Search - Lainey S. Cronk

“Our job as teachers is to make ourselves obsolete — to point you in the right direction and get out of the way.” The words of Cynthia Westerbeck, English professor and 2007-2008 Educator of the Year, opened the annual faculty awards program at Pacific Union College on April 24. At this program, faculty were honored for achievements and service that made them part of what Westerbeck described as “all simultaneously engaged in the quest for knowledge.” She told students, “The greatest reward we can receive as teachers is to be replaced by you.” Faculty members received awards for original work, grants for upcoming research, and Meritorious Service Awards. Awards for original work are given each year to professors who, in addition to maintaining their focus on undergraduate students, have also published, presented, or researched work, outside of Angwin, in their discipline. Twenty-four faculty members received awards for work ranging from solo art shows to poster sessions at professional conventions. Seven faculty members received Herber Grants, which are funded by the Herber Family Endowment, established in 2006 to facilitate teachers in their quest to achieve and sustain innovative, quality instruction. Herber Grants were awarded to biology professor Floyd Hayes for a...

Sacrifice and freedom are not things people typically pair in the same sentence. But surgeon Scott Nelson, '92, wants his life experience to inspire people to just that — “to make sacrifices and live with freedom.” His story is, in some ways, straightforward. At the age of 8, he felt the first tug of destiny when he visited his grandfather Olavi Rouhe, a surgeon who spent 25 years of his career in central Zaire (and also a 1929 graduate of PUC). That visit sparked Nelson’s ongoing interest in medicine and, he says, “With a sense of adventure and a desire to serve it was only sensible that I would follow in his footsteps.” Other influences were added to his grandfather’s. “I owe a great deal of thanks to Pacific Union College, Adventist education and a heritage of sacrifice and mission which we can proudly share with the world,” Scott says. At the PUC dining commons, Scott met one person who would be a big part of that influence: Marni Miller, ’91. After their PUC graduations, Scott and Marni married. “It is largely because of her sacrifices and encouragement that we have been led to do the work we do,” Scott...

In the first all-school colloquy program of the spring quarter, PUC embarked on the third phase of its year-long emphasis on service. The spring quarter colloquy theme is “A Sense of Pride,” and campus chaplain Roy Ice introduced the program by saying, “This quarter we’re going to do a little celebration … by saying, ‘Look what God has done.’ We’re celebrating what has happened and asking, ‘How much more can we do?’” Ice told students, “I want to challenge you … to really think about what the goal of God’s command [to love] really is.” Service has been very real to students this year, with new students getting involved in existing projects and starting up new ones. During the colloquy program, students gave personal accounts of the service they’ve been involved with this year. Student Krista Brieno recounted how, inspired by World AIDS Day on December 1 and the realization of how many resources we have at PUC, she asked the church for money — and, inspired by Gideon, asked God that they would raise $1,000. During the two services that morning, $2,100 was contributed to support ADRA’s fight against AIDS. Later, when planning a womens prayer breakfast for the...

The first service at the Pacific Union College Church commences with the rich tones of the Rieger organ. Not long ago, this “early service” started at 8:45 and housed a very small congregation, mostly white-haired. Now the first service is called the Majestic and starts at 10 a.m. It is purposeful in presenting a quality traditional service, and is more intergenerational and attended by about four times as many people as before. These positive changes are part of a larger picture that includes both worship services (the Majestic and the Gathering, which meets just after noon). Led by senior pastor Tim Mitchell, worship and outreach pastor Jessica Shine, and campus chaplain Roy Ice, the church recently began to take a good hard look at the weekly services and the congregational community. Some of the problems they faced were low attendance at the early service, frustration with the blend of elements in the second service, and the need for a sense of community that carries over from week to week. “We asked ourselves, what does the congregation need?” Shine recounts. Church members filled out surveys; and focus groups made up of people from a wide spectrum of ages and roles met...

In an inconspicuous commercial area at the end of a tiny strip-mall, a door opens into a hubbub of young voices. It's 3:40 and the Angwin Teen Center has been filling up with the after-school crowd of junior high and high school students, bearing their earphones, their backpacks, and a lot of energy. PUC student Larissa Ranzolin is sitting at a small table in the thick of things, surrounded by kids and discussing a can of pumpkin pie filling with the dad of one of the teens.It's a surprisingly familial atmosphere for a teen hang-out, and that's the result of a very intentional commitment to mentorship. "Here," says executive director Tom Amato, from a couch against one wall, "the relationship is not based on behavior, performance, or production. We'll be unconditional. We help [the teens] to realize we're family."That's a big deal for many of these young students, explains PUC student Georgiana Tutu, who works as a supervisor at the Center. "Some of their home lives are pretty crummy, so it helps to know that they can come to a place that is always going to be there… it helps to know that the people that work there are always...

Legendary as a lecturer and beloved as a mentor, PUC history professor Walter C. Utt was mourned deeply when he died in 1985. A special endowment with its own board was established in Utt’s honor, and their most recent project to continue his legacy is the publication of two historical novels based on Utt’s work. No Peace for a Soldier and its sequel, No Sacrifice but Conscience, both published by Pacific Press, are a skillful combination of two titles by Utt published in 1966 and 1977 (Wrath of the King and Home to Our Valleys), an unfinished manuscript that he left, and the work of author and professor Helen Godfrey Pyke. Eric Anderson, one of the founders of the Utt Endowment and now president of Southwestern Adventist University, was advised that Pyke, who teaches at Southern Adventist University and has a long list of published titles, was the perfect person to complete Utt’s manuscript. “And she really was,” says Bruce Anderson, Eric Anderson’s brother and another founding member of the endowment. The endowment hired Pyke to finish the manuscript, and Southern granted her a Sabbatical. PUC president Dick Osborn talked with Dale Galusha, president of Pacific Press, about the project....

They weren’t wearing capes and they didn’t fly onto the stage, but the three local businesspersons who visited PUC for the January 17 all-school colloquy were welcomed as heroes. PUC president Richard Osborn introduced Robin Lail, Norm Manzer, and Phil Toohey by saying, “What has impressed me about you is that not only are you successful at what you do, but you seem to have a passion for helping the community.” Lail, a fourth-generation vintner of Lail Vineyards, told how she became a part of the St. Helena Hospital Foundation. “‘Should’ is my least favorite word in the language,” Lail said. “But I got involved because I thought I should.” She discovered, however, that “should” was only the beginning. “I found a passion for this institution and the community it serves that was way beyond what I’d ever imagined.” With her help, the foundation has already raised over $25 million for the first phase of a campaign to rebuild the hospital campus — an impressive sum, Osborn noted, even for much larger hospitals in big cities. Lail’s drive to make a difference is no new thing for her. “About when I was 4, I was struck by the feeling that...

Pacific Union College's Rasmussen Art Gallery presents the "New Work" exhibition from February 14 to March 14. This annual show features PUC's art department faculty and will include a wide variety of media and styles representing the assorted artistic directions of the faculty members. In addition to instructing young artists, the art department faculty continue to develop their own styles and techniques of art, finding a variety of venues through which they can share their work with others. "New Work" will exhibit the recent artworks of instructors Jody Barbuta, Robert Buller, Vicki Long, Milbert Mariano, John McDowell, Thomas Morphis, Cliff Rusch, Lote Thistlethwaite and Tom Turner. Media presented will include watercolor, encaustic, metal sculpture, acrylic, photography, assemblage, sculptures in assorted media, figure drawings and scrimshaw. The opening reception for "New Work" takes place in the Rasmussen Art Gallery on Saturday, February 14, from 7-9 p.m. The gallery is also open regularly on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 1 - 5 p.m. There is no charge for admission. ...

Come and hear the reality of medical and scientific blunders as Dr. David Rasnick presents "But-What about Africa?" at Pacific Union College on Monday, February 9, at 7 p.m. in Dauphinee Chapel. This presentation is part of PUC's All-Science Seminar series, an on-going program designed to inform students and faculty on recent scientific discoveries. The series is open to the public. Rasnick is a visiting scholar to the department of molecular & cell biology at UC Berkeley, and the chief science officer of Boveran in San Ramon, California. In his presentation, Rasnick will discuss medical errors in history such as the refusal of the medical community in the mid 1800s to accept the theory that disinfection of doctors' hands could save the lives of women in the obstetrics wards. Another medical rejection Rasnick will discuss involves Dr. Joseph Goldberger's definitive evidence in the 1900s that pellagra was not infectious, but caused by a poor diet. Rasnick also believes that "the contagious, HIV hypothesis of AIDS" is another example of a medical blunder - in fact, that it is "the biggest scientific, medical blunder of the 20th Century." Upcoming presentations in the All-Science Seminar series include Dr. Peter Duesberg, member of...

What if the “facts” we’ve been given about AIDS are false? Researcher Dr. Peter Duesberg challenges the traditional view of AIDS during Pacific Union College’s All-Science Seminar series on Tuesday, February 10, at 10 a.m. in Chan Shun Hall lecture hall #2. Admission is free. Duesberg, an instructor in the department of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley, has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the California Scientist of the Year Award, the American Medical Center Oncology Award, and the Outstanding Investigator Award. In 2000, the South African government invited him to discuss the AIDS crisis as a member of the International Panel of Scientists. Duesberg challenges the virus-AIDS hypothesis by proposing that AIDS related diseases stem from long-term consumption of recreational drugs and anti-HIV drugs....