2009

While "Lance-mania" was sweeping through Angwin, Pacific Union College's very own Lindsay Myers competed in the women's criterium of the Amgen Tour of California cycling race. Lindsay, a sophomore communication major, finished 47th in a field that featured some of the top women's cyclists in the nation. She stars as a member of SugarCRM's "elite team," meaning she has established herself as an amateur racer in regional as well as national racing circuits. Although still relatively new to the racing scene, Lindsay is heading to France later this year to train with the USA Cycling Development Program. Lindsay's entry into competitive cycling was quick. After her first race in 2007 (which she won), she was fortunate to make connections with people who facilitated the transition to the next level. She credits the Team Swift Junior Development program and director Laura Charmeda for jumpstarting her career with the necessary coaching and equipment. By 2008, Lindsay was ready for a full season. As a full-time student, Lindsay knows that juggling a passion for competitive cycling with the academia is a struggle. When most students relax or catch up with schoolwork on the weekends, Lindsay is racing. However, she thrives on the focus...

Motivated by the continued focus on service at Pacific Union College and on the national stage, the PUC chapter of Amnesty International (AI-PUC) has developed an ambitious program for 2009. Through continued use of awareness campaigns, guest speakers and a new program being pioneered at PUC that mixes music and social awareness, they are tackling the major issues of international justice and violence against women, as well as the inevitable human rights issues that pass across the world stage during the year. As a creative and compelling way to call attention to areas of human rights concern, AI-PUC has developed a series of concerts called "Jamnesty." Jamnesty events feature information on current human rights campaigns intermingled with live music from local musicians. The combination of music and activism is not unusual. The club's faculty sponsor, Gregory Schneider, professor of religion and social science, points out that the two have often gone hand in hand. "There has long been a synergy between Amnesty International and popular music groups," he notes. "Yoko Ono famously gave them the rights to the song 'Imagine,' and other musicians, from Tracy Chapman to Rage Against the Machine, have performed benefit concerts for the organization and the...

PUC has long been a campus of sports enthusiasts. A record number for intramural participation during this winter quarter testifies to this enthusiasm. Each week, around 400 students (and some faculty and staff) remove themselves from their studies, significant others and daily social rituals to play basketball, futsal and floor hockey. There are 42 teams total. However, Coach Bob Paulson - associate professor in the exercise science department, coach of the cross-country team and head of the intramurals department - is not satisfied. Four hundred is great, but this still means many students are not participating. "The degree of intramural participation tells us we have great, active students, but I will not be satisfied with the participation until we find something for everyone," he says. "We want to create a place to play for each and every student." The official intramural website, www.recradio.org, features schedules, extensive photo galleries and a weekly podcast devoted to intramural conversation. Hosted by Coach Paulson, the podcast usually consists of student interviews and a summary of the week in intramurals. Students who listen in may be surprised to hear their team critiqued by coaches, fellow students and even a dean! The spirit of fellowship and...

This spring, Pacific Union College unveiled the Malcolm and Eileen Maxwell Scholar, a program that honors high school seniors who have demonstrated high academic achievement, a commitment to Christian service, and outstanding leadership skills. Each year, up to five scholars will be chosen, and recipients will receive $10,000 towards their freshman year at PUC with the opportunity to renew the scholarship. Students applying for the Maxwell Scholar Program must be accepted to PUC and meet GPA and test-score requirements. As part of the process, students must write an essay, submit a resume outlining service and leadership activities, and send in letters of recommendation by the scholarship deadline, May 1, 2009. Finalists will be announced in June. The Maxwell Scholar Program honors Dr. Malcolm Maxwell and his wife, Eileen, and their commitment to Adventist education. Dr. Maxwell was the first alumnus to serve as president of PUC, and he had the longest tenure at 18 years. Dr. Maxwell, son of famed Seventh-day Adventist author Arthur S. Maxwell, graduated from PUC in 1956 with degrees in theology and biblical languages. He completed his master of arts in systematic theology at Andrews University and earned his doctorate in biblical studies at Drew University....

On February 15, an estimated 2,000 spectators, braving a downpour of rain, lined Howell Mountain Road to catch a glimpse of World Champion Lance Armstrong and the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. This year, the race passed directly in front of Pacific Union College, drawing hordes of students, faculty, and staff to the street with signs, cameras, and umbrellas. Some PUC alumni made a special trip to Angwin for the occasion. Kit Kohler, class of 2003, and Jakki Raines-Kohler, class of 2005, got into the spirit of the tour by traveling from their Palo Alto home to Angwin by train, ferry, and bus; the last leg was a grueling and wet bike ride up Howell Mountain Road. Several alumni traveled from as far away as Colorado to watch the event with their alma mater. To read more about the Amgen in the Napa Valley, read the Napa Valley Register story. See a gallery of Amgen's ride through Angwin. The Amgen Tour of California, a professional cycling race, began in Davis on February 14 and concludes in Escondido on Sunday, February 22. Sixteen of the world's best professional teams race over a statewide course of more than 750 miles. Stage One...

Pacific Union College's weekly colloquy program has long been a time for students and faculty to congregate and enjoy fellowship, dynamic speaking, and music. This quarter, however, some changes have been made to the format. These changes, including cutting the praise singing, are part of the administration's plan to make colloquy a more distinctive experience. "By having colloquy in the church, the assumption is that the service is always religious, but we are trying to deal with a broad range of programs," says President Richard Osborn. "We felt that by having a more quickly paced program, greater interest would develop with a focus on broad campus and community issues. I'd like to see colloquy be a time when our entire college community gets together to hear news about campus, to gain new perspectives on social, political, and spiritual issues, share the joys and sadness in our community, which we saw at the memorial service for the Newton 4, and comes together to support each other." A new feature entitled "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" has replaced the musical segment. During this time, our academic dean Nancy Lecourt dialogues with various students and faculty concerning rather astonishing bits of departmental...

From in front of the Capitol to a big-screen TV in the Campus Center, people from PUC watched with interest as the United States welcomed its 44th president. Of course, most of the students, faculty and staff had to watch the events from afar. Some spent the morning at the Cameo Cinema in St. Helena, which broadcast the event live, free to the community. Others watched on the big screen in the cafeteria or in the Campus Center. But several individuals from campus traveled across the country for the event. Aubyn Fulton, professor of psychology, was in D.C. in person with his family. Student Chelse Chavez was there as well by last-minute luck, with former student Adrianne McNaughton; and student Desiree Quijano was present as well. Fulton and his wife and three children arrived in D.C. Sunday afternoon and caught (from a bit of a distance) the second half of the concert and speakers at the Lincoln Memorial. "The highlight for me was Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen singing 'This Land is Your Land' which literally took my breath way." On Monday, they participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day service projects. Tuesday morning the family got up at...

In the fall of 2008, Pacific Union College brought back the language course in beginning Mandarin Chinese, now taught by native Mandarin speaker Jun Liu, who is originally from Beijing. The class is now in its second quarter, and the group studying the language enjoyed a special celebration in honor of Chinese New Year's Eve, the most widely-celebrated of the traditional Chinese holidays. Liu hosted the class and some friends, including biology professor Brian Wong and modern languages department chair Sylvia Rasi-Gregorruti, at her home on Sunday, January 25. After some delicious home-cooked Chinese food and sweets, the students learned how to play mah jong, a game that originated in China and is played with tiles.This celebration was one aspect of the class's goal to explore elements of Chinese culture, in addition to learning practical usage of everyday Mandarin. The third section of this year's Mandarin course will be offered in the spring quarter....

For the small theatre company at Pacific Union College, January brought a memorable week inspired by the expertise and creativity of three theatre professionals - an artistic theatre director from Serbia, the dean of the CalArts school of theater, and a co-artistic director of Theatre of Yugen. On January 4, Dijana Milosevic, artistic director of Dah Theatre Research Centre of Belgrade, Serbia, did a cast workshop on campus. She worked with the group in PUC's Dramatic Arts Society (DAS) that is preparing to perform "Clay Feet/Wire Wings: The Space Between" in February. Two days later, DAS enjoyed a lecture and demonstration with Erik Ehn and Jubilith Moore. Ehn is a playwright and dean of the School of Theatre at the California Institute of the Arts and has a long list of playwriting and drama leadership roles, including working with Theatre of Yugen and helping found the Regional Alternative Theatre Movement. Jubilith Moore is co-artistic director of Theatre of Yugen, an experimental theatre company in San Francisco, The tie between these, as seen in a January 9 open process session at PUC, was the Theatre of Yugen's week-long residency at PUC. During their week on the PUC campus, Theatre of Yugen...

Most of the Pacific Union College students who go on to medical and dental school attend Loma Linda University. In the spring of 2008, 19 of the 168 students graduating from the LLU School of Medicine were from PUC - more than from any other single school (Andrews and Walla Walla came in second at 16 each). Also, 19 of the 92 DDS graduates from the LLU School of Dentistry were PUC alumni. Alum Jennifer Clark was the 6,000th LLU dentistry graduate. No doctors march from PUC, since the school's focus is undergraduate degrees. But for a long time PUC has taken pride in giving pre-medical and pre-dental students a strong preparatory education. The statistics indicate this is turning out well. PUC graduates have high rates of acceptance to pre-professional programs, and our medical school acceptance rates are in the top ten percent in the nation. PUC senior biology students have also averaged in the 93rd percentile over the past 10 years on the national Major Field Test....