College dean to get national mentor award

LDS Business College dean Keith Poelman will join actors Louis Gossett Jr. and Taraji P. Henson in receiving awards Thursday night at the eighth annual "Power of a Dream Gala," with the U.S. Dream Academy sponsoring the Washington, D.C., event.

The U.S. Dream Academy is a nonprofit charity sponsoring learning centers in Salt Lake City and nine other cities across the nation in attempting to break the cycle of incarceration and poverty, providing academic, social and emotional skill-building programs for children of incarcerated parents and other youths who fall behind in school.

Poelman, the college's dean of academic outreach and business department chairman, will receive the academy's annual Mentor of the Year award for his work with at-risk youths at the Salt Lake City learning center.

Gossett, who founded the Eracism Foundation in 2006, will be honored with the Legacy Award and Henson the President's Award.

Emceed by comedian-actor Chris Tucker, the event will feature a keynote address from Susan L. Taylor, editor-in-chief emeritus of Essence magazine who recently founded the National Care Mentoring Movement, and entertainment by BeBe Winans.