- M.F.A., University of North Carolina-Greensboro
- B.A., University of North Carolina
Associate Professor Susan Lutz was granted emerita status posthumously. Susan Lutz was a dedicated teacher, artist, and choreographic model for Appalachian students for decades. Susan taught part-time when dance was part of the physical education program from the late 1980s until 1997, while raising her young children. She worked full-time in Theatre and Dance for 28 years until her death in 2024. She advised and mentored numerous students and clubs. She hosted and directed the North Carolina Dance Festival at Appalachian and choreographed multiple Theatre, Dance, and School of Music productions for our students. She was committed to community outreach, serving as a long-standing board member of the Watauga County Arts Council, and was a choreographer for the Southern Appalachian Historical Association's production of Horn in the West. She choreographed over 60 dances for Appalachian students and directed the Appalachian Dance Ensemble countless times. We treasure her memory and feel her influence in our students— both current and past.
Colleague and Professor Emily Daughtridge added, "Susan Lutz was consistently the behind-the-scenes engine of the Dance Studies programs. Just behind the facade of her nonchalant, blunt humor, Susan was a skillful and compassionate teacher, a steadfast mentor to students and colleagues. Her capacity to empathize with students' perspectives enabled her to guide them while cultivating their agency in their own growth. She listened to students and talked with them like the adults they were becoming. As an artist, her choreography valued technical clarity, cohesive craft, and pleasing aesthetics, while not taking oneself too seriously— offering a valuable model for our emerging student dance artists.”
