CEDAR HILL – When Susan Marks (Knoxville ’67) sees the newest UT mural painted on her family’s barn, she can’t help but smile. The mural, part of the Everywhere You Look, UT campaign, captures a lifetime of memories and a legacy of Volunteer pride that runs through her family.
The mural, painted on a tobacco barn estimated to be more than 100 years old, celebrates “all things UT,” Marks said. Her family has owned the property in Robertson County since the 1940s.
The mural is visible to an estimated 1,150 passersby each day and marks county number 65 in the campaign, with a total of 71 murals completed.
Marks’ parents, John R. Long (Knoxville ’36), who served as chairman of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, and Sarah Ann Norton Long (Knoxville ’36), instilled in her a love for the Tennessee Volunteers at a young age. She attended her first football game at age 9 in 1954. She enjoyed cheering from the same seats in Neyland Stadium for 54 years.
Growing up, she knew she would attend UT Knoxville. Marks earned a degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and retailing in 1967. During her time at UT Knoxville, she served as president of Clement Hall during its first year of operation, an officer of the Chi Omega sorority — following her mother as a legacy member — and a participant in student government.
After graduating from UTK, Marks served as an advisor for Sigma Kappa Chapter of Chi Omega at Austin Peay State University. In later years, she was an advisor for Pi Chapter of Chi Omega at UTK. While living in Clarksville, she was an active member of the Montgomery County UTK alumni chapter.
Marks grew up showing cattle and participating in UT Extension and 4-H projects. Her children followed in her footsteps by showing cattle and raising sheep, along with 4-H public speaking, citizenship and leadership projects. In 2014, Marks received the State 4-H Alumni Recognition Award.
“Extension is an excellent resource for the farmers in this area,” Marks said.
Marks’ sons, Benjamin Marks (Knoxville ’93) and John Marks (Knoxville ’95), continued the family’s tradition and graduated from the Knoxville campus. Marks stated that as many as 10 of her immediate family also graduated from UTK.
The Marks family established two endowed scholarships to honor family members who have died while at the same time supporting the next generation of Volunteers. The John Long Marks Scholarship in the UT Institute of Agriculture Herbert College of Agriculture honors her son. The John R. and Sarah N. Long Scholarship is awarded to a student in arts and sciences in honor of her parents.
Her family’s legacy also includes friendships and connections with fellow Volunteers, including Tom Looney, UTIA assistant vice chancellor for development.
Looney said the mural is a fitting tribute from the Marks family and their deep ties to UT.
“Farming there goes back; it connects her with her boys and how they grew up. It exemplifies her connection to the university in terms of her appreciation of the Institute of Agriculture and the things that we do educating in the Herbert College of Agriculture but also providing Extension in every county in the state of Tennessee,” Looney said. “I think that there is no more appropriate alumna, landowner and farmer to be able to have this represented on their property than Susan Marks. I know that she will be proud to have that mural and to look at that every day, along with her neighbors.”
Marks said this mural is another way to demonstrate her love for and commitment to the University of Tennessee.
“The more often people see the UT icon, the better,” Marks said. “They are more likely to participate in UT programs and activities. I hope that is what happens here. You just can’t say enough good things about the University of Tennessee as far as I am concerned. It has been and continues to be an extremely important part of my life.”
To learn more about the Everywhere You Look, UT mural in Robertson County or to submit a location for consideration, visit the campaign website.
