Donde Plowman is a former volunteer piano teacher at the School whose career snatched her away from Knoxville several years ago. She was a UT professor and administrator, and she left Tennessee to serve as executive vice chancellor and chief academic office at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. We figured we might never see her again. But sometimes paths re-cross. Donde came back to Knoxville in July thanks to a pretty impressive career move: She’s the new chancellor of the University of Tennessee. We couldn’t be prouder!

“Stepping forward and volunteering at the Joy of Music School was such a small thing to do on my part but I quickly saw how important my time was to the young people eager for piano lessons,” Donde says now. “The school serves a wonderful mission and I enjoyed my time there tremendously.

“She understands the value of the volunteer spirit, having revisited that point repeatedly in her first months on the job in Knoxville.Our Executive Director Frank Graffeo recounts his last visit with Donde: “She sat in my office and told me she had to resign as a volunteer, and that she had a great opportunity in Nebraska. I knew she was someone special, so it was even harder to see her depart. Now I can’t wait to get her back for a visit, and show her how we’ve grown since her time here.”