TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo School for the Arts board of directors voted unanimously Thursday evening to hire Robert Koenig as the school’s next director.
Koenig was named interim director last year after the arts-based school’s former director left to pursue another opportunity.
A lawyer by trade, Koenig retired in 2022 after more than 35 years at Schumaker, Loop & Kendrick. He attended Case Western Reserve University and New York Law School. While at New York Law School, he received the Distinguished Writing Award and was managing editor of the school's Journal of International and Comparative Law.
Though his interim director position was his first in education, Koenig is no stranger to how the award-winning school operates. He was an original board member of TSA during its inception in 1999 and has also served as vice president and president of the board in the years since. His daughter also attended the school.
In a letter to staff Friday morning, current school board president Olivia Summons said theatre and dance are his passions.
According to the letter, Koenig was active with the Toledo Ballet for over 15 years, including seven years as board president. He is currently board chair for the Issue Box and the Toledo Repertoire theatres. He was named a Trustee for Life by the YMCA of Greater Toledo after 12 years on its board of directors.
"We are looking forward to Rob's leadership in developing increased collaborations with the local arts community," Summons said.
Over the past year in the interim role, Koenig led the school through its multi-million dollar expansion project The Next Big Thing, which brought new state-of-the-art learning spaces and equipment to the school and allowed for an increase in student enrollment.
Koenig is now the third director of the school in its 25 years, following Doug Mead and founding director Martin Porter who retired in 2015.
Koenig's contract will last for four years.
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