PUC Graduates 311 Seniors at 1996 Graduation

Pacific Union College awarded diplomas to 311 graduates on Sunday, June 16, 1996, during its 108th annual Commencement exercises. Degrees conferred included 72 associate degrees, 240 bachelor degrees, and four master of arts degrees.

Of the seniors graduating with academic distinction and honors, 15 received the distinction Summa Cum Laude; 17 received the distinction Magna Cum Laude; and 33 received the distinction Cum Laude. Six gra 8ed With Honors, having completed PUC's four-year honors program.
The graduating class represented 16 states and seven foreign countries, including Korea, Singapore, and Yugoslavia.

"The achievements of the graduating seniors are matched by the dedication of their professors and the commitment, support and, often, sacrifice of their parents. As with every graduating class of PUC, we are proud of the accomplishments of the class of '96 and are excited by the vision these students carry for the future," said President D. Malcolm Maxwell.

Also recognized during the commencement ceremony was Mr. Walter Chin, treasurer of the Chan Shun International Foundation, recently, retired Chief Auditor of the California Department of Health Services, and a former member of Pacific Union College's Board of Trustees. President Maxwell and Vice President Charles V. Bell conferred on Mr. Chin an honorary doctoral degree in recognition of his integrity and service.

"The gentleman we honor today is a living illustration of the values this college espouses," said Maxwell. "We honor him for expressing these values in his dual role&shyp;as a citizen of the United States, and of California, working for all citizens of the state; and second, as the treasurer of an international foundation doing immeasurable good."

The Chan Shun International Foundation, whose philanthropy is granted to religious and educational projects world-wide, made possible the construction of Chan Shun Hall through an enabling gift of $500,000 in the early 1980's. At the opening of the building in 1985, Dr. Chan Shun announced an additional gift of $500,000, making a total of one million dollars in support. Since that time, the Chan Shun Foundation has continued its generous support of student scholarship at PUC, most recently, through support leading to completion of construction within Chan Shun Hall.

Stewart W. Bainum, Jr., chief executive officer of Manor Care, Inc., based in Silver Spring, Md., the world's second-largest hotel franchise company and third largest long-term-health-care company, addressed the Class of '96 at the commencement service. Bainum, a 1968 PUC graduate, recounted some of the humorous episodes of his own college career, illustrating how one can learn from life's experiences as well as from textbooks.