{"id":125,"date":"2026-09-23T17:22:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T17:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/political-science-and-public-service\/?p=125"},"modified":"2026-09-23T17:22:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T17:22:19","slug":"dolly-parton-celebration-set-for-september-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/political-science-and-public-service\/2026\/09\/23\/dolly-parton-celebration-set-for-september-25\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolly Parton Celebration Set for September 25"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Originally published by UTC Echo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article was originally published by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\u2019s UTC News. It is being republished here by the Department of Political Science &amp; Public Service to highlight the work and accomplishments of our faculty. The original article can be viewed on the <a href=\"ORIGINAL-ARTICLE-LINK\">UTC News website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Original publication date: September 23, 2026<\/em><br><em>Original author: Ella Morgan<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c9 to 5: A Dolly Parton Celebration\u201d is set to take place Friday, Sept. 25 from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Room 201 of Derthick Hall.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The event will be hosted by the Political Science and Public Service Department, and will feature a variety of Parton-themed activities, including trivia and a costume contest. To cap it off, there will be a screening of \u201c9 to 5,\u201d the 1980 film starring Parton, for which she famously wrote the theme song on her acrylic nails.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the PSPS department\u2019s Instagram, students are invited to enjoy themed snacks and dress in denim, rhinestones, cowboy boots or big hair for their best Parton-inspired outfits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe don\u2019t want it to be sad, like a memorial, because that didn\u2019t seem very Dolly to us,\u201d Ella Dubendorfer, the administrative assistant for PSPS, said. \u201cWe want to celebrate her life.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Dubendorfer, the idea for the event started after she and Michelle Evans, an associate professor in the PSPS department, were devastated following the news of Parton\u2019s death.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were actually together when we found out about Dolly\u2019s passing,\u201d Dubendorfer said. \u201cI grew up in Appalachia, and my whole life, Dolly was this queen\u2014an almost godlike figure. Her legacy is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans said her way of celebrating that legacy was including donation opportunities for causes Parton philanthropized during her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHer giving back and service, while having this deep faith\u2014I was very moved by her,\u201d Evans said. \u201cThis is my emotional way of respecting that. And so I wanted to provide opportunities for others to have that type of emotional connection, or maybe an element of the grieving process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Donation bins for children\u2019s books and nonperishable food will be available at the event, inspired by Parton\u2019s Imagination Library and support of food banks. Evans also pledged to match monetary donations (up to a specified amount) made to support Scrappy\u2019s Cupboard or other Parton-related charitable causes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although donations will be accepted, Evans and Dubendorfer said that students should feel no pressure to contribute\u2014rather, they should focus on enjoying the event.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They also hoped that students would learn from Parton\u2019s ability to unite people across political, cultural and religious lines.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe had her viewpoints,\u201d Evans said. \u201cThey weren\u2019t necessarily something everyone agreed on, but she did it with such grace\u2013 so that she wasn\u2019t putting down anybody else\u2019s beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans said that in more controversial times, the message they had taken away from Parton\u2019s life was her focus on community and diplomacy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe just kind of modeled what it is we hope to be,\u201d Evans said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Originally published by UTC Echo This article was originally published by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\u2019s UTC News. It is being republished here by the Department of Political Science &amp; Public Service to highlight the work and accomplishments of our faculty. The original article can be viewed on the UTC News website. Original publication&hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><span><a class=\"more-link button text\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/political-science-and-public-service\/2026\/09\/23\/dolly-parton-celebration-set-for-september-25\/\"><span>Continue Reading <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2080,"featured_media":123,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[22],"class_list":["post-125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-utc-newsroom","tag-evans","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dolly Parton Celebration Set for September 25 - Political Science and Public Service<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/political-science-and-public-service\/2026\/09\/23\/dolly-parton-celebration-set-for-september-25\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dolly Parton Celebration Set for September 25 - Political Science and Public Service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Originally published by UTC Echo This article was originally published by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\u2019s UTC News. 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