Berks Mall, which runs from Temple’s Main Campus gates on Broad Street to 11th Street, has been renamed Polett Walk. Temple’s Board of Trustees changed the name of the path in honor of current board member and former chair Daniel H. Polett and his wife, Margo.

The Poletts were honored for “outstanding generosity and Mr. Polett’s leadership as chairman of the board of Temple University from 2006 to 2009,” the board resolution states.

Polett’s relationship with Temple began when he was a business neighbor of the university: He was president of the Wilkie automobile dealership, which was once located on North Broad Street where the Liacouras Center now stands.

He started his automotive career in 1960 with General Motors Corp., and went on to work for the Raytheon Corp. In 1968, he joined the Wilkie Buick Co. and was named its president in 1969. Now, he is president, CEO and dealer principal of Wilkie Lexus in Haverford and Lexus of Chester Springs, both of which are in Pennsylvania.

A longtime member and former chair of the board overseeing Temple’s hospital and health system, Polett was appointed to the university’s Board of Trustees in 1992. His involvement with the governing bodies of Temple earned him the university’s Acres of Diamonds Award in 1993 and the Russell Conwell Award in 1995.

This year, Polett also was honored by the Fox School of Business, which awarded him the 2009 Musser Excellence in Leadership Award during the Musser Excellence in Leadership Award Reception and Dinner in November. Now in its 13th year, the Musser Excellence in Leadership Award honors those who exemplify excellence in leadership and commitment to the communities in which they work and live.

“From his service to Temple’s health system to his chairmanship on the university Board of Trustees, Dan understands and appreciates access to excellence,” says M. Moshe Porat, SBM ’81, dean of the Fox School of Business and the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. “He has led strategic planning, guided fundraising campaigns and created scholarships for our students. He has helped steer us through a transformational time in our university’s history.”