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Polk Glover, a 1961 graduate and current trustee of Â鶹ÊÓƵ, considers himself more a planter than a farmer. Â鶹ÊÓƵ agrees. Glover and his late wife, Polly, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, have consistently contributed greatly to the university for many years, planting opportunities and support for Â鶹ÊÓƵ students through many of the different programs at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. 

Learning farming at an early age from his grandfather and father, Glover has planted corn, wheat, and soybean on 2800 acres of farmland in the rural Tennessee town of Obion for several decades. He continues to do so, with help from three brothers. 

GLOVER PROFILE 1961 Â鶹ÊÓƵ graduate with a major in business, minor in art, and a Â鶹ÊÓƵ cheerleader. Founding board member for United Way in Obion County. Currently serves as a Commissioner for Obion County. Church treasurer and deacon for First Baptist Church, Obion.

Farming was not the only thing Glover learned from his elders. 

“My grandfather, Ilar Glover, and my father Dale Glover, were both trustees at Â鶹ÊÓƵ and both helped students go to school there, so I guess it was only natural for me to continue the tradition. I always thought you should contribute to Â鶹ÊÓƵ,” says Glover, who adds that he enjoyed his years at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, especially since it was where he met his wife. 

He met Polly, who passed away from liver cancer in June of this year, first in 4H camp during high school, and then later when they were both students at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. 

One of Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s first boy-cheerleaders, Glover fondly recalls running into Polly on campus her freshman year. “My wife liked to say she married the first person she saw at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, and a boy-cheerleader at that!” says Glover, chuckling. 

Glover and his wife married in August of 1961 and over the years had three children, and most recently, a grandchild, Sarah Elizabeth. 

Polly, who attended Â鶹ÊÓƵ on a scholarship, always agreed with her husband on the importance of giving back to Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Their gifts to the university have been in a variety of forms, from cash, a house that once belonged to her mother, to a book written for incoming freshmen by Polly, titled So, You’re Going to College. 

Polk, a member of the Executive and Student Services Committees for Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Board of Trustees, was inducted into Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s 21st Century Society last year, and is already on his way to sharing Â鶹ÊÓƵ with the next generation. His granddaughter, Sarah, two months at the time, was present to hear Colin Powell at last year’s Scholarship Banquet. 

For information about planting your own gifts and opportunities to support students at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at (800) 338-6644, or by way of mail, 1050 Â鶹ÊÓƵ University Dr., Jackson, TN 38305-3697.