Search - PR Staff

On June 3, Pacific Union College’s President, Heather J.Knight, Ph.D., announced the receipt of the largest single private gift in thecollege’s 132-year history, a $2.4 million testamentary gift from the late StephenBall, a twenty-year resident of the Napa Valley. The gift is for theunrestricted support of Pacific Union College’s mission.“We are grateful for this transformational and historicgift,” said Knight. “Stephen Ball understood the mission and the impact thatPacific Union College has had throughout its history, and we’re honored toreceive this gift at a time when our college is on a historic upwardtrajectory. This gift is truly ablessing for our campus community.”Born in 1944 in Berkeley, California, Stephen Ball attendedArmstrong College, a private liberal arts college in Berkeley specializing inbusiness management. He relocated to the Napa Valley in 1994, and lived in St.Helena until his death in April.“Stephen was a generous soul, and he appreciated thosearound him who made a difference in the community,” said longtime friend SusanBaxter. “Pacific Union College is such an asset to the Napa Valley community,and Stephen wanted to support the mission of the college.”Pacific Union College is currently engaged in the planningphase for a major philanthropic campaign, the Heritage Campaign, which willencompass a variety of signature...

On April 27, Pacific Union College will present the Napa Valley Off-Road Triathlon, an event that will benefit the non-profit organization Clinica Verde. Clinica Verde promotes sustainable health care for the underserved populations of rural Nicaragua. The Triathlon features events for all ages, including a kid’s triathlon, a 5k run/walk, triathlon relay, beginner triathlon, and the individual triathlon. Uniquely, the triathlon includes a mountain bike course instead of a road bike course, much like the popular Xterra series of races. Pre-registration for the race closes on Friday, April 26, and the race-day registration opens at 5:30 AM. The triathlon, relays, and 5k run/walk will begin at 8 AM with the kid’s triathlon beginning at 10 AM. All participants will receive official finish times, finisher medals, and race t-shirts. Three-deep medals will also be given in age divisions. Sponsored by St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley and local businesses including the Calistoga Bike Shop, Sportago, and the Napa Running Company, the race is directed by Fabio Maia, PUC’s service and missions coordinator. For more information and to register, visit www.napavalleyoffroadtriathlon.com....

In remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Pacific Union College will host Dr. Eboo Patel for the College’s Colloquy Speaker Series on January 9 in the PUC Church Sanctuary. Patel is the founder and Executive Director of the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), which works toward the growth of the interfaith youth movement. He has spoken at the TED Conference, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. Dr. Patel is also a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and contributes regularly to the Washington Post, NPR, and CNN. A Rhodes Scholar, he holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University. For this special Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembrance Colloquy program, Dr. Patel’s subject will be Ghandi’s influence on Dr. King. Patel will present at 10 a.m. in the PUC Church Sanctuary....

After finishing 3rd in league play in the California Pacific Conference, Pacific Union College’s Pioneers women’s volleyball team completed their season at the Cal Pac playoffs. The Pioneers fell to Menlo College on Friday, November 15. Menlo College would go on to defeat La Sierra and head to the National Tournament. After the playoff match, three lady Pioneers and their head coach Brittany Brown were honored with Cal Pac Conference Awards. In a highly competitive conference, the lady Pioneers received the most conference honors in program history. Leading the Cal Pac with 584 digs, senior libero Lauren Secchitano was named to the California Pacific All Conference 1st Team and received the 2013 Conference Libero of the Year Award. Setter Kailey Faust and outside Viridiana Gallardo were also named to the California Pacific Conference 2nd Team. Faust led the Pioneers with an impressive 884 assists and 112 digs. Gallardo led with 245 kills, and was second on the team in digs with 345 throughout the season. “Lauren Secchitano, Viridiana Gallardo, and Kailey Faust have all worked hard this season, and with the help of their dedicated teammates have earned this honor,” stated Brown. “All of these athletes and this entire team...

Eight weeks into their 2013 season, PUC’s Pioneers Women’s Volleyball team has more than doubled their win total from the previous best season record; a significant factor in this winning streak has been the play of senior Lauren Secchitano. Secchitano was awarded the California Pacific Conference Player of the Week for the week of September 30. The Pioneers have won three straight matches, improving their overall record 10-6, with Secchitano totaling 44 digs and 8 service aces. Secchitano, the team’s libero (defensive specialist), currently leads the CalPac Conference in digs with 265. “I am extremely proud of Lauren and she is very deserving of this award. She has been working hard since spring of last year and is always the first one in the weight room and in the gym getting extra reps,” states Head Coach Brittany Brown. “There is a lot of hard work behind the award.” Secchitano is the second Pioneers player to receive the Player of the Week recognition this season; Jenna Glantz, a junior outside hitter, received the award the week of August 25 after her outstanding performance in the lady Pioneers’ four-game win streak at the Mustang Invitational in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “It is always...

On May 16, 2013, the Pacific Union College Board of Trustees confirmed Walter E. Collins as the college’s new vice president for advancement and alumni relations. Collins officially began his appointment on July 1, 2013. Most recently, Collins was the executive director of the California Symphony Orchestra, which he led for three seasons and where he was responsible for all orchestra operations. Under his direction, the symphony completed a strategic plan, doubled its number of donors, and increased ticket sales revenue while reducing operating costs. Furthermore, under Collins’ leadership, the orchestra received a National Endowment for the Arts award, as well as a Getty Foundation/League of American Orchestra’s Community Arts Awards grant for developing Sound Minds, a novel music and literacy education program that works to effect transformational change in the lives of disadvantaged children. In the course of his professional career, he has also established close relationships with the Irvine, Hearst, Haas and Ford Foundations. Prior to his work at the California Symphony Orchestra, Collins served as president and CEO of United Way of the Wine Country in Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt and Del Norte counties for four years, leading a three million dollar organization that was distinguished as...

Critically acclaimed author Maxine Hong Kingston will present at Pacific Union College’s Colloquy Speaker Series May 31. In her well-known book The Woman Warrior, Kingston tells of her experiences growing up as an Asian-American in Stockton, Calif. She also wrote the National Book Award-winning China Men and is the recipient of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature and a National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In addition to her writing, Kingston was a long-time professor of creative writing at the University of California, Berkeley, before her retirement in 2006. Kingston will present at 10 a.m. in the PUC Church Sanctuary.View additional information about the event...

During a special presentation at Angwin’s 2011 Flea Market and Car Show on Sunday, Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) congratulated Angwin on the expansion of broadband technology to the community, thanks to a partnership between Pacific Union College and Comcast. Last fall, the college worked with Comcast to update the campus telecommunications network with a fiber-optic infrastructure. The move increased PUC’s bandwidth by 1,000 percent and also allowed Comcast to expand its services into Angwin, where communication and entertainment services have been limited. “This is a partnership that is going to pay dividends for the entire community,” said Thompson, listing the number of educational online programs that can benefit school-age children, businesses, and families. “The amount of information that is at our fingertips is truly awesome, and so much is available because of the expansion of broadband.” The program also welcomed Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon, who commended Comcast and PUC and called it a “step forward” for PUC and the community. Heather Knight, president of PUC, also spoke at the event along with Tom Bartee, district director for 7th District Assemblyman Michael Allen; and Paul Gibson, East Bay area vice president for Comcast. Two years ago, PUC was urgently...

Every year the NAIA names scholar-athletes to represent them on the Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes list. To be eligible for nomination a student-athlete must be a junior or senior in academic standing, attend an NAIA nominating institution for one full year, and have a minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. In the sport of men's basketball the California Pacific Conference had six scholar-athletes, (four from Pacific Union College), receive recognition for their hard work in the classroom. The Pioneers tied the record for most scholar-athletes named to the Men's Basketball Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes list for 2011. Dickinson State University, in North Dakota, was the only other institution to have four student-athletes make the list.Michael Giang, Josh Jewett, Aren Rennacker, and Brent Wild were named as scholar-athletes by Daktronics and the NAIA, recognized for their academic achievement and hard work. They helped guide the Pioneers to a 7-18 overall record this season and a 5-7 conference record. The Pioneers concluded the season with a loss to Holy Names University, who the Pioneers swept during the regular season, in the first round of the Cal Pac tournament. The other two California Pacific Conference representatives include, Menlo College guard and Cal Pac...

Business department chair Wally Lighthouse spoke to a group of over 60 Rotarians and guests at the December 9 meeting of the Napa Sunrise Rotary Club. The group meets at the Silverado Country Club in Napa, Calif. His talk, entitled “Economic Forecast 2011,” was well received by the enthusiastic attendees. Lighthouse discussed next year’s outlook in areas such as employment, retirement and debt trends, tax policy and inflation. “He was very informative,” said Doris Gentry, the club’s public relations officer. “[It was] a heavy topic but important to all of us.”...