Unicoi Becomes 49th County to Join “Everywhere You Look, UT” Mural Campaign, Continuing Five Generations of UT Tradition

ERWIN – An “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural in Unicoi County celebrates five generations of UT Knoxville graduates.

Rebecca Love (Knoxville, ’69) traces family ties to the University of Tennessee back five generations, starting with her grandfather, Glenn Ratliffe (Knoxville, 1908), the first in the family to graduate from the University. It seemed natural for her to offer her family’s barn in the 49th county of the campaign, which seeks to show UT’s presence in the state’s 95 counties.

“I have so many ties to and lots of support for the University,” said Love. “I’ve got my Volunteer flag in the front yard, it stays up almost year-round, so it’s a big part of my life and my community knows that too.”

Love, a third generation UT Knoxville alumna, earned a degree in education. After spending time at home with her children, she spent 30 years in education as a teacher and principal supervisor.

“It was all wonderful and made possible because of my education degree from UTK,” said Love.

Situated on her late-husband’s family land, the former tobacco barn now features the 48-foot-wide mural visible from James H. Quillen Scenic Parkway, which sees over 14,000 daily travelers.

Love discovered the campaign through her sister Suzanne Williams (Knoxville, ’79), both of whom were members of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority during their time at UTK.

“My sister had heard about the campaign and told me, ‘You have the perfect barn to have a mural,’ because my barn is very visible,” said Love. “Also, my granddaughter graduated in May 2023, and I thought this would be a neat thing to do in honor of her graduation.”

The Love family traces its UT graduates back more than 100 years:

• Glenn Ratliffe (Knoxville, 1908)
• Dorothy Harvey (Knoxville, ’34)
• Jack Williams (UTHSC, ’65)
• Rebecca Love (Knoxville, ’69)
• Suzanne Williams (Knoxville, ’79)
• Robert Love, III (Knoxville, ’93, ’02)
• Anthony Love (Knoxville, ’99)
• Jacquelynn Boswell (Knoxville, ’17)
• Tara Rebecca Love (Knoxville, ’23)

The newest mural, painted by muralist Michael Cooper, marks county number 49 of the “Everywhere You Look, UT” campaign. This campaign aims to paint a mural in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties by 2030. Since its launch in 2018, the campaign has created 53 total murals across the state. The University covers the cost of the first mural in each county.

To learn more about the “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural in Unicoi County or to submit a location for consideration, visit the campaign website.

The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Pulaski, Martin and Memphis; the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county; and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The UT System manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership; enrolls about 58,000 students statewide; produces about 13,000 new graduates every year; and represents more than 445,000 alumni around the world.