2014

Jon Pahl, Ph.D., spoke for Pacific Union College’s Longo Lecture, a lecture series endowed by Lawrence D. Longo, M.D., in honor of his parents Frank and Florine Longo. Pahl, an author and professor at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, titled his lecture “A Coming Religious Peace.” Speaking in Scales chapel to an audience of more than 100, Pahl used examples of Disneyland and shopping mall architecture in describing the components of “religion that kills”: ignorance, crass consumption, and enemy-creation. He went on to define religion, concluding that “when we treat others like we want to be treated, that generally means we don’t want to kill them … which leads us to religious peacemaking. “Religions exist as the cultural equivalent of ecological and biological systems of elimination … religions exist to eliminate violence,” Pahl argued. Pahl spent the remainder of his lecture speaking about the promise of religions to create peace. He gave three examples of religious individuals who helped bring about peace through non-violence: Mahatma Gandhi in India, Leymah Gbowee in Liberia, and the Turkish Imam Fethullah Gulen. These religious peacebuilders illustrate that “collectively, people of faith have the capacity—the spiritual and social power—to accomplish whatever we set our minds...

Pacific Union College hosted its 33rd annual career day on Thursday, February 20. The event brought nearly 50 professionals from diverse fields to campus, offering students the chance to learn first-hand about the careers that interest them. Also visiting campus for the day was Brittany Collins Cheney, who discussed her journey from PUC to a law career as part of the college’s Colloquy Speaker Series. Whether freshmen still deciding on a major or seniors starting the job hunt in earnest, students who stopped by the side rooms of the Dining Commons spoke with professionals actively employed in diverse careers. By meeting with representatives, the Career and Counseling Center hopes that students can have confidence in knowing where a major can take a person in their career path. “We want students to gain exposure and discuss potential job networks to help them with life after college,” said career counselor Laura Gore, who coordinates the fair as part of her work in the Career and Counseling Center. Representatives were available to answer questions from students, exchange business cards, and also provide internship, volunteer, or employment opportunities. “We hope that students use this as a networking tool to start developing contacts and learn...

Hundreds of high school juniors and seniors visited PUC’s College Days to sit in on classes and worship services, meet professors and other students, and fully immerse themselves in Pacific Union College’s unique environment. The four-day event, held on February 13-16, also included a visit to the town of St. Helena, giving the College Days students a first-hand look at PUC’s scenic Napa Valley location. “College Days is a great event that connects students with the campus,” said J.R. Rogers, one of PUC’s enrollment counselors. “It gives them a look into what it would be like to attend PUC, meet with professors and students, sleep in the dorm, eat the food and attend the campus events. Traditionally students that visit campus have a higher probability of attending here, so these events are quite important and an opportunity for PUC as a whole to put its best foot forward.” The office of enrollment services coordinates the event in the hope that the visit will encourage students that the college is a perfect fit for them. The experience allows students to check out the departments that interest them, converse with college students with similar interests, and figure out what living at PUC...

On February 12, students in Pacific Union College’s most popular program had the opportunity to make connections and discuss potential jobs with representatives from multiple healthcare organizations at the college’s annual Nursing Job Fair. Coordinated by the department of nursing and health sciences, the fair brought recruiters to campus to meet nursing students that will soon graduate and enter the workforce. Lorie Johns, student success advisor in the department of nursing and health sciences, coordinated the fair. “It’s an opportunity for current associate’s and bachelor’s degree students to make connections with recruiters from hospitals and regional health care organizations, as well as for those recruiters to meet our outstanding nursing students,” Johns shared. Many of the hospitals represented at the fair are affiliated with Adventist Health, a faith-based, not-for-profit network with hospitals and clinics in California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. However, Johns invited a diverse group of healthcare organizations to attend the fair. “While the bulk of the facilities and organizations represented tend to be affiliated with Adventist Health, we are pleased that other local healthcare-related organizations such as Napa State Hospital and REACH Air Medical regularly attend PUC’s Nursing Job Fair,” said Johns. Other organizations represented included the United...

Pacific Union College is collaborating with the Napa Valley Performing Arts Center (NVPAC) at Lincoln Theater in the inaugural year of the Orchestra Institute of Napa Valley Fellowship Program. This new partnership is helping PUC’s young musicians hone their talents while allowing graduate artists to pursue valuable teaching and performing experience. By serving as the primary sponsor and sole housing sponsor for the Orchestra Institute Napa Valley Fellowship Program, the ensembles and instrumentalists of the department of music are benefitting from a group of talented “artists-in-residence.” The Orchestra Institute Napa Valley Fellowship Program at the NVPAC is an innovative, tuition-free, full-year performance and professional-growth program for the most exceptional post-graduate music and conservatory students in the country. The musicians enrolled in the program are provided tools to aid them in developing music careers in the 21st century: performance opportunities (including playing with the Symphony Napa Valley), service as musical ambassadors, development as self-managers, and the ability to provide music education. “We are delighted to have the Fellows on campus and hope that this partnership with NVPAC will continue as it is enriching our department and allowing us to take the study of music for the major and general student to...

Students in the department of biology at Pacific Union College know they will encounter more than slides and lectures when taking a class from Professor Aimee Wyrick. Wyrick incorporates one-of-a-kind, hands-on learning practices in Napa County to her courses. These high-impact learning opportunities provide valuable experience while teaching important principles about stewardship of the created world. Wyrick, a specialist in ecology, herpetology, and paleontology, partners with local landowners and organizations to provide opportunities to students in courses such as Ecology, Flowering Plants, and Conservation Biology. “Each quarter I have opportunities for students for internships, for research, for service-learning, and it’s not always in the same place or for the same organization,” she explained. Wyrick is currently doing research on the Calistoga popcorn flower, a federally listed “rare” species that occurs in two locations less than twenty minutes from PUC in the town of Calistoga, Calif. Specially adapted to geothermal wetlands, there are about 5,500 plants on the two sites. She and the students are involved in getting baseline data on the plant; later, they will suggest small experiments and monitoring projects to maintain the plant’s population. “Nobody has done studies on this species of plant or a plant that lives...

Pacific Union College’s enrollment services and public relations teams have introduced a new website dedicated to providing information and answering questions for future students and their families. The admissions website features fresh design in a mobile-friendly format, all geared toward sharing the distinct academic, spiritual, and social advantages of attending Pacific Union College. While the College is celebrating its highest enrollment in twenty-four years, the office of enrollment services is actively working with potential students who will enroll 2014 and beyond. Leading this effort and the development of the new website was Jennifer Tyner, vice president for enrollment management and public relations. “The main goal for this revamp was not just to make the site look good, but drive prospective students to click the apply button,” Tyner shared. “We also wanted to make a new page that would be mobile-friendly, as the old admissions page would come out jumbled and hard to read on a smart phone.” Because research shows that as many as sixty percent of young people are using their smartphones to visit college websites, adapting the admissions information to be smartphone-friendly was imperative. The new site can be accessed from smartphones and tablets as well as traditional...

PUC’s department of business administration and economicshas debuted a new Topics in Healthcare Administration course for Winter Quarter2014 that brings health care professionals to speak to students about currentissues in their areas of expertise. Many of the visiting lecturers areemployees of Adventist Health, which operates nearby St. Helena Hospital NapaValley.“There are over 900 students on campus who have expressed aninterest in a health care related profession,” shares Rodney Hardcastle, chairof the department of business administration and economics. “Since wehave a first class health care institution just five miles down the road wedecided to explore the possibility that the health care professionals therewould like to get involved with the education of our students. We foundthat they were more than happy to do so.”Douglas Houghton, director of recruitment for the NorthernCalifornia Network of Adventist Health and an adjunct professor at PUC,coordinates the class and has arranged presenters from many aspects ofhealthcare management. While the class is comprised primarily of businessmajors, students from the health sciences and pre-professional programs arealso enthusiastically enrolled in the two-credit course. In addition, theseminars are open to any interested student or community member.The January 14 installment of the series brought SteveHerber, MD, interim CEO of St. Helena Hospital...

On January 9, Pacific Union College hosted Dr. Eboo Patel for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembrance installment of the Colloquy Speakers Series. Patel, founder and executive director of the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, is an interfaith scholar and member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Patel’s presentation focused on the civil rights movement led by Dr. King in the 1950s and 1960s and the interfaith influences on Dr. King’s philosophy of non-violence. Patel illustrated how Dr. King “expands his idea of a beloved community” by interacting with leaders of different religions, including Gandhi and Thich Nhat Hanh. Patel painted a vivid story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and how non-violent protest over the 382-day boycott ultimately led the campaign to success in ending segregation on city buses. Just as King interacted with those around him in interfaith dialogue, Patel encouraged students to engage in deep interfaith discussions, even though disagreement is unavoidable. “Bring it all,” said Patel in describing how much of one’s beliefs should be shared with others. Patel, a practicing Muslim, spent time acknowledging the important contributions Adventists can make when building a “world in common,”...

Twenty-two students from Pacific Union College spent a week of their winter break serving and providing aid for a Navajo community located near Page, Ariz. This was the fourth time PUC students have made an impact on the Navajo reservation, all in cooperation with Project Pueblo, a student-led volunteer organization. PUC students Clifford Young and Dominic Hwang led the December 13-21 trip. Ben Speegle, a 2013 PUC grad who now works in PUC’s Service, Justice, and Missions Office, and Tom Turner, professor of visual arts, went along as sponsors. This year’s mission trip wasn’t just a return to the Navajo nation, but also to the local Seventh-day Adventist church, where PUC students have served since a renovation project began. “We helped a local missionary family with some of their tasks as well as assisting a Navajo family develop their property,” Speegle added. “These mission trips allow us to really give back and serve an impoverished area,” said student leader Clifford Young. “Many of the things we take for granted these people struggle with. It’s nice to see fellow students act selflessly and sacrifice their own time to give back.” From simple tasks like helping rebuild a community center to assisting...