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On Friday morning, July 16, at approximately 8:40 a.m., an airplane crashed into Abreu Vineyard near Parrett Field Airport in Angwin. Henry Wofford, Napa County Sheriff PIO, confirmed three individuals were onboard the plane, though no information about the individuals or their condition has been disclosed at this time.Parrett Field Airport is on the property of Pacific Union College (PUC) where it was established in March 1961. Jiwoo Yoon, assistant director of the airport flight center, reported that all PUC personnel and aircraft are accounted for.The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the plane crash.“The safety of the pilots and aviation students who use this airport is always a top priority and something we take very seriously here and in our program,” says Gabriel Navarro, flight instructor at PUC.This story will be updated with any additional details relevant to PUC as they become available.About PUCFor more than 130 years, PUC has prepared students to lead lives of significance and service to humanity. As an accredited Seventh-day Adventist Christian liberal arts college, PUC will provide you with all the advantages of a larger university—a strong academic reputation; over 70 degrees and programs; cutting edge research; classes...

Pacific Union College (PUC) has released a new Vision for the Future that details the college’s extensive plans for the years to come. This vision will expand the college’s reach, make higher education accessible to a wider range of students, and ensure PUC’s future as a leader in the Christian college marketplace.“It is critical that we look to the future with both optimism and realism,” said Gene Edelbach, PUC’s Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing, and Communication. “Higher education is in a state of dramatic decline, and unfortunately that includes Seventh-day Adventist Christian education. Instead of following an old model of operation that will continue to show us diminishing results, we are choosing reinvention. We will expand, adapt, and innovate to reach more students, including those who require a less traditional path, while remaining true to our commitment to Christianity, Adventism, and the quality of our PUC education.”The focus of PUC’s Vision for the Future includes four main areas: academic offerings, the Angwin campus, education centers, and online offerings.Academic OfferingsTo meet the needs of today’s college students, PUC is building on the strengths of its rich academic history to innovate Liberal Arts and shape a more career-focused education. A shift is...

Dr. Ralph Trecartin has been selected by the Pacific Union College Board of Trustees to be the next president of Pacific Union College. He will begin his role as president on July 1, 2021, and will be the college’s twenty-fourth president in its 138-year history.“Dr. Trecartin is joining the PUC family at a very important time,” said Bradford Newton, board chair and executive secretary of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. “The college has launched a new Vision for the future, and we believe Dr. Trecartin is the leader this school needs to move this plan forward.”Trecartin currently serves as the associate provost and dean of the College of Professionals for Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan and has served in higher education for over 30 years. Trecartin received his PhD in finance from Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business, his MBA from Andrews University, and his bachelor’s degree in Theology at Atlantic Union College. Prior to joining the administrative team at Andrews University, he spent 18 years in various academic and administrative roles at The College of Brockport, State University of New York. As Executive Director and then Assistant Provost of International Education at Brockport, he...

Pacific Union College (PUC) was recently awarded a Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant from the USDA worth $210,392. Only four of these grants were awarded within the entire state of California with the intention of connecting rural communities with services and opportunities through telecommunications.PUC will use these funds to purchase equipment and provide more opportunities for distance learning courses and career counseling in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in particular. “We are very grateful for the award and its timing,” said David Rai, PUC’s Director of Technology and Innovation. “As we move forward with a new vision for PUC, a substantial investment like this shows that we are moving in the right direction to meet needs that are relevant to students now. This grant is helping us put our technology plans into action so that remote instruction and career counseling is accessible to more students.”The college’s plans for the funds currently include installing cutting-edge video and broadcast technology across PUC’s Angwin campus and providing equipment for a new, state-of-the-art broadcast studio in Fisher Hall, home to the college’s department of visual arts. The studio will be used to record and deliver innovative content for remote classes, workshops, and...

Students from Pacific Union College recently visited Howell Mountain Elementary School (HME), a local public school, to teach second and third grade students all about monarch butterflies and to get them hands-on in the learning process!The students discussed the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, including the importance of milkweed as nutrition and as a habitat crucial for monarch reproduction.“The HME project was a great opportunity for these college students to connect with the elementary kids,” said Professor Aimee Wyrick, chair of PUC’s department of biology. “It reminds them of the amazing curiosity that kids have about the world around them – gives college students an additional excitement or “spark” when they see the schoolkids enjoying the experience. The PUC students were also impressed with the HME elementary students – they were very engaged in asking/answering questions. College students also get a chance to practice their interpersonal and leadership skills – directing the session and interacting with each other and a wide range of students.”The kids were enthusiastic learners and the PUC students on hand were happy to answer question after question. One item that got a lot of attention was the fact that milkweed is poisonous to animals like...

PUC’s department of nursing is working in our community to provide health services in partnership with Adventist Health St. Helena and St. Helena Hospital Foundation Mobile Health Unit. Not only are the students making a difference and increasing their knowledge, but they are also getting unique, hands-on experience on the front lines of a pandemic. In addition to performing COVID-19 tests throughout the months of the crisis, the students are also now administering long-awaited vaccinations to healthcare workers. Guadalupe Gomez is just one of the students involved who has chosen to enter a career of service as a ​registered nurse. Before coming to PUC, Gomez worked in the hospitality industry as a cook, baker, and cake decorator for large corporations. “Working for large ​companies, I found it was all about the numbers ​and the bottom line; where I truly found joy was in helping others,” says Gomez. Gomez decided to go back to college to become a nurse. “​After completing my prerequisites, I prayed for a way forward in the next steps of my education and felt that God answered those prayers in the form of a chance meeting with a PUC alumnus. It was the Christ led education that...

It was recently announced that Pacific Union College President Bob Cushman will be leaving PUC at the end of this school year. On behalf of the entire PUC community, we want to thank President Dr. Cushman for his tireless efforts on behalf of our beloved PUC, our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and greater SDA constituency. We are grateful for Bob's years of service and dedication to Adventist education, even beyond those years at PUC."Bob has always approached his various roles in education with a servant heart and he brought that same spirit to his role at PUC and for that we will always be grateful," said Dr. Bradford Newton, Pacific Union Conference Executive Secretary and Chair of the PUC Board of Trustees. "As we look toward PUC's future, our board continues to be confident that PUC has a bright future ahead of us as we seek to prepare students for their life's calling and career path ahead. We believe that we have a strong administrative leadership team at PUC and are certain they will continue to drive a positive future for the campus, bringing us enrollment and programmatic growth, strong financial stewardship and new and exciting opportunities."While there may be...

This November, PUC’s Walter C. Utt Center for Adventist History received “Approved” accreditation status from the General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research (ASTR). This accreditation is the second highest rank that is possible to achieve and will last until 2025.To earn the status of “Approved,” an archive must pass with minimum scores in three areas: staffing and oversight, physical location and preservation, and policies. After a site visit in March to evaluate these three areas, the accreditation team at ASTR submitted a report to the Utt Center outlining commendations and recommendations alongside a final status of “Approved.” Accreditors particularly commended the Utt Center for “the high standards attained in managing these collections,” while PUC Administration was commended for supporting the Utt Center through the construction of the new library wing. They added that this new special collections space and reading room, when completed, will be impressive, efficient, and in keeping with archival best practices.PUC’s Utt Center is named for influential Adventist historian Walter C. Utt, who taught at the college for thirty-four years and chaired the department of history. The center joins other institutions that hold General Conference Archives Accreditation, including the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews...

Pacific Union College (PUC) began classes this fall quarter with an increase in enrollment, breaking the nationwide trend of enrollment decreases. The college saw a 4% increase in overall headcount, while higher education institutions across the country saw an average 3.8% decrease.The census date headcount for fall 2020 stands at 966, compared to 929 last year, and is the first enrollment increase that PUC has seen in six years. This is especially notable because of the global COVID-19 pandemic that is putting a strain on schools. Although the causes of the increase are due to many factors, some of the more notable contributions to PUC’s increase can be tied to an increase in transfer students, nursing students, students from the local area, and former students who had taken a break but have now re-enrolled."I'm proud of the significant efforts done by our admissions and marketing teams, as well as the support they received from the entire campus to create this increase. During the 2019-2020 school year, Pacific Union College began a well-thought-out, three-year turnaround plan. This plan, supported by the board, employees, and administration, is beginning to yield results. These positive results not only represent the hard work of our...

The local evacuation order was lifted for the Angwin community on Tuesday and we are so happy to welcome our PUC family and neighbors back home! We are very blessed that our campus remained safe and untouched during the Glass Fire and are grateful for the amazing firefighters and other first responders who work so hard to keep our campus and community safe. Students who were residing on campus before the evacuation will be able to join us on campus again on Sunday, October 11 and have received details on the return to campus directly. PUC would like to thank everyone who said a prayer for us or made a donation to help support our displaced students families! ...