Admissions & Aid

For the ninth straight year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Pacific Union College among the top ten western comprehensive colleges. Of western comprehensive colleges in California, PUC ranked number two. The national magazine releases its 2002 rankings to newsstands on September 10, 2002, in the “America’s Best Colleges” issue. Significantly, U.S. News continues to name PUC in its top ten list of “Best Values” among liberal arts colleges in the Western United States. According to U.S. News, PUC’s strong rankings are based in part on academic reputation. Many of PUC’s departments average above the 90th percentile in standardized achievement tests, and of all universities and colleges in North America, PUC has one of the highest medical school acceptance rates. Furthermore, PUC’s rankings are based on high graduation rates. The western comprehensive region covers 14 states from Oklahoma to California. PUC was compared to other four-year colleges in this region that do not offer graduate degrees. “This ranking illustrates a continuing recognition in the broader world that you can have a strong faith-centered college and also be seen as offering an excellent academic program of great value,” says PUC President Richard Osborn. “Pacific Union College will continue to explore ways...

Classes begin at Pacific Union College on September 24, 2001, when the nationally recognized liberal arts college will open its doors for the college’s 121st academic year. From its inception in 1882, Pacific Union College has provided Christian education with an emphasis on academic excellence. This emphasis can still be seen today, as PUC continues to rank among the nation’s best. For the eighth straight year, U.S. News and World Report ranks PUC in the top ten among western comprehensive colleges--a category that includes fourteen states. And currently, among regional liberal arts colleges in California, PUC ranks number one. Pacific Union College is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church and has an average yearly enrollment of 1,600 students. The school is located in Angwin, at the north end of the Napa Valley, and is currently accepting applications for the 2001-2001 school year....

Without a doubt, God is doing something extraordinary. Simply put, He's changing the world. And He's doing it through and with academy and high school students who have rediscovered the power of prayer. Some time ago, the Prayer Ministries Department of the North American Division launched a new conference, encouraging young people to do something absolutely radical—pray. As the conference has moved throughout the country, the response has been tremendous and life-changing. On October 11-13, Pacific Union College is hosting the event, providing young people of the Pacific Union with tools and training in the areas of prayer, Bible study, and ministry. According to Mike Dunn, chaplain at PacificUnion College and organizer of the event, participants at the conference "won't merely talk about prayer. They'll experience it." The conference is geared toward young people in high school and academy (grades 9-12) who have a desire to learn more about prayer and about how God can use them in ministry. The conference is ideal for church youth groups and academy Bible classes. Sponsors are expected to accompany all student groups. All meetings will take place at Pacific Union College, located in Angwin, California....

Pacific Union College launched a new, and impressive, website on September 14, 2001. Modeled after leading academic institutions, the PUC site offers considerably more than its predecessor. User profiles personalize the site for prospective students, current students, faculty and staff, alumni and parents, and visitors and friends. A layer deeper, the site offers basic facts about PUC as well as information on PUC life, PUC people, academics, enrollment, and news and events. Hardly anything has escaped the hand of improvement. In addition to design changes, text has been rewritten and multiple features added to simplify navigation. A search engine (located alongside a site map, index, and financial information) will hunt and retrieve any requested detail. A directory includes features that will guide browsers to specific offices, individuals, and telephone numbers, as well as show where the school is located and what the weather is like....

September 18, 2001 - A retrospective of paintings of early California post-impressionist artist and teacher, Veda Fero Dayton, will open on October 6 in the Rasmussen Art Gallery of Pacific Union College, where this significant and prolific female artist first taught in 1914. The exhibit, entitled Veda Fero Dayton: “From the Mountains to the Sea” includes paintings in oil, tempera, and watercolor of landscapes throughout the West, done from 1917 through the 1960’s. Veda Fero Dayton’s life and art reflects the transition from the early growth and developing art of the West, made by the first pioneering generation, to a time when more contemplative Californians could settle down and enjoy the land and life they had carved out for themselves. Born in 1891, Veda’s wide variety of subjects, skill in many media and techniques, and far-ranging travels parallel the growth of western artists, and particularly the emergence of opportunities for women painters, during this important and exciting era at the early years of the last century. During her teaching career at Pacific Union College and through the 1920’s, Veda Fero Dayton was active in the artist’s community of the Monterey and Carmel areas, where she passed most summers, camping on...

f you’re anywhere but the PUC sanctuary on Thursday mornings from nine to ten, you’re in the wrong place! Starting this year, all Thursday morning chapels will be “All-College” events. What does this mean? It means that everyone, yes everyone, is expected to attend. Chapel isn’t just for students anymore. All departments, both academic and non-academic, will be closed during this hour and full-time employees are instructed to remain checked in while they attend. PUC President Richard Osborn says, “We feel the value of our community coming together in a worship will be worth far more than the pay. It will add spiritual value to our overall program.” So, if you ever notice that the campus resembles a ghost-town on Thursday mornings, you’ll know where we are––and where you should be! Opening Convocation, the first chapel of the 2001-2002 school year, promises to be a special event that will set the tone for the entire year. With pomp and ceremony, regalia-clad faculty will usher into the sanctuary to begin Convocation. The September 27 service will expand on the theme, “Our Stories, Ourselves,” which was introduced to faculty and staff members during Colloquy. In addition to an address from the college...

Pastor Tony Anobile launched his week of prayer series at PUC by reading from John 2:1-12. To make Christ more real to his audience, Anobile emphasized that as the wedding at Cana and water into wine miracle indicates, Jesus was a social person who drew pleasure from the company of others. The title of Anobile’s series, “‘I AM’ All You Need,” focuses on all that Christ offers his believers. Touching on issues of faith and communication, and drawing on passages from the book of John, Anobile shares his experiences honestly and humorously. Monday morning’s meeting is the first of eleven presentations that Anobile will give at PUC. The gatherings, which begin at 8:50 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary, will also include student participation in the form of music and drama. Tony Anobile is senior pastor of the Eagle Rock Seventh-day Adventist Church in Los Angeles, California. He attended Montemorelos University and received his masters in religion from Loma Linda University. Anobile has worked in various ministry positions throughout Southern California since 1986, including several years as Director of Collegiate and Young Adult Ministries for the Southern California Conference. The week-long event—the first at PUC this year—offers PUC...

In the summer of 1982, bulldozers advanced on Old Irwin Hall, the signature building on the campus of Pacific Union College. The building—whose construction began in 1912—housed the chapel, administration offices, and classrooms that were the heart of college activities for several succeeding generations. Though beloved, the edifice was declared structurally unsound. It was condemned to demolition. When the wrecking crews finally withdrew, only a clean-swept garden lawn remained at the head of the campus mall. Today, nearly 20 years later, PUC has begun raising the funds required to build a new library on the site of Old Irwin Hall—a library that will not only provide a needed facility, but that will socially and visually resurrect a treasured campus icon. PUC is asking its constituents to prayerfully consider helping with this project as the college rises to the challenges of education in the 21st century. Though incorporating the best elements of contemporary architectural design, the new library will carry a look reminiscent of Old Irwin Hall—a look featured most prominently in a campanile, modeled after the distinguished face that looked across PUC’s campus for 70 years. The new library is also expected to become a center of student life, containing...

Parent’s Weekend at Pacific Union College offers the “grown-ups” a chance to experience life at college. From October 19 through October 21, PUC hosts the moms and dads who have entrusted their students to Pacific Union College and provides these visitors with a glimpse of the campus experience. The weekend of events introduces—or reacquaints—parents with the sights and sounds of college life, including a meeting with college president Dick Osborn. Parents spend the weekend becoming familiar with the new world of their son and/or daughter beginning with a Friday evening reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by vespers at 8 p.m. Activities continue on Saturday morning when students are invited to bring their parents to an 8:30 breakfast before church. A Parent/Faculty Reception Saturday evening offers parents an opportunity to meet the administration, teachers, and advisors who play a crucial role in their child’s education at PUC. The weekend concludes with brunch on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.––leaving enough time for a final shopping trip or an early start on the long drive home....

The Eagle 150, a strange looking plane with three sets of wings and a bubble for a cockpit, finds a new home at the Pacific Union College airport, thanks to the generous donation of community member, Ernest Van Asperen. Van Asperen, a St. Helena resident of 32 years, says he hopes the new plane will increase interest in the flight program at PUC and bring more attention to the small, but busy Angwin airport. “It was a bolt out of the blue,” said flight center director Nathan Tasker. “We weren’t expecting anything when Ernie called us on Wednesday morning and said he’d decided to purchase the plane.” According to Van Asperen, interest in the plane was sparked by a test flight of the small, but impressive machine. “It just hit me at 3 o’clock in the morning,” Van Asperen said. “I woke my wife to discuss the idea of buying the plane for PUC, and then I called them at 7 a.m.” Van Asperen’s donation becomes the seventh plane in Pacific Union College’s fleet, but it is a landmark addition for several reasons. It is the only plane of its kind west of Kansas—a mere 20 of the Australian-built planes...