Search - Lainy S. Cronk

The first rainstorm of the season carefully timed its debut to correspond with the annual PUC Parents’ Weekend. As wind scattered the water that seeped from low-hanging gray billows, a record number of parental guests flooded the campus to experience Dining Commons fare, a sprightly vespers, fine performances from the music department ensembles, a volleyball game, and a comedy improv program. Though the temperamental weather caused some re-thinking for the outdoors Sabbath lunch, it didn’t keep the parents out of the scene; they enthusiastically perused the Pirkle Jones show in the Rasmussen Art Gallery, participated in the highly popular improv program presented by BATS (Bay Area Theater Sports) in the Campus Center, and took advantage of college-hosted meals. A cheering sense of family pervaded the campus as new and “old” students puttered around with their parents and siblings....

When a campus building makes students say, “This is so nice—can we just study in here for awhile?" you know you’ve done something right. And when just months ago that building was an old, ugly metal shed, you can’t help but think there’s been some sort of magic at work!It began with the vision of Pacific Union College’s Student Persistence Program leaders, who wanted to see the centralization of academic support services on campus. The dream was brought to possibility by the gift of Rosemary and John Collins, assistant professor of communication and vice president for financial administration, respectively. And transformation came through the magic (also known as hard work) of several months spent resurfacing walls and floors and doing extensive interior decorating. Now the building, called the Student Success Center, has a modern, industrial chic motif that makes “Awesome!” the most common word for students to utter when they first walk in.The mission of the Student Success Center, which provides such services as academic advising, mentoring, tutoring, freshman success seminars, and learning disabilities testing and accommodation, is “to see each PUC student able to persist toward his or her academic goal with confidence, and not to lose sight of...