2010

For this year's student-led Revo project at Pacific Union College, the coordinators decided to host a benefit 5K run as well as the annual rummage sale, concert, and fashion show. Both events are to raise money for a local kids ministry and to treat a foot disease in Ethiopia caused by not wearing shoes. The race took place on Sunday, April 18, and the students were hoping for 100 racers and some decent weather. Instead, they had 125 racers and a gorgeous day. PUC cross country coach Bob Paulson laid out a fairly simple 5K course for the runners as well as an easy route of about two miles for people who preferred to walk. "We had so much rain, it was a bit of an obstacle course," Paulson reports. But he says people just had fun with the challenge. "Everybody seemed to have a blast." The student leaders were also very pleased to see some runners who were not from the campus. "I was surprised at how many runners were not students," reports Tyler McCulloch, one of the student organizers for the event. "We had people from Fairfield, Napa, and beyond." With a beautifully fair day squeezed between rainstorms...

Pacific Union College alumni gathered as they do each spring for Homecoming Weekend, April 16-18. From the handing out of Diogenes Lanterns (the school flower) to the Utt Lecture to parties for Honor Classes, events gave alumni a chance to enjoy the current campus and reminisce about their days at PUC. This year, Honored Alumni awards went to Audrey and Bruce Anderson, Monica Neumann, and Jake Scheideman. The Andersons, both 1960 graduates, come from a family whose members have attended, taught, or pastored at PUC since 1910. The two have been invaluable to the legacy of former PUC professor Walter Utt, hosting alumni and board meetings and collaborating with the college on Utt Endowment affairs. Monica Neumann, class of 1970, is an anesthesiologist, professor, and director at Loma Linda University Medical Center and is known for her work in nurturing the next generation of Adventist medical professionals. Local bike shop owner Jake Scheideman, class of 1990, has spent 10 years improving life for the people of a small town in Nicaragua. He founded the non-profit Developing Communities, Inc., and has involved the local community and many volunteers in contributing to the town. PUC also honored Jean Phillips as an Honored...

In September of 2009, Dr. Heather J. Knight became the new president of Pacific Union College. On April 15, 2010, the college hosted the official inaugural ceremony and installation of Knight as 21st president. In a program replete with regalia colors, inspiring music, and the PUC Church filled with faculty, staff, students, community members, educational and church leaders, and family and friends, Knight was welcomed with speeches of accolade and advice. PUC's history and future were celebrated by the entire college body and representatives from across the country. Brief speeches were presented by Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon, St. Helena Mayor Del Britton, Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities President Jonathan Brown, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists General Vice President Ella Simmons, Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities President and Walla Walla University President John McVay, Andrews University President Niels-Erik Andreasen, University of the Pacific Jacoby Center Director and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Emeritus Robert Benedetti, and University of the Pacific Provost Phillip N. Gilbertson. Dr. Knight was also presented with gifts from four representative groups at PUC: a crystal bell from the administrators, a miniature grape vine from the faculty, a painting by former PUC art...

On April 11 after a Napa Valley Symphony concert at Lincoln Theater in Yountville, Pacific Union College music students joined their professor Asher Raboy on the stage to meet pianist Leon Bates. Raboy, who has been music director of the symphony since 1990 and teaches music at PUC, directed a concert featuring several of his original compositions. The concert included a piano concerto featuring Bates, one of Raboy’s long-time collaborators (and one of America's top pianists). After the concert, many of the PUC students who had attended came to the stage to meet Bates, pose for photos, and receive autographs. Four of these students had enjoyed a Master Class with Bates the previous evening, and one turned pages for him during the Symphony concert. The PUC Musical Arts Symposium, a student music club, also organized to attend. Some students in the current Survey of Music class were there to fulfill concert attendance assignments, and PUC music ensemble members attended as well. "It was delightful to see so many of them," Raboy said later. "It's great to see PUC and the Symphony have this great interaction." As Raboy nears the conclusion of his time with the Symphony, having decided to step...

In March, social work professor Monte Butler and three senior social work majors from Pacific Union College traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, for the annual conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD). Butler and four students had submitted two posters to the conference, both of which were accepted — a notable achievement in this competitive professional conference. But the honors escalated when the poster by student Brian Rodriguez and Butler was given Highest Honors, the equivalent of first place in the nation. The conference only recently began featuring posters, and this is the second year PUC students have participated and received honors. Last year, two students won "high honors" (second place) for a poster. This year's honored poster was titled "Aggression Replacement Training for At-Risk Youth: Will Gender Matching Help?" and evaluated a program at a local agency that was designed to help at-risk teenagers manage their anger. Rodriguez, who's considering postgraduate work and law studies, explains how his work on the project was facilitated by two required social work classes, one guiding field research and another teaching the process of compilation and writing. Taking the resulting work to the BPD conference proved to be even more...

On Earth Day, April 22, L. Hunter Lovins, a globally recognized leader in sustainable practices, will speak on "Sustainability in Napa County: An Environmental and Economic Imperative" at Pacific Union College. In demand worldwide as a speaker and consultant, Lovins has consulted with scores of industries, governments and communities worldwide and was named Time Magazine's 2000 Hero of the Planet and Newsweek's 2009 Green Business Icon. Trained as a sociologist and lawyer, Hunter co-founded the California Conservation Project and is a founding professor of business at Presidio Graduate School. She is the recipient of the Lindbergh Award, Right Livelihood Award and Leadership in Business Award. Lovins is also the author of numerous books and is president and founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions. Lovins' "Sustainability in Napa County" lecture and reception will take place on Thursday, April 22. at 7 p.m. in Scales Chapel, located in the church building complex on the Pacific Union College campus at One Angwin Avenue. The event is open to the community and free of charge. Other events for a student Green Week will include a special colloquy presentation, an Earth Day Fair, a green service day in Angwin and St. Helena, and a nature walk....

For 45 students at Pacific Union College, a recent ministry has taken over their Wednesday nights. Each week, the members of the PUC Gospel Choir attend rehearsal in Scales Chapel, bringing the campus to life with their music ringing through its halls. The gospel choir came into being fall quarter when a few members of the Black Student Union decided that a fresh sound was needed on campus. Senior business major Jonathan Young combined forces with PUC president Dr. Heather Knight to bring DeBrenia Williams of Capital City Church in Sacramento to conduct the group. With a talented leader lined up, the group organized at the end of the quarter. After their first performance in front of the student body, the choir underwent a rapid growth in membership, jumping from about 20 members to 45 in a matter of weeks. “We have a little bit of everything in our members,” says alto Emily Wills. “We want to reach out to everyone, every race, and spread God’s word.” And they have. Wills says that the diverse group of students has had the opportunity to “meet a lot of new folks” that they otherwise would never have met. “We get along,” she...

On April 18, Pacific Union College students will lead out in a Run for REVO to raise money for a local kids ministry and to treat a foot disease in Ethiopia caused by not wearing shoes. They're asking for people to join them in the benefit 5K trail run and 2K walk, which will take place on PUC's back property. To join the Run for REVO, you can register online at active.com. Simply search for "revo." The entry fee, to benefit this year's projects, is $30 for pre-registration and $40 to register on campus on race day. The race takes place on Sunday, April 18, at 10 a.m. and starts at the Angwin Airport. The REVO movement, which has swept cities and campuses around the world, was brought to PUC in 2008 by a group of students. They hosted a rummage sale, auction, concerts, and fashion show to raise $10,000 for a shelter and vocational center for trafficked and abused children in Lima, Peru. In 2009, REVO went local and raised over $8,500 for the Napa Valley Food Bank, a program that distributes food to low-income residents of Napa County and was in need of funds to replenish its reduced...

It's Sabbath morning and Pastor Doh is not in the pulpit; a college student named Danny is in his place. Danny Chung, a sophomore religion and pre-medical student at Pacific Union College, is giving the sermon this morning on a topic he used in a recent Bible study: staying aware of how awesome and powerful God is when we come to him in prayer. Pastor Doh asks Chung to preach once in a while, but more often Chung is busy leading the youth Sabbath school group at the church, Napa Korean Adventist Church in Napa, California. It's Chung's home church and he continued to attend when he went off to PUC, and now he juggles the task of finding topics that will resonate with both college-age and high-school-age members, who are joined together in one youth group of about 50 members. Along with Chung, PUC students Paul Ong, Steven Chung, Brian Kim, and James Oh, several of whom also grew up in this church, provide the youth leadership for Sabbath school and social activities. One of the biggest reasons for doing so is tradition. "When we were in high school or junior high, we had PUC students who would come,"...

When she lost the use of her legs a year after graduation, PUC athlete Erica Davis, class of ’04, wasn’t content to give up her active lifestyle. But she never expected to set a world record—as the first paraplegic woman to reach the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro. As a physical education major at PUC, Erica had a passion for sports. She worked in the athletic department, helped coordinate the intramural program, and played every sport she could, from volleyball and basketball to cycling and running to surfing. “College was one of the best times of my life,” she says, largely due to the wealth of athletic opportunities she had at PUC. “Erica was one of the most talented female athletes ever to go to this school,” says coach Bob Paulson, one of her professors and supervisors in PUC’s health, exercise science and nutrition department. “I don’t know of an athlete that was more well-rounded.” After graduating with her B.S. and teaching credentials in 2004, she began a six-month contract stint as a P.E. teacher at Hawaiian Mission Academy in Honolulu. While there she began dreaming of — and training for — the world-famous Ironman Triathlon, held annually on the Big...