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Polk Glover, a 1961 graduate and current trustee of Union, considers himself more a planter than a farmer. Union 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 Union students through many of the different programs at Union. 

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 Union graduate with a major in business, minor in art, and a Union 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 Union 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 Union,” says Glover, who adds that he enjoyed his years at Union, 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 Union. 

One of Union’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 Union, 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 Union on a scholarship, always agreed with her husband on the importance of giving back to Union. 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 Union’s Board of Trustees, was inducted into Union’s 21st Century Society last year, and is already on his way to sharing Union 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 Union, please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at (800) 338-6644, or by way of mail, 1050 Union University Dr., Jackson, TN 38305-3697.