Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex
On August 11, 2008, the University of Utah announced that the Sorenson Legacy Foundation had donated $12 million for construction of an interdisciplinary arts and education complex. Named the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex, the new building will be built at the southern entrance of the campus adjacent to Milton Bennion Hall.
Arts integration has a long history in Utah. In 1994, Beverley Taylor Sorenson, a University of Utah alumna, founded art works for kids!, a pilot arts education program for elementary schools. Over the past 14 years, she has donated millions to grow the program, reaching over 80,000 children, securing legislative funding, and making the program a statewide phenomenon.
In early 2008, the Utah Legislature recognized Beverley Taylor Sorenson's work by allocating $15.8 million to fund the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Elementary Arts Learning Program, which is being used to hire arts specialists to work side-by-side with classroom teachers in 59 selected elementary and charter schools. It also funds District Arts Coordinator salaries, professional development, the purchase of arts equipment and supplies, and research and evaluation activities. Eventually, the program aims to extend arts integration to all of Utah's 508 elementary schools and will provide a model that can be replicated across the country.
The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex at the University of Utah will support five main activities: academic research; interdisciplinary pre-service teacher and arts specialist training; professional development for teachers and education leaders; programming for schools, youth and families; and community involvement and leadership.
The collaborative efforts housed in the new Complex will be guided by a newly created national Center for Integrating Arts into Academic Learning, guided jointly by the Colleges of Education and Fine Arts, which will coordinate and promote all key activities. Five of the College of Education's academic centers will also be located in the Complex: a new, national Center for Math and Science Education; The Utah Reading and Literacy Center; The Utah Education Policy Center; The Center for the Advancement of Technology in Education; and The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring. In addition, the Complex will provide a new home for the College of Fine Arts' nationally recognized Tanner Dance Program, which provides dance instruction for young people of all ages and professional development for teachers. Tanner Dance is a member of the Youth Arts Division, a coordinating body representing all university arts programs - academic and professional - that provide youth arts education and professional development. Representing multiple art forms, including dance, music, theatre, visual arts and film.
To learn more about how your gifts can help support the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex, please contact Rob Hunsaker, development director for the College of Humanities, at (801) 581-3621 or rob.hunsaker@utah.edu, or Rebecca Meadows at (801) 587-3653 or rebecca.meadows@utah.edu.
