KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Now that she's getting settled into the business of being the University of Tennessee Knoxville chancellor, Donde Plowman has her eyes on two immediate priorities.
She said she wants to build on the value of being a Tennessee Volunteer -- and all that that can mean to students and alumni. And she wants to capitalize on UT's unique relationship with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, one of the nation's premier research labs.
"We stand on the shoulders of people who have had a lot of courage, who have done big things," Plowman said in a taped edition of WBIR's "Inside Tennessee" that airs 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
In her appearance, Plowman addressed a broad range of topics, from the campus's growth to boosting retention and graduation rates to her decision to place cameras that keep an eye on The Rock after someone scrawled symbols of hate on it.
Some 10 years ago, Plowman was head of the management department in the Haslam College of Business at UT. Before being chosen this summer as chancellor, she was executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Plowman told WBIR she was immediately struck upon her return this summer at how much the Knoxville campus had changed physically through new construction and landscaping.
Now in her fifth month, Plowman said she's made a point to engage with students, which she describes as "our central mission."
"I wanted them to know we're starting again. I guess you could say we're pushing the reset button."
Another task: "I keep hearing about, we need to reestablish trust. So, trust between students and faculty, students and the administration, and the university and the Legislature. So that's a big issue I'm working on."
She's trying to meet all of the state's lawmakers and estimates she's reached 85, roughly two-thirds so far.
Plowman said she supports promoting in-state enrollment while also looking at growing out-of-state enrollment. And, she said, she wants to stop the flow of students choosing to go outside of Tennessee for a college education.
She's happy to have athletics reporting to her. Plowman offered generous praise for Phillip Fulmer, the athletics director and former football head coach.
"I feel really good about the direction that we're going," she said.
Pushing through the introduction of alcohol to Neyland Stadium and Thompson-Boling Arena was among her first acts as chancellor. Beer and wine were sold on the concourse level for the first time for the BYU-UT home game.
So far, so good, she said. For one thing, it's a money-maker, she said.
"I've tried to think of everything that could go wrong. We just have not had those issues yet, knock on wood."
You can hear the complete interview 9:30 a.m. Sunday on WBIR, Channel 10.
