Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts

Southern Utah University announced March 21, that it has received a $6 million gift from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation to create a multi-million dollar arts center encompassing new facilities, as well as ongoing support for ArtsFUSION, which provides professional development and pre-service training for elementary educators as well as outreach and workshops for students and teachers in rural Utah.

Working in partnership with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the new center will further establish SUU as a regional arts mecca.

Named for the long-time arts and education champion, the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts will incorporate visual arts, live theater and dynamic arts education on the SUU campus and will dramatically magnify the cultural life of Cedar City and its surrounding region. It will also serve as home to the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) and the new Shakespeare Theatre of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and will include an artistic/production building for the Festival. Sculpture gardens and other outdoor features will also be included on the grounds.

In addition to Sorenson’s contribution, the $30 million center is being made possible thanks to the generosity of hundreds of insightful and invested benefactors. A gift of $5 million for the New Shakespeare Theatre and Festival outreach programs was received from the Ralph and Betty Engelstad Family Foundation of Las Vegas, Nev. The George S. and Dolores Dorè Eccles Foundation has committed $3 million toward the project.

Additionally, the State of Utah, Iron County and Cedar City have all energetically supported this effort to create a center for the arts in southern Utah.

The Festival had been engaged in a fundraising campaign for several years to replace the deteriorating and less-than-suitable Adams Memorial Shakespeare Theatre, while the funding process for the University’s SUMA kicked off in late 2009 when the renowned painter Jim Jones bequeathed his home and final collection of paintings to ignite the work. It was not until mid-2012 that combining the facilities on one site was explored and later approved by campus and state officials.

“Although both SUMA and the New Shakespeare Theatre project had been previously proposed and approved, we felt there were economies and efficiencies that could be realized in combining some of the functions of both the museum and the theatre,” said SUU President Michael T. Benson. “Further, the opportunity to create a cultural nexus in the heart of our community, one that would be a year-round draw for tens of thousands of visitors, was another enormous benefit in twinning these facilities.”

The decision to name the center for Sorenson was an easy and natural one, as she has formidably supported the arts at SUU and across the state throughout her life, particularly as a tool to enrich the lives and futures of children.

“We are privileged to name our Center for the Arts in honor of Beverley and her vision of the power of art in improving quality of life, particularly when it touches the lives of children,” said Dean of Performing and Visual Arts Shauna Mendini. “It is essential that her legacy of love for the arts be echoed throughout the entire state of Utah through the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts.”

This long-held vision, coupled with Sorenson’s generous financial support, has set her apart as a tireless advocate for arts education. Sorenson and the Sorenson Legacy Foundation have committed tens of millions of dollars to establishing a strong and lasting foundation of arts education in Utah. She has been repeatedly lauded for her commitment by several of Utah’s institutions of higher learning, and at SUU alone has been recognized with an honorary doctorate, a place in the University’s Hall of Honor, and with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Founders’ Day celebration.

“As home to the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Southern Utah University is known throughout Utah and the world for its dedication to the absolute best in arts education and performance,” said Ann Crocker, president of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation and daughter of Beverley. “It is an honor to be able assist the University and further our mother’s dream of making high-quality arts a reality for everyone.”

The Sorenson Legacy Foundation previously donated more than $3 million to Southern Utah University to fund the Emma Eccles Jones Teacher Education Building, an endowed chair position for elementary arts education, and scholarships and arts education programs. In 2006 the College of Education and Human Development was named the Beverley Taylor Sorenson College of Education in honor of her generous support. The J.L. Sorenson Physical Education Building is also housed on SUU’s campus, named after Beverley’s late husband, James LeVoy Sorenson, a renowned medical device inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Founders Celebration 2013

Campus enjoyed a wonderful Founders Celebration March 19-23 with a variety of events that celebrated the visionary men and women who sacrificed greatly to establish Southern Utah University, as well as honor those who have devoted comparable service to building SUU over many decades.

Enjoy a glimpse of the festivities and the people who made it special.

The new Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts was
announced during the Founder Dinner & Awards. Thanks to a
generous $6 million gift from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, the
Center for the Arts will be home to a new outdoor theatre for the
Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Southern Utah Museum of Art.
Pictured at the podium is Ann Crocker, president of the Sorenson 
Legacy Foundation and daughter of Beverley Taylor Sorenson.

Beverly Taylor Sorenson was honored during the Founders
Dinner & Awards for her beliefs and philosophies, and willingness
to share all that she has to make success a reality for all children
of this state. SUU is home to the Beverly Taylor Sorenson College
of Education & Human Development, as well as an
Elementary Arts Education Endowed Chair.

Southern Utah University's first-ever
Presidential Medallion of Service was
presented to Beverley Taylor Sorenson
during the Founders Dinner & Awards. 

Doug Knell was posthumously honored during the Founders Dinner
& Awards for his lifetime of industriousness and of fellowship,
and for his exceptional contributions to the southern Utah region
and SUU. At the podium are his daughters Nancy Osborn,
Joanne Pennock and Leilani Wilson.

Pam Redington was honored during the Founders Dinner & Awards
for a lifetime of good works and nearly 40 years of services to
SUU and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

A capacity crowd filled the Gilbert Great Hall of the R. Haze Hunter
Conference Center for the Founders Dinner & Awards,
which was held Thursday, March 21.

Emeritus staff member Marlynn Smith and her husband Con
were among the guests at the Founders Dinner & Awards.

Robert Wasden, Sharon Wasden and Anna Wasden
at the Founders Dinner & Awards.

Jacque Marchant visits with SUUSA officers Jeff Hertig, Heidi Powell
and Lance Lowry, as well as Director Student Involvement and
Leadership Keri Mecham during the Founders Dinner & Awards.

Marueen Robb, Richard Dotson and Al Tait, all members of the
SUU Emeriti Association, tell the story of "Old Sorrel" during
Lunch on the Main - an educational history walk for students
that took place Wednesday, March 20. 

Emeritus faculty member Kent Myers explains to students the effort to
build Old Main and the significance of  SUU's oldest building.

The 2013 Founders Celebration also included the Howard R. Driggs Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, March 19, presented by Presidential Historian Douglas Brinkley; the first-ever A Gathering of Leading Psychologists at SUU - Perspectives from Psychology, Neuroscience & Kinesiology Friday, March 22; and the WAC Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, March 23.