Aurora Hughes Villa

Biography

Aurora Hughes Villa is currently the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Program Director for Elementary Arts Education and Professional Practice Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. Aurora was formerly the District Arts Coordinator for Cache County School District in Logan (UT) where she founded Art in Transit: From Schools to Community – a program that brings art made by children into public places. She received the Sorenson Legacy Award for Excellence in Arts Education in the category of exemplary arts program initiative for her work with Art in Transit. Prior to moving to Utah, Aurora was a full time art professor at North Central College (IL) where she taught sculpture and ceramics. As a licensed teacher, she taught art in the public schools at the elementary, middle school, and high school level in Buffalo (NY) and Phoenix (AZ) and has taught art to children and adults for over 25 years. Aurora holds a BFA in Ceramics and a BS in Art Education from Buffalo State College (NY). After completing her MFA in Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (IL), she exhibited her work nationally and internationally, with her artwork appearing in Ceramics Art and Perception. Aurora is currently on the Utah Art Education Association Board and enjoys creating arts partnerships around the state.