Alumnus’s 20-Year Graduation Anniversary to be Marked by ‘Everywhere You Look, UT’ Mural, Inspiring Future UT Students in Jefferson County

DANDRIDGE — Chris Gann decided on something orange and to give back to the UT System to commemorate his 20-year anniversary of graduating from UT Knoxville.

Gann volunteered his barn in Jefferson County to be painted with an “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural. UT’s statewide campaign promotes the University’s presence with an aim to paint one mural in every county by 2030.

The 30-foot-wide barn mural will be located on Gann Farm overlooking Jefferson County High School, where many future University of Tennessee students currently attend.

Gann (Knoxville ’04) — a first-generation college graduate, volunteer firefighter and Army ROTC commissioned officer — owns the cattle and hobby farm with his father, Gregg Gann.

“I’m a 2004 graduate of UT Knoxville, so I guess the mural is my 20-year graduation anniversary present,” said Gann.

Gann participated in the Army ROTC program during his time at UTK and largely credits his experience with that program to his success in college and beyond.

“I’ve had more elevated responsibilities in my role, as well as a higher ranking because of the ROTC,” said Gann. “The ROTC also helped me get through college. I was on a good track when I started out, but the structure that the ROTC gave me was very beneficial.”

Gann’s middle daughter currently attends UTK as a first-year student and is a member of the Pride of the Southland Marching Band. His youngest daughter is a student in Jefferson County and plans to attend UTK after high school graduation.

Gann learned of the “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural campaign from an article in the Our Tennessee alumni magazine. He realized Jefferson County did not have one of these murals and nominated the family farm to host it.

The mural at Gann Farm will be visible to over 2,000 daily travelers.

“I just hope the mural encourages a lot of students in high school, staring at it every day, to give a UT System school another look,” said Gann.

The newest mural, painted by muralist Curtis Glover marks county number 51 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 55 total murals across the state. The University covers the cost of the first mural in each county.

To learn more about the upcoming “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural in Jefferson 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.