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Lindsay Morton, an experienced educator with a heart for Christ and the college’s mission and vision, will become vice president for academic administration and academic dean in July, Pacific Union College announced Tuesday.Prior to her current role as associate academic dean, Morton served two years as an English professor at PUC. Before coming to the United States, she taught in Australia at Avondale College of Higher Education for seven years. She was also the assistant dean for the Faculty of Arts, Nursing, and Theology. “Lindsay is a strong leader with insight and wisdom,” President Ralph Trecartin said. “She is innovative, pragmatic, and a consensus builder.”Trecartin said he admires Morton’s leadership skills and her ability to be idealistic but realistic when making critical administrative decisions. Among her duties, Morton will serve on the president's cabinet, drive accreditation, oversee academic support areas, and create additional pathways for students through new strategic partnerships. She will continue to evaluate and reinvigorate the student experience, manage student requests and issues, and work to deepen the integration of faith and learning. All this fits into PUC's vision of offering students a modernized, simplified, Christ-centered college experience on campus and beyond.“In the future, I want PUC to...

Pacific Union College’s School of Nursing has received a $540,000 grant from California’s Department of Healthcare Access and Information (HCAI), funding that will help address the statewide nursing shortage by expanding training opportunities. Chair of Nursing and Health Sciences Kimberly Dunker said PUC will use the grant to ensure nursing student success by funding scholarships and providing support through tutoring. It will also be used to purchase high-fidelity simulation technology along with faculty support, development, and simulation training.“Expanding our simulation program allows us to meet mandatory clinical requirements while still meeting student outcomes. This ensures compliance with minimum clinical hours in the case of a pandemic, fire evacuation or other disaster,” Dunker said. “It also may allow us to expand our RN enrollment in the future.”On March 7, HCAI awarded $16.9 million in grants to 32 registered nurse training programs, including PUC, to help expand programs and improve access to high-quality health care in California. The funding supports 565 new student slots across the state, an increase of more than 150 since the previous application cycle. The awards were made possible through the Song-Brown Healthcare Workforce Training Act, which helps organizations establish and expand primary care training programs. One of...

He started with just 10 minutes. Midway through his junior year, Beven Delos Reyes found himself the sole RA on the fourth floor of Newton Hall. It kept him busier than usual six days a week, particularly during late-night room checks.But Reyes took his role seriously. For him, it was more than a job—he wanted to spiritually connect more closely with the people in his hallway. He began a nightly open-invitation dorm worship time called “10@10.” A small group of young men would gather for music, a devotional, discussion, and prayer.The “10@10” was short. But it was a success, and that spark ignited something even more significant—completely revitalizing Newton Hall’s entire dorm worship. First, they met in the residence hall lobby, but soon there was such a large gathering they moved into the Newton Hall chapel, where it became an even greater success.Reyes said the atmosphere of dorm worship is meaningful to him. “I love the intimate setting where you can hear everyone singing and engaging through worship,” he said. “As a result, the room fills with life, and you can really see, hear and feel a sense of community.”After the isolation of the pandemic, so many were in dire...

Seventh-day Adventist higher education is facing many challenges. Lack of affordability. Mounting student debt. Emerging college alternatives. These are just some of the unprecedented difficulties colleges and universities nationwide—not just Adventist ones—have been grappling with in the last few years.“Then the pandemic hit,” said Tony Yang, vice president for strategy, marketing, and enrollment and chief communication officer at Andrews University. But leaders at Adventist colleges and universities are working to change that, setting aside their competitive differences to further the mission of Seventh-day Adventist education.The Adventist Enrollment Association (AEA) is a group of enrollment administration officers and representatives from all 13 Adventist colleges and universities in North America. It was created to centrally brand and position institutions together, create awareness and visibility of college options, and expand access to Adventist young people.Yang, also the president of the AEA, said he sees hope for the future of Adventist higher education because of its shared mission. “Now, perhaps more than ever, we have an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with a world that’s facing increasingly challenging times.”Recently, on Jan. 24-25, the AEA met at Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, Texas, to discuss, evaluate and plan joint marketing and enrollment efforts...

A massive winter storm that barreled into California brought nearly a foot of snow to Pacific Union College, shutting down the campus, closing roads, and felling large branches and trees. But the rare snowfall late last week in Angwin also brought delight to students, faculty, and staff. Students made snow angels and snowmen while others brought out their skis and snowboards.Meanwhile, PUC staff and faculty—including President Ralph Trecartin—did their part to help the community dig out from the storm.The storm closed down many of the roads on Howell Mountain. Much of PUC’s campus had only a single lane of access around it. PG&E reported widespread power outages, leaving many without heat.Tim De La Torre, PUC instructor of film and television production, took drone footage of the snow-covered campus, which has been shared more than 100 times on Facebook. Director of Admissions Craig Philpott took to his vehicle and drove through the snowy roads to document the storm on video. It showed all the PUC buildings, residence halls, and student cars blanketed in a thick layer of white. Trees, boughs heavy with snow, leaned forward precariously on either side of the roads. In many areas, the lanes were obstructed by felled...

At the beginning of the message to her fellow students, Lily Chaffee said that when she was asked “point blank” to define the word “revival,” she struggled a bit to come up with a definite answer. Chaffee contended it was difficult because revival seems to be offered everywhere in the world. She described how pop-up phone ads constantly sell products, vacations, or gym memberships to gain renewal in life. All these things that advertisements promise will bring happiness are temporary and don’t meet the deep revival that “our hearts are searching for,” Chaffee said.“I only know of one revival that is eternal,” Chaffee said. “A revival that is rooted in Jesus is never-ending and unbroken and life-changing.” Chaffee, a first-year religion and biblical studies major, was one of seven speakers at Student Week of Prayer at Pacific Union College, which was held Jan. 23-28 in the church sanctuary. Other speakers included Karen Baez-Castro, Misael Bernard, Beven Delos Reyes, and Santiago Hernandez. Kaitlin Nakanishi spoke at Friday night vespers, and Ashley Castro Rodriguez gave the final message during the church service on Sabbath morning. Though Student Week of Prayer is an annual tradition at PUC, there was a notable difference this...

The sisters giggled together as they walked down the avenue to church in their Sunday best. Janie had a new purse, and they tossed it back and forth and laughed some more. Even the gray clouds and autumn wind couldn’t dampen their spirit. It was Youth Day at church, and they would be singing up front in the choir.Once they arrived, they slipped into the basement ladies’ lounge to freshen up before the program. Janie, the oldest, reminded Addie Mae and Sarah to get to their Sunday school class on time.Then Denise, Cynthia, and Carole came in and joined their friends. At the wash basin, Denise turned and asked over her shoulder if Addie Mae would tie her dress. The last thing young Sarah saw was her older sister’s hands reaching out for the sash.Then the room exploded.Nearly 60 years later, Sarah Collins Rudolph, the little girl who survived one of the darkest days in Civil Rights history, told her story to Pacific Union College students at a special Community on Thursday, Jan. 12, to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.With her gentle Southern accent, Rudolph told the students about Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1960s. About the atrocious Jim Crow...

David Bell has been a bass member of the Heritage Singers for over three decades. He’s performed countless times with the gospel group. But there’s one most memorable trip.A few years ago, Bell and the Heritage Singers toured the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and - what he said is his “favorite city in the world” - Prague. Local residents hosted the group and their families. “They were just the sweetest people,” Bell recalled, “my wife is still good friends with several of them!”Bell said local residents recounted stories about living under Communism when religious music was illegal. They played the Heritage Singers albums in their basements. Some choir directors would listen to the music and try to transcribe the harmonies and create sheet music. They wanted to sing the songs, but any religious activity was dangerous. “You can tell they really treasure the freedom they have,” Bell said. “Now, a lot of times in the U.S., we can take our freedom for granted, and we complain about all kinds of things that are trivial when we’ve never had to live under that kind of rule.”For Bell, chair of Pacific Union College’s Business Department, that trip showed the power of music as...

Three theology students from Pacific Union College participated in an evangelism class last fall that allowed them to share their faith and the truth of the gospel with three church congregations and the surrounding community in San Francisco. The hands-on class ultimately resulted in nine baptisms.“The theology program at PUC is especially formulated to help students navigate our rapidly changing West Coast culture in biblically guided ways,” said Chair of the Theology Department Jim Wibberding.Wibberding contacted Pastor Dan Serns, president of Central California Conference, hoping to collaborate with him on an evangelism class to take students “from theory to practice.”Serns had an even bigger vision for the class.Along with area pastors and staff from CCC, Serns “pulled the plans together” and gave the students a truly “dynamic experience,” Wibberding said.For 12 hours a day on eight consecutive Sabbaths in October and November, PUC students and participating church members led out in Sabbath School and worship services at three San Francisco Seventh-day Adventist churches—Philadelphian, Central, and Tabernacle. After lunch each Sabbath, students and local members engaged in community outreach—from literature evangelism to Bible studies. Theology student Luiggi Loconi Cruz said his goal going into the class was to focus on youth...

In February, Paulin Hall will host the U.S. premiere of “Jericho Road,” a musical written and produced by Lindsay Morton, associate academic dean for PUC. The show was first produced at Avondale University in Australia, and then in Sydney and Perth. As all three were highly successful, Morton suggested it be done at PUC. The rest, as they say, is history. Written in response to “The Last Five Years,” a musical by Jason Robert Brown, “Jericho Road” is a boy-meets-girl, then boy-leaves-girl story. It centers on Leila, a part coincidentally played by PUC student Leila Beltran, and her husband, Jake, played by PUC student (and music major) Tyler Wilensky.“I fell in love with ‘The Last Five Years,’ and found myself wondering how the story would have been different if the couple had been Christian,” Morton explains. So she began pulling together pieces she’d composed over the years that fit the story she felt developing, and composed a few more around them. The driving questions of “Jericho Road” are: What does it mean to be faithful to a spouse who is unfaithful to you? And how can we be faithful to a God who seems absent?“It’s a difficult topic, but one...