her work at MTSU, Dr. Cobb currently serves as the President-Elect of the National Organization for Student Success (NOSS) and sits on the committee for the Tennessee Girls in STEM (TGIS) at MTSU. She is deeply engaged in her community, tutoring and serving on the boards of several organizations in Nashville and Murfreesboro. In 2022, she founded the non-profit platform EducatHer, through which she has empowered women nationwide via workshops, book clubs, mentoring programs, and more.

Dr. Suzanne Sutherland, Assistant Director, True Blue Core & Center for the True Blue Core

Suzanne Sutherland is a Professor of History who specializes in early modern Europe. She previously served as the History Department General Education Director and spent five years as part of MTSU’s Faculty Senate leadership team working on shared governance issues, including her term as President from 2024 to 2025. Her research has focused on the history of military contracting, transregional marriage alliances, and Catholic scholarship. Her current project examines Renaissance brides, weddings, and diplomatic alliances. She also serves as a Subject Editor for the digital Routledge Resources Online – The Renaissance World, which features innovative essays on the latest scholarship for student readers.

Dr. Sutherland teaches upper-level and graduate courses on European history as well as US History I, Survey Western Civilization I, and Survey World Civilizations I for the True Blue Core. She also organizes and leads short-term Study Abroad programs to Europe, including HIST 2065/3075: Resistance and Revolution in Prague and Berlin, which meets the History and Civic Learning requirement.

Ms. Abby Arnold, Administrative Coordinator

Abby joined the True Blue Core team in January 2024 as a full-time coordinator. She graduated from MTSU in 2020 with a degree in global studies. More recently, she has worked with the Jones College of Business advising center before joining us here at the True Blue Core. She brings experience and knowledge from her time at MTSU as a student and professional.

Graduate Assistant