Beverley Taylor Sorenson

Beverley Taylor Sorenson (April 13, 1924 – May 27, 2013) was an American education philanthropist and advocate for the promotion of arts in elementary schools.[1]

Early life

Sorenson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] She was the daughter of Frank Campbell Taylor and Bessie Elinor Taylor, and the fifth of six children.[1]

Personal life

During her upbringing, Sorenson danced and played the piano.[1] She attended Irving Junior High and East High School.[1] In 1945, she graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in education.[2] That same year, Sorenson moved to New York City and became a kindergarten teacher.[1]

There, she met James LeVoy Sorenson and they were married the next summer on July 23, 1946.[1] They had eight children and settled in Salt Lake City.[1] At the time of her passing they had 49 grandchildren and 65 great-grandchildren.[1]

Sorenson died on May 27, 2013.[1]

Career

From 1945 to 1946, Sorenson was a schoolteacher at a Quaker school in New York.[2][3] In 1975, Sorenson became the owner and manager of ExCelCis Cosmetics/LeVoys Fashions.[3] From 1989 to 1995 she was the owner and manager of the Continental Beauty College.[3]

Sorenson became the founder of Art Works for Kids in 1995 and the co-founder of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation in 2005.[3]

In 2008, the Utah State Legislature adapted Sorenson’s arts-focused teaching model to integrate arts into elementary education.[4] In her honor, they named it the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program.[1]

Sorenson was a philanthropist and supported many causes through the Sorenson Legacy Foundation.[1] Among those causes, the foundation donated 45 million dollars to support fine arts instruction for children and teachers.[5] She established endowments for elementary arts education at seven universities: Utah State University, Weber State University, University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Dixie State University, Southern Utah University, and Westminster College.[6] The Sorenson family's gift to the David O. McKay School of Education supports the BYU ARTS Partnership to increase the quality and quantity of arts education in local elementary schools.[7]

Recognitions

In 2016, Southern Utah University named The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts in her honor.[8] The University of Utah completed the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex in 2014.[9] Sorenson has received honorary doctorates from Southern Utah University, Salt Lake Community College, Utah State University, Westminster College, and University of Utah.[3]

Awards

She received the Award for Arts Achievement and Excellence for the International Council of Fine Arts Deans, the Living Legacy Award from the Boys and Girls Club, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts from Americans for the Arts.[3]

References
  1. "Beverley Taylor Sorenson". The Salt Lake Tribune Obituaries. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  2. "Beverley Taylor Sorenson". Sorenson Legacy Foundation. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  3. Taylor, Allison Armstrong; Taylor, Tom (2012). Look Beyond the Weeds: The Life of Beverley Taylor Sorenson. Beverly Taylor Sorenson.
  4. Romero, McKenzie (May 28, 2013). "Prominent Utah philanthropist Beverley Taylor Sorenson dead at 89". Deseret News. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  5. "About Beverley Taylor Sorenson, 1924 -2013". Southern Utah University. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  6. "Endowed Positions". Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  7. "About Arts Partnership". ARTS Partnership: Arts Reaching and Teaching in Schools. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  8. "The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts". Southern Utah University. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  9. "Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts & Education Complex". The University of Utah. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
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