2018

Jordan Wareham graduated from Pacific Union College in 2004 with three separate degrees: a B.S. in aviation, a B.A. in international communication, and a B.A. in Spanish.As he headed into his final year at PUC, the college’s registrar asked Wareham if he was going to declare aviation as a major as he had only two more classes before earning the degree. “I never intended to pursue aviation as a degree,” he admits; “I intended to pursue a career in international development, but I kept enrolling in aviation classes because I really enjoyed them.” Even though it meant a few quarters of extra credits, Wareham decided to go through with it.Wareham always knew he would attend PUC, since his parents were professors at the college, but when it came time to make a real-life decision, the truth was he felt PUC was the best choice for him.“They gave me the most flexibility,” he says. “The only way I could complete three majors was to carefully schedule my classes; I don’t think I could have done that anywhere else. They had the right programs, the right classes, and they facilitated the plan of study I was looking for. It was absolutely the...

ANGWIN, California – Pacific Union College (PUC), the Land Trust of Napa County (LTNC), and CALFIRE are pleased to announce the permanent protection of 864 acres of priority forest land in Angwin, California. Working together, on Dec. 20 they closed a conservation easement (CE) on land currently owned by PUC. The forest will continue to belong to the college, but the easement will permanently eliminate the potential for residential, commercial, and agricultural development of the property.The PUC forest has been used by students, faculty, and the community for over 100 years, and the college wants to maintain and manage this use in the future. With this CE, the college will be able to ensure ongoing use of the forest for research, classes, and student projects.“PUC’s forest abuts both the 800-acre Las Posadas State Forest, and a Land Trust property,” explains Peter Lecourt, forest manager for the college. “This easement will create over 1,750 acres of contiguous protected land.”In recent years, PUC had considered selling their forest lands to generate funds to support their primary mission: education. The college changed course when it learned about the option of working with LTNC, the Wildlife Conservation Board, and CALFIRE to sell a CE...

Pacific Union College welcomes Pastor Kent Rufo as its new campus chaplain, a position he will assume on January 1, 2019. Pastor Rufo comes from Downers Grove Seventh-day Adventist Church in Illinois, where he has served as lead pastor since 2017. Joining Pastor Rufo in ministry to the PUC community is wife Anna, daughter Madison, and son Jadon.“Together with the Northern California Conference, we have been involved in an extensive search for a chaplain for over six months, having received applications from across the globe and reviewed over 100 candidates," explains Jennifer Tyner, vice president for student life, enrollment, and marketing. “We are very excited about the vision and passion Pastor Rufo will bring to PUC.” In his role as campus chaplain, Rufo will support the college in creating a vital and vibrant atmosphere for spiritual growth. Together with the Campus Ministries and Student Life team, he will promote students’ faith development by their engagement in worship, discipleship, and service. “My life was changed during college. I transferred to one of our sister schools from a state university. I had no intention of becoming a Christian. Two guys from my dorm adopted my roommate and me as ‘prayer targets.’ They...

On Thursday, Nov. 8, the Camp Fire, what is being billed as perhaps the most devastating fire in the state’s history, began ravaging Paradise, California. That same day, the East Avenue Church in Chico opened its doors to evacuees.“I arrived at the shelter on Friday afternoon, looking for a way to help,” says PUC alumna Kallie Griffin, who is now a pre-med student at California State University Chico. “I noticed a woman walking around in scrubs, so I introduced myself and asked how I could help.”As Griffin does not yet have any medical certifications, she was given the role of organizing and helping to lead the church-turned-shelter-turned-clinic. Over the ensuing four weeks, the church sheltered over 200 evacuees, most of them elderly, as Paradise has a high population of senior citizens.“We created a way of charting patients and ordering prescriptions with a Google Document, then created a way for us to internally communicate through walkie-talkies and a group chat,” Griffin explains. “As the days progressed, we were able to get more and more medical volunteers and were soon running a 24/7 clinic out of a gymnasium behind the church.”The clinic/shelter quickly grew to include six military tents, portable showers and...

Antonio Robles, member of the Men’s Cross Country team at Pacific Union College, has been selected for the Athlete Scholar Award by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Only around 50 student athletes across the U.S. were selected to receive this award, which recognizes students involved in an athletics program that participates in the NAIA, and who has a GPA over 3.5.“There are a lot of athletes doing great in school,” Robles says. “I am happy I was considered to be recognized with this award.”The junior biology major wasn’t expecting to hear anything from the NAIA once the season had ended, so receiving congratulations for an award just before he headed home for Thanksgiving was a nice surprise.“This award has given me motivation to keep going and excel academically,” he says. It isn’t easy being a student athlete; being part of the cross country team requires dedication even before the school year starts, and involves waking up at 6 a.m. for practice, then on race day driving over eight hours to run for a little over half an hour.“With this award, I feel like everything has been worth it,” Robles says. “Of course, my parents were happy and proud...

When the Wildlife Conservation Board announced their approval of PUC’s conservation easement proposal, a story ran in the Napa Register. This story prompted a call from Senator Bill Dodd to the office of PUC’s president, Bob Cushman, requesting a campus visit. That visit took place on Friday, Nov. 30. “The itinerary was a collaborative conversation about how best to accommodate PUC’s interest in sharing our story with our Napa Valley community, and his interests in a better understanding of who and what we do here at PUC,” Cushman explains. “It was an opportunity for him to interact with our students, as well, which we did our best to provide.”Dodd spent about three hours on the PUC campus with his field representative, Alex Pader. During this time, he visited with not only Cushman, but also Nancy Lecourt, academic dean, Brandon Parker, VP for financial administration, and Peter Lecourt, forest manager. Together they reviewed the college’s strategic plan framework, the campus physical master plan, the forest conservation easement, and the campus’ wildfire mitigation plan. Additionally, Dodd was able to speak to and have lunch with PUC Honors students.“Senator Dodd combined a bit of personal background with his talk, and focused on some...

In fall 2017, Aimee Wyrick, chair of the department of biology at Pacific Union College, received a phone call from Nancy Lecourt, academic dean and vice president for academic administration. She invited Wyrick to meet her outside the Angwin Post Office. “I was looking for ways to educate more people about the importance of native plants to insects and birds—the whole ecosystem,” says Lecourt.As the women walked around the planter box outside the brick building, they discussed the plants currently growing there. Most were invasive species, and the large Hollywood Juniper in the center of the box was in a dangerous position.“That tree is one of the most flammable plants used for landscaping,” explains Wyrick. “Plus, it was leaning toward a building and would eventually have been removed.”That quarter, Wyrick had students in her Native Plant Cultivation class begin mapping out a new garden for that space; one that would feature native species, making the garden a healthier option for the local ecosystem.One such student was Kari Stickle, a senior health sciences and Italian double major. As a passionate, self-proclaimed plant-lover, she not only produced many illustrations of the garden’s design, but also spent several hours outside of class weeding...

Pacific Union College is proud to introduce the Online Master of Business Administration program. This new program can be completed in as little as one year (dependent upon number of credits taken per term), and is tailored for working professionals.Offered in collaboration with Southern Adventist University, the MBA is 100 percent online, and offers a flexible schedule with multiple start dates (residency requirements; open to California and Hawai’i residents only). Small class sizes offer personalized attention, and students can expect to learn and grow under the guidance of faculty with rich, real-world experience.“One important thing to note about PUC’s online MBA is it is offered in a Christian philosophy that champions wisdom, faith, and service,” comments Victor Gaines, associate professor of business administration and online MBA program coordinator. It is also a program tailored to meet the demands of students’ professional and personal lives, designed specifically for professionals seeking to expand their knowledge and increase their career opportunities. To this end, a GMAT waiver is available based on evaluation of work experience and academic background. “The MBA is the next step for many professionals,” Gaines adds. “MBA graduates have endless possibilities, whether in a traditional business, like accounting management, or...

Pacific Union College’s department of music invites the community to their annual celebration of holiday music, Christmas on the Hill. The Wind Symphony concert is Saturday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. in Paulin Hall on the college campus. Choral and orchestra concerts will take place Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7 & 8 (repeated concert), at 8 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, in the PUC church.Admission to all events is free, though a free-will offering will be collected to support those most affected by the Camp Fire in Paradise.Asher Raboy, resident artist and Wind Symphony conductor, will lead the ensemble in their concert, “Holiday Favorites,” featuring various arrangements of familiar songs of the season. Pieces include “Joy to the World,” “Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella,” and the crowd-pleasing “Sleigh Ride” of Leroy Anderson. Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song” features saxophone soloist Kyler Martin.Peace is the focus of the Dec. 7 & 8 concerts, featuring PUC’s Chorale, Vox Pro Musica, Orchestra, and Bell Choir. This concert (repeated) will include several choruses from Handel’s “The Messiah,” high impact orchestral arrangements of traditional carols, congregational singing, readings, and more.“I used Maya Angelou’s ‘Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem’ for a lot of the readings,” explains...

Beginning in January 2019, Pacific Union College plans to begin work on an approximately 3-mile shaded fuel break to protect the Angwin community of 3,500 residents. With financial support from community members and alumni, the College plans to construct a shaded fuel break on a prominent ridge between Pope Valley and Angwin, running from Howell Mountain road to the Las Posadas State Forest. Angwin Volunteer Fire Department Chief J.R. Rogers explains, “A shaded fuel break is a great fire prevention measure that reduces fuel levels in key locations and helps to slow a fire’s rate of spread, giving us a defensible location so we can ultimately suppress the forward momentum of a fire.”The PUC forest is an invaluable resource for the community and the college. It is home to a wide variety of plant and animal species, including the endangered Spotted Owl and some of the easternmost Coast Redwood trees. In 2014, the College began working with the Land Trust of Napa County and CAL FIRE to conserve over 800 acres of forested land in a conservation easement. Now known as the PUC Demonstration and Experimental Forest, it is used for student activities and scientific research projects, as well as...