Faculty

With a student-teacher ratio of 12:1, your professors will know you. They’re invested in helping you succeed. As you work towards your career goals, you will find your professors become more—they become your mentors who can help you along your journey, and ones you can still get advice from years after graduation.

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Jason St. Clair

Jason St. Clair, M.S.

Associate Librarian

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Jason St. Clair
Tel: 1-707-965-6640
Email: jstclair@puc.edu
Office: Library, Upper Level

Jason St. Clair, M.S.

Faculty Since 2017

Associate Librarian


Degrees

B.A., Walla Walla University

2005

M.S., Drexel University

2008

Backil Sung

Backil Sung, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Biology

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Backil Sung
Tel: 1-707-965-6633
Email: bsung@puc.edu
Office: Clark Hall 303

Backil Sung, M.D., Ph.D.

Faculty Since 2012

Professor of Biology

Dr. Backil Sung has been at PUC since 2012. He has degrees in medicine (M.D.), physiology (M.S.), and medical biotechnology (Ph.D). He has authored or co-authored 39 scientific papers in neuroscience, mainly in the area of pain mechanisms. He has also authored two book chapters, and frequently goes on medical mission trips. He teaches Neurobiology, Microbiology, Medical Microbiology and Biological Foundations.


Degrees

M.M.S., Korea University

1997

Ph.D., Korea University

1999

Nathan Tasker

Nathan Tasker, M.A.

Aviation Administrator

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Nathan Tasker
Email: ntasker@puc.edu
Office: PUC Flight Center

FAA Accomplishments:

  • Airline Transport Pilot -MEL
  • Commercial Pilot Privileges -SEL, Glider
  • Flight Instructor: SEL/MEL, Instrument Rating
  • Ground Instructor: Advanced/Instrument
  • Mechanic: Airframe and Powerplant
  • Type Ratings: Westwind IA-Jet 1124, Airbus 320 Series

Nathan Tasker, M.A.

Faculty Since 2001

Aviation Administrator

Nathan grew up in the South Pacific Islands, surrounded by missionary aviation and World War II history. He began flight training in New Zealand as a missionary kid and completed his training at Andrews University, Michigan. He paid for his flight training by working as an aircraft mechanic for United Express.
PUC invited Nathan to lead the aviation program from June 2001 to June 2006. He and his wife Janel stepped forward from PUC to open up an internship pathway for PUC students, which was not successful due to the civil war. He flew an Air ambulance for 12 years based in Australia, including nearly 10 years at the iconic Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, before returning to the USA as an airline pilot and new-hire simulator instructor for the Airbus 320 series.
Nathan is very blessed by his awesome wife Janel, incredible son, Stephen, and talented daughter, Hannah, who loves Jesus Christ with all their hearts.


Degrees

B.Tech Aviation Flight and Maintenance, Andrews University

2000

M.A. Christian Apologetics, Biola University

2016

PhD. Philosophy- Ancient Skepticism, Avondale University

2020 (not completed)

Thesis Title: “Ezekiel’s credibility: A seedbed dilemma?”


Catherine Tetz

Catherine Tetz, Ph.D. - Chair

Associate Professor of English

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Catherine Tetz
Email: ctetz@puc.edu
Office: Stauffer Hall 101

Catherine Tetz, Ph.D. - Chair

Faculty Since 2019

Associate Professor of English

Catherine Tetz specializes in transatlantic literature with an emphasis on women and gender studies. Her work focuses primarily on women writers in the early twentieth century, and she is particularly interested in how künstlerroman and roman á clef genres were reappropriated by women writers at the height of literary modernism. She has presented work at the Modernist Studies Association’s annual conference, as well as the International Virginia Woolf conference. She teaches classes in poetry, fiction, and both American and English modernism.


Degrees

Washington State University

2014

Miami University

2020

Tamara Tirado

Tamara Tirado, D.N.P., R.N., F.N.P., C.N.E

Professor of Nursing

Profile
Tamara Tirado
Tel: 1-707-965-7625
Email: ttirado@puc.edu
Office: Davidian Hall 209

Tamara Tirado, D.N.P., R.N., F.N.P., C.N.E

Faculty Since 2008

Professor of Nursing

Tamara Tirado has worked in healthcare since 1998, as a Certified Nurses Aid and Registered Nurse in rehab and acute care. She has also been a medical clinic manager, diabetes coordinator, public health nurse at a tribal health clinic, and a family nurse practitioner. She loves music, hiking, biking, scuba diving, traveling, and spending time with family.


Degrees

A.S. Pacific Union College

2000

B.S.N., Pacific Union College

2001

M.S., Sonoma State University

2004

Melissa Toma

Melissa Toma, F.N.P, R.N.

Adjunct Professor of Nursing

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Melissa Toma
Email: mtoma@puc.edu

Melissa Toma, F.N.P, R.N.

Adjunct Professor of Nursing


Tuwan Ussery White

Tuwan Ussery White, M.S.W, M.A.P.M.

Assistant Professor of Social Work & Director of Field Experience

Profile
Tuwan Ussery White
Tel: 1-707-965-6533
Email: tuwhite@puc.edu
Office: 109 Davidian Hall

Tuwan Ussery White, M.S.W, M.A.P.M.

Faculty Since 2021

Assistant Professor of Social Work & Director of Field Experience

Tuwan Ussery earned his master's in social work and pastoral ministry from Andrews University. Prior to coming to PUC, Tuwan instructed behavioral sciences courses at SAU & Belhaven University and pastored in Atlanta. Those interests have continued at PUC as Tuwan currently serves in the psychology and social work department, and he continues to preach itinerantly for church groups on topics of social justice and community empowerment.

In addition to teaching, Tuwan serves as diversity, equity and inclusion officer & director of service learning. Professional affiliations include the National Association of Black Social Workers & National Youth and Leadership Conference for Service Learning.

Tuwan enjoys spending family time with his wife and their four kids, and his favorite Bible verse is John 10:10: I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.


Degrees

M.S.W., Andrews University

2007

M.A.P.A., Andrews University

2014

Robin Vance

Robin Vance, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology

Profile
Robin Vance
Tel: 1-707-965-6227
Email: rvance@puc.edu
Office: Clark Hall 120

Robin Vance, Ph.D.

Faculty Since 2001

Professor of Biology

Robin E. Vance, Ph.D., professor, has taught at PUC since 2001. He specializes in physiology and neurobiology. Dr. Vance's research interests include Antimutagenesis & Anticarcinogenesis, and he advises in the areas of biology and medicine. He taught at Union College for twelve years and chaired their Division of Science & Mathematics from 1996 to 2000. He enjoys tennis, walking and snorkeling.


Degrees

B.S., Loma Linda University

1981

M.S., Loma Linda University

1984

Ph.D., Loma Linda University

1988

Debra Wallace

Debra Wallace, M.S.N., R.N, C.N.E.

Director of LVN/Med Tech/EMT-P to RN Off Campus Programs, BRN Assistant Director

Profile
Debra Wallace
Tel: 1-707-965-7627
Email: dwallace@puc.edu
Office: Davidian Hall 116

Debra Wallace, M.S.N., R.N, C.N.E.

Faculty Since 1997

Director of LVN/Med Tech/EMT-P to RN Off Campus Programs, BRN Assistant Director

Debra Wallace has worked in management her entire career as a nurse, her first job as a women’s health clinic coordinator. She has led out in discharge planning, wellness health screenings, and directed a home health care agency. Working in academics was never something that entered her mind early in her career but has become her true passion since being at PUC 25+ years. Debra is the Director of PUC’s Med Tech/LVN to RN programs and loves working with our off-campus, non-traditional students. It is extremely rewarding to help Med Techs/LVNs reach their RN goal while balancing work, family, military, and other life obligations. She loves hunkering down with a good book, watching movies, gardening, interior design, and spending time with family and friends. Her favorite get-away is to Little River Inn in Mendocino.


Degrees

A.S., Walla Walla Community College

1978

B.S., Walla Walla College

1981

MSN, University of Phoenix

2003

James Wibberding

James Wibberding, D.Min. - Chair

Professor of Applied Theology and Biblical Studies

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James Wibberding
Tel: 1-707-965-6513
Email: jwibberding@puc.edu
Office: Graf Hall 10

James Wibberding, D.Min. - Chair

Faculty Since 2017

Professor of Applied Theology and Biblical Studies

Jim Wibberding specializes in Applied Theology and Biblical Studies. He is passionate about building up the God-created potential in others. Jim served as a pastor for seventeen years in Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Washington before joining the faculty of the Theology Department in 2017. While pastoring, he enjoyed training lay pastors, serving a term as Chaplain of the Idaho Senate, acting in Bible and Reformation stage plays, and finding innovative ways to translate the Adventist Message to our changing world. Jim also serves as Adjunct Professor to the Doctor of Ministry Program at Andrews University. In his recreational time, you might find him playing outdoors with his three children, chatting with his wife Laura about a new intellectual curiosity, working on his ’55 Chevy Station Wagon, or building a stringed instrument from reclaimed wood.


Degrees

B.A., Southern Adventist University

2000

M.Div., Andrews University

2004

D.Min., Andrews University

2010

Laura Wibberding

Laura Wibberding, M.A.

Assistant Professor of Theology, History and Psychology & Social Work

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Laura Wibberding
Email: lwibberding@puc.edu
Office: Irwin Hall 211

Laura Wibberding, M.A.

Faculty Since 2022

Assistant Professor of Theology, History and Psychology & Social Work


Degrees

M.A. Andrews University Theological Seminary

2004

B.A. Southern Adventist University

2000

Karl Wilcox

Karl Wilcox, Ph.D.

Walter C. Utt Professor of History, Director of the Utt Center

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Karl Wilcox, Ph.D.

Faculty Since 2022

Walter C. Utt Professor of History, Director of the Utt Center


Degrees

Ph.D. English, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

2005

Masters Philosophy, University of St. Andrews, Scotland

1991

Grad. Diploma in Medieval Studies. University of St. Andrews, Scotland

1988

B.A. History and English. Newbold College, England

1986

Robert Wilson

Robert Wilson, Ph.D.

Professor of Chemistry

Profile
Robert Wilson
Tel: 1-707-965-7603
Email: rlwilson@puc.edu
Office: Chan Shun Hall 341

Robert Wilson, Ph.D.

Faculty Since 2012

Professor of Chemistry

Robert L. Wilson, Ph.D. specializes in analytical and inorganic chemistry. His graduate research focused on the lipid and protein organization within the cell membrane. He currently teaches general, analytical, and inorganic chemsitry and laboratory glassblowing. He enjoys playing boardgames, making glass beads, and camping.


Degrees

B.S., Andrews University

2007

Ph.D., University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

2012

Ross Winkle

Ross Winkle, Ph.D.

Professor of New Testament

Profile
Ross Winkle
Tel: 1-707-965-6516
Email: rwinkle@puc.edu
Office: Graf Hall 14

FAA Accomplishments:

“Voice of God.”  In The Encyclopedia of Ellen G. White, ed. Jerry Moon and Denis Fortin, 1253-57.  Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 2013.

“Resistance Is Not Futile: Restraint as Cultic Action in 2 Thessalonians 2.”  Presentation to the Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement Section, Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Baltimore, MD, November 23, 2013.

“The calkoli,banw| Conundrum in Revelation.”  Presentation to the Apocalyptic Literature Section, International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, St. Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom, July 9, 2013.

“The Atonement and the Restrainer.”  Presentation to the Adventist Theological Society, Spring Symposium on the Atonement, Campus Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, Loma Linda, CA, April 20, 2013.

“Apocalyptic Optics: The Ancient Extramission Theory of Vision and John’s Apocalypse.”  Presentation to the Sensory Perception in the Bible and Early Judaism and Christianity Consultation, Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Francisco, CA, November 19, 2011.

“Armed with the Censer Containing Weaponized Incense: Censer and Incense as Articles of Dress for the High Priest.”  Presentation to the Levites and Priests in History and Tradition Consultation, Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Francisco, CA, November 19, 2011.

"Creation and Tabernacle, Sabbath and Glory." Presentation to the Sabbath in Text, Tradition, and Theology Consultation, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, November 24, 2008, with a formal response by Dr. Baruch Schwartz of the Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies at Hebrew University, Israel.

"'You Are What You Wear': The Dress and Identity of Jesus as High Priest in John's Apocalypse." Presentation to the Sacrifice, Cult, and Atonement Consultation, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, November 18, 2007.

"Iridescence in Ezekiel," Andrews University Seminary Studies 44 (Spring 2006): 51-77.

"'You Are What You Wear': The Dress and Identity of Jesus in John's Apocalypse." Presentation to the Second International Bible Conference, Izmir, Turkey, July 11, 2006.

"The Rainbow and the Mighty Angel in the Apocalypse of John: Meteorological Spectacle, or Iridescent Clothing Imagery?" Presentation to the Apocalyptic Literature Section, Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, July 5, 2006.

"Discord in Heaven: Could This Be the End of the 'Emerald Rainbow'?" Presentation to the Chicago Society for Biblical Research, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, April 16, 2005.

"Adventism, Gnosticism, and The Matrix." Presentation to the Faculty at Union College, Lincoln, Nebraska, February 18, 2005.

"Disappearing Act: Hiram Edson's Cornfield Experience," Spectrum 33 (Winter 2005): 46-51.

Review of Crispin H. T. Fletcher-Louis, All the Glory of Adam: Liturgical Anthropology in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Studies in the Texts of the Desert of Judah, ed. F. García Martínez, vol. 42 [Leiden: Brill, 2002], Andrews University Seminary Studies 42 (2004): 231-36.

"Embracing Wonderland: Chasing Gnosticism Down the 'Rabbit-Hole' of The Matrix." Presentation to the Nag Hammadi and Gnosticism Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, November 22, 2004.

"Disappearing Act: The Mighty Acts of God Within Adventism and the Problematic Case of Hiram Edson's Cornfield Experience." Presentation to the Adventist Society for Religious Studies, Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, November 19, 2004.

Ross Winkle, Ph.D.

Faculty Since 2005

Professor of New Testament

Professor Ross E. Winkle teaches biblical studies. He has a professional focus in the New Testament and wrote his doctoral dissertation was on clothing imagery in the book of Revelation. He is a member of the Andrews Society for Religious Studies, Society of Biblical Literature, and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He has received several PUC Faculty Development Research and Honors awards as well as two Herber Faculty Development Awards. He has been a student missionary in Tokyo, Japan, a chaplain in Portland, Ore., and a pastor for thirteen years in three successive church districts in Oregon. He is an ordained minister and occasionally leads adult Sabbath School discussions on campus and preaches in surrounding churches. He is married to Darla, a health professional, and they have three children: Tristan, Elise, and Alexis.


Degrees

B.A., Walla Walla College

1983

M.Div., Andrews University Theological Seminary

1987

Ph.D., Andrews University

2012

Aimee Wyrick-Brownworth

Aimee Wyrick-Brownworth, M.Sc.

Dean of School of Sciences, Associate Professor of Biology

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Aimee Wyrick-Brownworth
Tel: 1-707-965-6636
Email: awyrick@puc.edu
Office: Clark Hall 315

Aimee Wyrick-Brownworth, M.Sc.

Faculty Since 2004

Dean of School of Sciences, Associate Professor of Biology

Aimee Wyrick, associate professor, specializes in ecology, herpetology and paleontology. She advises in biology, pre-dentistry and pre-dental hygiene. Her research interests include physical and biological influences on the Columbia spotted frog and plant taphonomy. Aimee has also worked as a research coordinator, instructor, and course coordinator for the University of Montana. Her other interests include gourmet cooking (with produce from her own garden), national parks, camping and hiking, road trips, and world music – all enjoyed with her husband, Greg.


Degrees

B.S., Pacific Union College

1996

M.S., Loma Linda University

1998

M.S., University of Montana

2004

Ronnie Zanella

Ronnie Zanella

Assistant Professor of Music

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Ronnie Zanella,

Assistant Professor of Music


Benjamin Zinke

Benjamin Zinke, Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor of Psychology

Profile
Benjamin Zinke
Tel: 1-707-965-6534
Email: azinke@puc.edu
Office: Davidian Hall

Benjamin Zinke, Ph.D.

Faculty Since 2021

Adjunct Professor of Psychology

Dr. Zinke (Dr. Z) received a PhD in Family Studies from Loma Linda University in 2012 and has been a licensed marriage and family therapist since 2013. He worked as a child custody mediator at the San Bernardino Court for the past seven years. Additionally, he has been an adjunct professor at La Sierra University teaching undergraduate psychology classes since 2018. His prior experience includes nine years providing CPS mandated, low SES and diverse clients with individual, couples and family therapy as well as anger management, parenting and co-parenting classes. During the 2020 lockdown, he started an online business as a financial coach to empower people to reduce their financial stress.


Degrees

Bachelors in Social Work, La Sierra

2003

Masters in Marital and Family Therapy, Loma Linda

2006

PhD in Family Studies, Loma Linda

2012