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| New Faces Arrive at PUC
By Landon Bennett
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As renovations change the face of many areas on campus, another
change occurs behind the scenes, one that makes an institution like
Pacific Union College really great: new faces. The new “arrivees”
bring with them a wide array of personalities, talents, and experiences.
Here’s the scoop:
Tim Mitchell has filled the long-awaited senior
pastor position for the PUC Church. Pastor Mitchell is no stranger
to Angwin, having graduated from PUC in 1976 with a B.A. in theology.
He went on to Andrews University to get his master of divinity in
1979. Coming to PUC from the Sunnyvale Adventist Church, where he
pastored for 15 years, his warmth and enthusiasm are truly appreciated
by the students and college community. Tim was born in Fresno and
pastored in Sonora, Turlock and Orosi. Tim’s family includes
his wife, Carleen, and two sons, Brent and Tyler. Carleen works
as a medical administrator. Brent is a sophomore at PUC, while younger
brother Tyler attends high school at PUC Preparatory School.
Truly part of an international family, reference librarian Gilbert
Abella, has attended 16 schools on four continents and
is fluent in three languages, thanks to his Portuguese family who
served as missionaries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the
United States. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees
in history from Loma Linda University. In 1983 he earned a second
master’s degree in library science from the University of
Southern California. He has a very wide background in librarianship,
has made numerous presentations at professional meetings, and has
been widely published. While Gilbert was attending Middle East College
in Lebanon, he met his wife, Hana, who is from Syria. Gilbert and
his wife have a 22-year-old daughter, Lena, who is attending Loma
Linda University.
Bringing a woman’s touch to the art department is Jody
Sears-Barbuta, assistant professor. Her double major in
fine arts and biology prepared her for her previous position with
the U.S. Department of Water Resources as a fish and wildlife lecturer
and scientific aid. She also holds a master of fine art in sculpture
and has taught in the art departments at CSU Stanislaus and UC Berkeley.
Jody became a newly-wed in June to Cornel Barbuta, a cardiac ICU
nurse, whom Jody describes as “a dashing fella from Romania.”
Kent Davis joins the chemistry team at PUC as an
assistant professor. He comes from Trinity College in Washington,
D.C. Kent completed his doctorate in physical chemistry at Indiana
University and has subsequently been involved in teaching, doing
research, publishing, and presenting material at various symposia.
Kent is married to Rachelle, who graduated from PUC in ’94
with a bachelor’s degree in music. She completed her master’s
degree in violin performance at Indiana University and is currently
completing her dissertation in violin performance at the University
of Texas in Austin. Rachelle will be teaching violin part-time in
PUC’s Paulin Center for the Creative Arts. She has been an
assistant professor of music at Columbia Union College and assistant
director of the New England Youth Ensemble. The Davis’ have
a newborn son, Ethan.
Floyd Hayes, associate professor, comes as the
newest addition to the biology department. He previously worked
as a wildlife biologist for the Division of Fish and Wildlife in
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Traveling is second nature to Floyd,
having visited 28 foreign countries and having lived 13 years abroad.
He has taught at the University of the West Indies and Caribbean
Union College. Bound to be PUC’s resident bird expert, Floyd
wrote his doctoral dissertation on the birds of Paraguay and has
published a book and several articles on ornithology. Floyd has
been married for 15 years to his wife, Marta; they have an 11-year-old
son, Brett.Enthusiastic about sharing her love for languages and
culture, Carolyn Snipes-Hoyt, assistant professor, returns to her
birth state to share her fervor with the students and faculty of
PUC’s modern languages department. Carolyn holds both bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in French and German and a doctorate
in French. She has taught at Canadian University College, University
of Lethbridge, Middle Georgia College and the University of Alberta,
all in Canada. She has published several journal articles and presented
numerous conference papers in Canada, the United States and Britain.
Carolyn and her husband, John, worked as missionaries in Rwanda
for six and a half years, during which they both taught in French.
John is the brother of Nancy Hoyt Lecourt, chair of PUC’s
English department. John is a recognized artist, holds a doctorate
degree in education, and has taught as a professor of art and education
at Canadian University College.
Life at PUC should present no surprises to Julius Nam,
who has already lived 30 of his 35 years on Adventist college campuses.
Having served as a pastor, editor, teacher, and ministry group director,
Julius will now be teaching as an assistant professor in the religion
department at PUC. Julius is a Ph.D. candidate at Andrews University.
He has been published in several journals, both in English and Korean,
and has presented papers at various meetings. Julius has lived in
Korea, the Philippines, the United States, and Europe. His wife
Iris is an elementary school teacher and according to Julius, “one
mean iron chef.” Their two children, Sherwin, 9, and Ansel,
8, both hold black belts in Taekwondo.
Coming back to her alma mater to join the history department as
an assistant professor is Amy Rebok Rosenthal.
Amy returns from Indiana University where she completed her master’s
in history and is currently working on her doctoral dissertation.
She also taught in the history department at IU. Amy and her husband
Greg celebrated their one year wedding anniversary in July.
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