On Aug. 1, 2023, Scott Koterbay was declared the new interim director of the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts. 

Koterbay has been a professor at ETSU since 1998, teaching in the Department of the Arts. Over the course of his 25 years of teaching, he became the director of the Fine and Performing Arts Scholar Program in 2009. Since then, he has tackled a new position this year by taking on the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts.

Photo of Scott Koterbay. (Contributed/ETSU)

 

“We have been developing this idea and have had some proposals. I knew this was probably going to happen six months ago, but it was not confirmed that I’d be interim director until the first of August,” states Koterbay.  

Koterbay’s responsibilities consist of being over the Bert C. Bach Fine and Performing Arts Scholarship Program, which is a competitive scholarship that rewards 10 high school students who are entering ETSU. As the interim director for the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts, Koterbay plans to transform and change the perspective of how the arts program is at ETSU.  

“I am preparing for next year’s allotted money and grants and thinking ahead on how to use that money effectively,” states Koterbay.  

Koterbay mentions changes to the Bert C. Bach scholarship, which includes finding ways to make it eligible for all students, not just high school students. Koterbay plans on working more closely with funding the fine and performing arts majors to benefit them successfully. For the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts, Koterbay wants to improve its visibility and name recognition, making it known and appreciated on campus and to students.  

While the decision is still being finalized, Koterbay is in the process of making changes and an impact on the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts, alongside the students. Koterbay hopes this position will boost the name of ETSU becoming an art school and being recognized for its talented students and their hard work. 

“One of my ambitions is to have that identity. I want ETSU to be their first choice of a university to go to because they think of us as an art university where their artistic talent is going to be supported, developed, recognized and appreciated over time and they’re going to come out of ETSU ready to take the next step in their artistic career,” said Koterbay.

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