Beverley Taylor Sorenson
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April 13, 1924
Beverley Taylor Sorenson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Beverley Taylor April 13, 1924 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | May 27, 2013 (aged 89) |
| Alma mater | University of Utah |
| Occupations | Philanthropist, arts education advocate, schoolteacher, businesswoman |
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]
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] She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[2]
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.[3] 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 at the Logan Utah Temple.[1] They had eight children and settled in Salt Lake City.[1] At the time of her death 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.[3][4] In 1975, Sorenson became the owner and manager of ExCelCis Cosmetics/LeVoys Fashions.[4] From 1989 to 1995 she was the owner and manager of the Continental Beauty College.[4]
Sorenson became the founder of Art Works for Kids in 1995 and the co-founder of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation in 2005.[4]
In 2008, the Utah State Legislature adapted Sorenson's arts-focused teaching model to integrate arts into elementary education.[5] In her honor, they named it the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program.[1]
Sorenson Legacy Foundation
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.[6] She established endowments for elementary arts education at seven universities:
- Brigham Young University
- Additionally, 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]
- University of Utah
- Utah State University
- Utah Tech University
- Southern Utah University
- Weber State University
- Westminster College.[8]
