Oak Ridge

Travelers on Oak Ridge Turnpike probably never paid much attention to the beige-gray building that houses one of the premier law enforcement training academies in the country until December 2021 when the building scaled up its presence with some fresh orange paint.

The facility that houses the UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC), an agency of the UT Institute for Public Service, is now home to the 24th “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural. 

“We’re excited, and we welcome the opportunity to be a part of this mural campaign,” LEIC Executive Director Rick Scarbrough said. “The Law Enforcement Innovation Center instructs officers from around the country and some from other countries. We have an impact on law enforcement training and with this mural, we’ll be able to increase our exposure. We’re grateful to be a part of UT and want to demonstrate that by increasing visibility.”

The building was donated to the University by the late Guilford Glazer, who was known as a developer in east Tennessee before heading west and settling in Beverly Hills, California. The Knoxville native studied engineering at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., before joining the Navy in World War II. After the war, he returned home and opened his late father’s welding business before expanding into building and real estate development. After building Knoxville’s first high-rise apartment building, Shelbourne Towers, he was recruited by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to build the Oak Ridge Shopping Center and other facilities, including the A&P grocery store.

“Before the generosity of Guilford and Diane Glazer our Law Enforcement Innovation Center was sharing space with the Knoxville Police Department,” IPS Vice President Herb Byrd III said. “We’ve been able to develop a first-class training center in Oak Ridge, and the mural increases awareness of our presence.”

In addition to the hundreds of law enforcement personnel who enter LEIC each year, the building and mural also are visible to more than 26,000 travelers a day.