Until Graf Hall was built in 1911, PUC women lived in the Angwin Hotel. Once Graf was built, the women moved on and left the hotel building for the men—who had been sleeping in tents, cellars, and barn lofts! Named Graf Hall in 1932, the building was originally South Hall. It was the first new building added to the PUC campus after the site was purchased in 1909. Built with Angwin lumber by student, staff and faculty labor, Graf Hall remains a central building on campus. Ellen White, one of the school’s founders, frequently chose to stay in the second story, south front corner room of the hall when she visited campus. Formerly a graduation site and temporarily home to the school cafeteria, the gracious old building now houses female students on the second and third floors—sharing the basement with the religion department and the first floor with other academic offices. Twelve-foot ceilings, a wide central staircase, and a front porch swing make Graf a great home away from home.

If you are interested in living in Graf Hall or want more information about residence hall life at PUC, contact Graf Hall at (707) 965-6520 or Dean Gena Philpott at (707) 965-6522.

Meet Dean Philpott

PUC’s Graf Hall is a women’s residence populated largely by freshmen, so most of the new ladies on campus find themselves starting college in the welcoming hands of Dean Gena Philpott. “I love the eagerness of freshmen coming in,” says Philpott, who is starting her sixth year at PUC. “I feel that at that point in their life they’re probably the most impressionable, and so I really look for teachable moments.”

“A lot of times older students have already set what they’re going to do,” she says. “But when they first get here, they’re still making all their big decisions, and if they’re making bad decisions you actually have a chance during that first and second quarter to help steer them in a better direction. That’s the most rewarding thing.”

Her approach is greatly appreciated by most of the Graf residents.  She is known around the dorm to be understanding and genuinely concerned for each of the women in her charge.

It’s a role that offers both pressures and opportunities, but Philpott feels well equipped to handle both.  Both her parents were educators, and helped instill her with an ability to be both attentive to the needs of young students and resilient in the face of a demanding and highly visible job in education. “It takes a certain personality,” she says, “but I feel like I have a knack with young people.”

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Graf Hall