CEHS Review Magazine — Special Issue

February 22, 2019

Dear Friends,

I am extraordinarily pleased that after five years of meticulous planning and construction, the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Clinical Excellence is open and thriving with activity that is changing lives. In this special issue of the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services Review, we celebrate the many facets of this phenomenal facility, including those who have made the building possible through their generous donations, the people and programs who have inspired us, and those whose memories we honor.

Dignitaries from across the state, our supportive local community, and the entire university celebrated our grand opening, where we were privileged to hear Utah Lt. Governor Spencer Cox and Utah State University President Noelle Cockett speak at the ribbon cutting ceremony. The evening gala featured London dancer and choreographer Chris Fonseca along with our own Edith Bowen Laboratory School students. Chris, who is deaf, greatly inspired me and many in our community during his visit to Utah, especially our Sound Beginnings and EBLS students.

The first of its kind in the Mountain West, the Sorenson Center delivers research and clinical services across the human lifespan, providing integrated assessment, treatment, and counseling services. Future human service providers receive real-world, interdisciplinary training as they work with USU faculty who engage in clinical practice and perform cutting-edge research. The building includes many welcoming features, including an outdoor garden, a state-of-the-art accessible playground adjacent to the early intervention classrooms, and an art gallery displaying works by artists with disabilities. With focused outreach to low-income and underserved minority populations, thousands of individuals, couples, and families across Utah and the region are being served.

This facility is the result of USU’s strength in providing outstanding real-world service and research opportunities to students and faculty in human service disciplines. Our interdisciplinary approach to this center provides increased collaboration among departments and individual researchers, better preparing our students to contribute to their communities after graduation.

I am inspired by the donors, faculty, students, clients, and members of the community who have come together to help this facility reach its full potential as its interdisciplinary teams serve the people of our intermountain community across the lifespan.

Beth Foley
Sincerely,

Dr. Beth E. Foley

Dean, Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
Utah State University

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