Dennis Key Pollman Endowment

The family of one of Southern Utah University’s most dynamic and popular students of the 1960s has established a scholarship endowment for sociology majors at SUU.

Dennis Key Pollman ('68), who enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the insurance and tourism fields in the Los Alamitos and Long Beach, Calif., area, died in February 2010 and his widow, Bette, elected to remember him with a $100,000 gift to fund the endowment. Earlier, she directed the same amount toward the completion of The Center for Health and Molecular Sciences building on campus.

The Dennis Key and Bette J. Pollman endowed scholarship will go to support students in a discipline that often attracts community oriented students looking to steward positive changes in their communities of choice whether that might be in such areas as medicine and health care, the elderly, youth, women and violence, or mental health.

“These students are often humble means, yet seek to make a difference in the world rather than simply pursue personal gain,” said SUU Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences James McDonald. “The Pollman Scholarship will help support these students achieve their goals and dreams of making a better world. The money is well invested and will change these students' lives for the better. It is rare that a major program of study in the social sciences receives such a generous gift. As such, the scholarship will help students who often do not have access to significant scholarships in this area of study, and underscores the Pollman family's vision for making an impact where it is most needed.”

Pollman, who lived in Seal Beach, Calif., minored in sociology at the University and retained a great interest in the field throughout his life. He often expressed a desire to aid others who had an interest in the discipline. While he was a charismatic student leader who warmly embodied friendship and fellowship, he continued to live a life of engagement in a wide range of civic and social clubs and endeavors. His College of Southern Utah/Southern Utah State College days as president of Sigma Pi Sigma Fraternity, as a student body senator and as executive secretary for cultural affairs were days of accomplishment and camaraderie and his legacy to both his fraternity brothers and students in general is one of leadership and inspiration. His student days were days of celebration of the collegiate life and he continued to use the skills he honed here for the remainder of his life as a successful businessman and civic leader. Following his graduation, he served for four years in the Peace Corps. His later affiliations include membership in the Seal Beach and Los Alamitos Chambers of Commerce, Cypress Rotary, Elks Club #888, Long Beach Police Officers Association, and the Long Beach Century Club. 
In 1980, he and two others founded the Long Beach Visitors and Convention Bureau. He served as its executive director and a board member from 1980 to 1986. In 2005 he was SUU alumnus of the year.

Last year, he was honored at the dedication of SUU’s Science Center as the building’s Dennis Key Pollman Plaza was unveiled. Numerous family and friends were in attendance at the dedication, including wife Bette and stepdaughter Stacy Chandler ('89).