2018

Prolific author of academic articles. Honors program faculty member. Amnesty International faculty sponsor. Campus philosopher. Ninja warrior. Community cat whisperer. These are just a few of the descriptions of Dr. Peter Katz that were shared when he was named the 2018 Educator of the Year. During the annual colloquy program at Pacific Union College on Thursday, April 5th, students, faculty, staff, and administration celebrated with Katz as he was recognized with the award for the first time. An 2010 alumnus of the college with degrees in English literature, European history, and music, Katz has taught at PUC since 2015 and currently serves as assistant professor of English.Each year, the Educator of the Year award is selected by student vote. The recipient’s identity is a closely-guarded secret only known by a small, select group of people before joining an impressive list of past winners whom have all left an incredible mark on PUC and the lives of countless students.“I love seeing the students choose a new, young faculty member like Peter as their Educator of the Year,” says PUC academic dean and vice president for academic administration Dr. Nancy Lecourt. “He is challenging them to work hard and think in new...

“Picture the scene,” says Asher Raboy, resident artist in the department of music at Pacific Union College. “Jesus stands on a mountainside, facing an audience used to an Old Testament God of vengeance. It’s the middle of the Roman occupation. It’s a world of vengeance. And the first word Jesus speaks as he begins that sermon on the mount is not ‘smite,’ it’s ‘blessed.’ The world is changed overnight.”Raboy is explaining the reason behind his choice of setting for his latest composition, The Beatitudes. The 40-minute cantata based on Matthew 5 was written for choir, orchestra, and three soloists, and will have its debut during PUC’s Homecoming Weekend in honor of Paulin Hall’s 50th anniversary.“Most people, when they set the beatitudes, use peaceful, quiet music,” Raboy continues. “That’s not the message I wanted to give. The first time the word ‘blessed’ comes into the piece, it is a very harsh chord. Loud, and clanging. It’s a representation of how discordant it was to hear that word.”Primarily a pianist, Raboy began his love affair with music at the age of five, when his sister began taking lessons. His father was the son of immigrants who believed to be American, you had...

On Thursday, March 15, the PUC Church sanctuary was filled with the sounds of energy and excitement as the Class of 2018 was celebrated during Senior Recognition Colloquy.After the processional, Dr. Bob Cushman, the college’s president, offered his congratulations to the senior class, acknowledging their accomplishments during their time at PUC, and also extended a warm welcome to the rest of the congregation.Dr. Kent Davis, chair of the department of chemistry, gave the morning’s Scripture reading of 1st Corinthians 12:31, followed by a formal introduction of the Class of 2018 by Dr. Nancy Lecourt, academic dean and vice president for academic administration. As she shared statistics regarding the class, audience members cheered for their respective departments that were represented. Of the 265 soon-to-be graduates, 95 will earn associate degrees while 184 will receive bachelor’s degrees. The top five programs are comprised of biology (17), communication (19), health sciences (21), business (29), and nursing (108). Approximately one-third of the class is receiving a degree cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude. The class hails from 17 different states and six countries from around the world, with the youngest being just 19-years-old while the oldest is 53-years-old. Dr. Lecourt praised...

Last school year, Pacific Union College English and pre-med major Laurel Kwon and fellow honors student Jeff Richards worked together on a project. They visited Foothills Elementary School just a few minutes from campus and demonstrated some chemistry experiments.“The kids loved it!” Laurel recalls with a grin. “So, I got to thinking, why not make this a regular thing to get kids excited about seeing what we were going to do next?”That summer, Laurel shared her idea with her friend, John Jung, a biology major. He liked the idea, and at that moment, SPARK was born.SPARK, or Science Presentations And Research for Kids, is a program that connects PUC students with local elementary, middle, and high school students under the umbrella of science. The idea is to send small groups of PUC students into schools to give age-appropriate demonstrations and explanations of various aspects of science. SPARK is supported and sponsored by professor Aimee Wyrick, chair of the department of biology, and Dr. Kent Davis, chair of the department of chemistry, who help the students coordinate with local schools and oversee the demonstrations provided.“We want to create opportunities for children to not only learn about science, but also learn to...

“The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it” (Psalms 89:11). This scripture is the driving concept behind the annual Math Science Workshop invitational for high school students at Pacific Union College. Its driving force? Faculty who look to God as the Creator and the source of all true knowledge. The 2018 Math & Science Workshop took place Sunday, Feb. 25.“We work hard to make this program interesting and fun,” says professor Aimee Wyrick, chair of the department of biology and coordinator of the workshop, “but our real goal is to make it intellectually stimulating. We want the students to leave here with an enriched understanding of math and science.” The workshop has been taking place for over 50 years, but has recently been overhauled based on feedback from teachers and students. Events and activities are geared toward high school seniors interested in math and science, and gives them an opportunity to experience their interests at a college level.“This is a time when our seniors need more information about what college is like and how they are to succeed in that environment,” says Bob Nobuhara, biological and natural sciences teacher...

On Feb. 21, over 60 students from several high schools and academies will gather on the campus of Pacific Union College for the 2018 band festival. Three days of intense rehearsal will culminate in a concert on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m., at the Paulin Hall auditorium.Selections for the concert include “Sinfonia VI” by Timothy Broege, “Down in the River” by Jay Bocook, and “Three Ayres from Gloucester” by Hugh Stuart, among others.“Over the years, we have alternated between me and guest artists conducting the festival,” says Asher Raboy, PUC wind symphony director and event coordinator. “I was looking for talented composers and conductors who were also showing up to conduct festivals and workshops. I found Rodney Dorsey.”Dorsey, associate professor of conducting and director of bands and the Oregon wind ensemble at the University of Oregon, will be conducting this year’s band festival at PUC.“He really knows his way around band music, band instruments, and band repertoire,” Raboy says. “He’s worked with musicians of all ages, and he’s a nice guy, too.”Raboy has been teaching at PUC for over a decade, and he continues to enjoy these festivals and the students who attend them.“I’ve done a lot of festivals...

What happens when you combine 13 teacher candidates, a room full of potential employers, and food? Jobs happen, that’s what. On Feb. 5-6, seniors in the department of education at Pacific Union College were given the opportunity to dine and visit with both Adventist conference and public school education superintendents and principals from across Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. It was the annual Education Days at PUC, which has been taking place for over a dozen years, and by all accounts it was a smashing success.“We do everything possible to get these students jobs when they graduate,” says Debra Murphy, field services and TPA coordinator for the department. “Personal contact is so important. These days employers aren’t just looking at credentials; they’re also looking at personality to determine how well a potential employee will fit into the culture of the environment in which they’ll be working.”The event began with a Dr. Seuss-themed dinner on Monday evening, with seating assigned based on students’ interest in particular geographic locations, so they can visit with representatives from their desired area. Students greet and seat the principals and superintendents, so from the very beginning of the event they have a chance for one-on-one...

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, remain silent.”This quote by former president John F. Kennedy is how Pacific Union College president Bob Cushman opened colloquy on Thursday, Feb. 1. This civil rights-focused assembly featured speaker Terrence Roberts, one of the Little Rock Nine.The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine courageous teenagers who, in 1957, were the first black students to attend classes at previously all-white Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. This move involved armed guards, first to keep the students out by order of the governor, then to escort them safely inside by order of President Eisenhower. Their courage and the courage of their parents left a legacy of determination and standing for what’s right.Last week, Roberts spoke in the PUC Church on “The Fierce Urgency of Now.”“It came to my awareness as a young person that tremendous effort was required by those around me to keep the truth at bay,” Roberts said in his presentation. “After school, I’d say my day was fine and my parents would say they had a good day. We all knew we were all lying, but we had to keep the...

For its annual winter revival week of prayer, Pacific Union College welcomed Pastor Michael B. Kelly II to the pulpit, January 22-26. Meetings were held each evening, with a special Colloquy service on Thursday morning, January 25. His powerful words and message brought a blessing to all who attended the meetings and resonated with faculty, staff, and students alike.For the last several years, Pastor Kelly has served as the senior pastor at Mt. Rubidoux Seventh-day Adventist Church in Riverside, Calif. Previously, he served as senior pastor for several churches in Colorado, and in Lincoln, Neb., where he also taught a Christian Ethics course at Union College. His ministry has taken him throughout the United States and around the globe, including giving a seminar in the Philippines that resulted in 120 baptisms, and leading in several weeks of spiritual emphasis in England and Kenya. Pastor Kelly graduated from Columbia Union College with a degree in theology in 2001 and completed his master of divinity degree from Andrews University Theological Seminary in 2003, where he also served as chaplain for the Black Seminary Student Association.“It’s nice to have extra time during the week to take a break and worship together as a...

Meet Christy Mantz, instructor of social work and service-learning coordinator at PUC, for this week’s #FacultyFriday. Ms. Mantz has taught full-time at PUC since 2016, after teaching at the college during the 2009-2010 school year. Previously, for several years she worked as a senior probation officer for Napa County, after working as a deputy probation officer and probation assistant.A resident of Napa County for nearly 14 years, Ms. Mantz has worked with a wide variety of non-profit and community based organizations, and continues to collaborate with local programs to manage PUC’s service-learning program. Always interested in work with youth and families, she has worked collaboratively with school officials, drug court programs, child welfare, foster families, substance abuse treatment centers, and a variety of residential treatment facilities across Northern and Central California.Name: Christy Mantz Title: Instructor of social work Email: cmantz@puc.edu Faculty since: July 1, 2016Classes taught:Intro to Social Work, History and Philosophy of Social Welfare Institutions, Human Behavior in the Social Environment, and Social Welfare Policy. I also coordinate the service-learning program at PUC, so I develop relationships with community agencies in Napa and Lake counties, and support faculty as they incorporate student projects with these agencies into their syllabi.Education:...