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A group of 30 young scholars got a head start on their college experience at Pacific Union College's PacificQuest 2009 on July 26 through 31. The annual program, aimed at exceptional 7th through 9th graders interested in planning for college early, exposes the students to a sampling of collegiate curricula. This year's program, "Dimensions of Enlightenment," was directed by PUC professors Lindsay Petersen and Aimee Wyrick and offered a core class in "Experiencing Psychology" taught by professors Aubyn Fulton and Charlene Bainum. Topics for this session included social psychology, developmental psychology, memory, and personality. The students were encouraged to get involved with field research, such as staging small accidents at the campus market to gauge different levels of bystander apathy and observing the play behavior of small children at the preschool. "The students were a great group, very motivated," says Bainum. "They asked lots of questions and took initiative on their projects." Students also had two electives to choose from. The first was an option in "Exploring Physics." In this elective, students took instruction from PUC physics professor Vola Andrianarijaona, especially focusing on the experiments and equations of Christian mathematician physicist James Clerk Maxwell and how the laws of nature...

This year's Digital Art Photography course brought photographers of all levels to Pacific Union College's Albion Field Station on the Mendocino Coast, as it has for several years now. The one-week session was offered twice in July. The course, says Albion director and photography instructor Gibby Muth, "is for people who want to learn the techniques of good 
photography, how to properly manipulate their photos on the computer, how to 
display their work and how to better understand how to use their camera." Photographers at any level can join the class - all they need is a digital camera and willingness to learn. "We
get individuals who are very knowledgeable in all these areas who come to be 
with others of like interests, as well as rank beginners," says Muth. "Our goal is to help 
them become more proficient." This year, teachers Marlowe Burgess, Farrel Brizendine, and Muth each took a different branch of instruction. Burgess worked with photographers who wanted to become more proficient working with images in Photoshop; Farrel taught photographic techniques; and Muth taught beginners the basics of working with images. The group would shoot early in the morning, have a lecture after breakfast, and then shoot again...

Pacific Union College's graduates from the last few years are making their place in communities around the world. Here's a sampling of destinations and niches. To read about others, go to our earlier Out of PUC feature. Elisabeth Reeves, '08, is working on her master's in forensic science through the University of California, Davis extension program. She rides her bicycle to such classes as "Analysis of Toxicants" and "Scientific Evidence and Courtroom Testimony." She's also doing a research internship on Organic Gun Shot Residue for the Sacramento County District Attorney's Crime Lab. And in her spare time, she's breaking in her sewing machine. Morgan (Vogel) Chinnock, '07,is a consultant in grant writing for Morrison & Company, where she works on grant proposals and has spent the last nine months building an online green grant subscription database and notification service. She also recently finished ghostwriting the autobiography of a gentleman who grew up in Germany during WWII, had his village invaded by the Russian army, and spent his life searching for fulfillment, only to find God's love in Adventism in the early '90s. Morgan also finds time for such adventures as a recent trip to Ethiopia with her husband to work...

On July 17, 2009, the Pacific Union College Board of Trustees announced that Dr. Heather J. Knight, currently the provost of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, has been named the new president of Pacific Union College. She will begin her role as president in mid-September, in time for the new academic year. Dr. Knight received her Ph.D. in English from Stanford University, her master's degree in English from Loma Linda University, and her bachelor's degree in English from Oakwood University. She also completed postdoctoral studies at Harvard University in management and leadership in education. An accomplished academic administrator, Dr. Knight served with distinction for 18 years at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where she was a professor of English, assistant provost, and then associate provost. As provost at Andrews University, Dr. Knight served as second officer, providing administrative and academic leadership and managing the day-to-day operations of the university. During her three years at Andrews University, Dr. Knight successfully developed and implemented a new strategic plan, integrated budget and planning priorities, increased enrollment and student selectivity, and strengthened leadership in all areas of campus life. She oversaw the development of new programs, processes, and campus facilities...

Lisa Breckenridge interviews celebrities for a living, on television, in the largest media market in the United States. She is entertainment and lifestyle anchor for Fox Los Angeles's 11 Morning News, the Fox 11 News at 10 a.m., and the Fox 11 News at Noon and occasional stand-in for the anchors of these shows as well as the hugely popular Los Angeles morning show Good Day LA. It's a pretty heady job for someone who claims she was the boring kid at Pacific Union College. "I was the kid who never wanted to get into trouble!" she says, laughing. "I was the one who was always in bed by 8 o'clock." Her only shenanigan, she says, was during her 1986 campaign for Student Association Social Vice President, when she dropped her skirt onstage as part of a skit about not resorting to sensational gimmicks to win the election. She's come a long way since then. There have been no recorded "wardrobe malfunctions" at any of her jobs on live television. She has also stepped into a life that could be described as a little less boring. "Whether I am on the red carpet getting a kiss from George Clooney or...

Summertime at the Albion Field Station is a refuge for aspiring artists of all ages, occupations and abilities. Started by former Pacific Union College professor of art Vernon Nye some 42 years ago, the Summer School of Art at convenes at Albion each summer, teaching courses in oil painting, watercolor painting, and acrylic painting, with an additional class in digital photography added more recently. The painting program runs for two weeks each June - this year, it ran June 14-26 - with the digital photography course offered in July. "The art camp is designed for individuals who want to study with professional 
artists as well as a tradition of artists coming together for two weeks of 
doing what they like and learning from one another," says Gilbert Muth, field station director and a long-time supporter of Albion's programs. It's also a chance for artists of all levels to come together for relaxation and spiritual nourishment. The participants of the painting courses are instructed how to portray a variety of natural landscapes through their brush strokes. A typical day begins with the group traveling together to one of the many breathtaking vistas surrounding Albion and the Mendocino Coast. The instructors (John...

It's obvious that something very important is going on in Fisher Hall, home of Pacific Union College's art department. Here and there throughout the large open classroom, little groups of people are huddled around laptops and elaborate mechanical setups, gesturing and poking, arguing and collaborating in hushed but hurried voices. Each little cluster is a buzzing frenzy of tension and activity. And then moments later, they step back and unleash their creations: robots designed to rescue the planet. Robots built out of Lego blocks. It's a summer workshop called Lego Robotics, and this is the first time the four-day course has been offered at PUC. The class teaches current and future middle school educators how to participate-and get their students involved in-a national organization called FIRST Lego League. The league holds regional and national competitions where student teams design, build, and program innovative robots based on Lego Mindstorms NXT Intelligent Brick robotics platform. The robots are then tested on a standard course to complete a timed set of functions. Rick Nelson, a teacher at Chico Oaks Adventist School in Chico, California, is presenting the workshop. He and students from his school have been involved in FIRST Lego League (FIRST stands...

Every week the Oakland Grand Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church engages the community with a street ministry of healing. Led by church member Milton Hare, the ministry seeks out the needy and marginalized. The Pacific Union College Theology Club recently heard about Hare's work and decided to get involved. After their first trip to Oakland last May, senior theology major and club president William Wheeler pledged the club's continued involvement in the future. "As theology majors, our ministry starts now, not on graduation day," he says. "Milton's ministry is a perfect opportunity because it gives us a chance not only to further our ministry, but also to learn first hand how exceptional street ministry is done." The day before the ministry sets out, church members and volunteers pack around 250 lunches and gather donated clothes, blankets and basic hygiene kits. The following evening they pile into vans and distribute everything. The group drives through the streets, offering supplies to everyone they encounter. Oftentimes the group will pray with the people. It is in this way that the church builds community outside of the church construct and congregation. Many of the PUC students who went last May were amazed by Hare's ability...

Summer has begun at Pacific Union College, and the campus during the vacation season has changed dramatically from the noise and activity of the main school year. The mountainside is hushed by the exodus of most students from campus, and it's a rare spectacle even to see two or more of them together in one place. But students are still here, and summer classes are in session. Despite the season, all across campus lectures are being taught, discussions are being engaged in, and homework is being assigned. And like the atmosphere around campus, summer session can be very different than the school year proper. Some teachers give their students a chance to relax a little during the summer session. "During the summer, I take a bit more casual approach in order to give students enough time to complete the readings and write the research paper," says history professor Amy Rosenthal. She is currently teaching an upper-division seminar on social deviancy in Victorian England, and finds that the summer session offers both challenges and opportunities in the class. "One of the biggest challenges to teaching a course like this in the summer is the short time frame. I have to choose...

The 285 graduates of Pacific Union College's Class of 2009 marched the final leg of their undergraduate career on Sunday, June 14, in Commencement Grove. The president and academic dean gave 294 degrees (with 84 academic distinctions or honors), as well as granting two honorary doctorates and honoring aviation program director William Price and business department chair Richard Voth as Professors Emeriti. Various programs, dedications, and meet-and-greets take place during the entirety of Graduation Weekend, but the focal point of the affair is Sunday morning in the wooded area known as Commencement Grove, at the top of the hill. Family members arrived not long after a chilly dawn to save the best seats. As graduates began to gather near McReynolds Hall to line up, the most common activities were the adjusting of hats and the snapping of photos, while questions included "Where do the faculty line up?" "Do you sell hot chocolate?" "Where are the leis being sold?" and "Honey, where's your camera?" Although graduation is a time of some pomp and seriousness, students always make it a personally meaningful event. "Not For Sale" lettered on one cap celebrated the cause that students raised $10,000 for two years ago. Pink...