The University of Utah announced Thursday the completion of a $37.5 million interdisciplinary facility for arts and education.
The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex was made possible by a leading $12.5 million donation from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, the largest single donation in support of arts and education in University history, according to school officials.
"The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex is truly a culmination of the vision my mother had of bringing together the arts and education to improve the learning experience for Utah students," Ann Crocker, president of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, said in a statement. "We lost my mother last year, but I know she would have been unbelievably proud to know her legacy is being carried forward."
The new facility will house the university's College of Education and Tanner Dance Program, and has been designed to serve as the premier academic hub of evidence-based K-12 arts integration research, training, practice and advocacy in the nation.
"The completion of this building represents the beginning of an incredibly exciting endeavor for the University of Utah that has the potential to profoundly impact arts-integrated education on a national scale," David Pershing, president of the University of Utah, said in a statement. "The interdisciplinary work of the College of Education and the College of Fine Arts is focused on the ongoing development of teaching models in which the arts are used to teach multiple subjects."
Features of the 110,000-square-foot new facility include seven classrooms with distance education capabilities, a 200-seat auditorium, a demonstration space for the latest techniques and approaches for integrated curriculum models, 27 conference and project rooms, six dance studios, a black box theater, an art studio and a costume fabrication shop. A model classroom will make it possible for researchers and educators to observe and demonstrate the latest techniques and approaches for integrated curriculum models.
"We know that the arts can have a profoundly positive impact on education for children, and this new building provides us the opportunity to explore that concept in deeply meaningful and enriching ways," María Fránquiz, dean of the College of Education, said in a statement.
