A New Years Message from Mount Marty's 12th President

Dear Mount Marty Community,

Growing up in north Texas, we spent almost every New Year's Day on our family farm about 35 miles south of Texarkana. That farm embodied much of what people envision when they think of stereotypical Texas. We ran Hereford cattle, produced cucumbers for a pickle-plant in Texarkana, and had a handful of oil pump jacks humming across our “family creek”. However, what stands out most to me about our farm is how we used it to gather our family at Easter, Christmas and New Year's Day.

My dad is the oldest of 8 and every New Year's was an occasion to gather the entire family – aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents - to celebrate on the farm. After a day of shooting bottle rockets, barbequing, and an evening bonfire, we’d head back to the house. To get there, my two older brothers and I would squeeze in between my grandfather and grandmother on the single-bench seat of Granddaddy’s ’66 Chevy pickup. There were no booster seats when I was a kid, and the seatbelts were just for decoration. The conversations in Granddaddy’s truck were formative moments in my childhood. Grandmama talked to us about what it meant to be a part of a family and how important it was for our family to contribute to our community. Granddaddy has since passed but Grandmama, who is pushing 102, is alive and well in Texarkana… and she is still active in her community – especially at her beloved Sacred Heart Parish.

On this New Year's Day, I carry that same appreciation for the role of my family in our community into my new role at Mount Marty University. Alicia, Everett, Henry and I are honored to be a part of the Mount Marty Community. We hope you all enjoyed rest and experienced peace this Christmas. Many of you know Father Adam at the Benedictine Priory of Christ the King. I’m borrowing from his Christmas Midnight Mass homily when I say that “the light that dawned in Bethlehem still shines.” As we enter a new year, I pray that our university community may continue to allow “that light to transform our hearts.”

Alicia, the boys and I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Mark

Mark Brown began his tenure as Mount Marty University's 12th president on January 1, 2026. Read about his appointment here.