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Pacific Union College has been named to the annual President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This is the second year the Corporation for National and Community Service has recognized the college’s commitment to helping improve local communities through service-learning and community service. Started in 2006, the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll is managed by the Corporation for National & Community Service and given in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education, Campus Compact, and the Interfaith Youth Core. The awards highlight the impact colleges and universities can have within their local community and student involvement in civic engagement. The President’s Honor Roll recognizes higher education institutions in four categories, and PUC placed in the general category. “Service-learning is one of the high-impact practices that help our students engage in meaningful, active learning; it has the added bonus of both helping our community members and encouraging our graduates to live lives of useful service,” said Nancy Lecourt, vice president for academic administration and academic dean. In 2015, approximately 522 PUC students participated in service-learning and community service activities, including mentoring students at...

The latest addition to the Nelson Memorial Library is a Latin Bible from sixteenth century Venice, Italy. The Bible has ties to PUC, having passed through the hands of two different alumni couples before being donated to the college. Printed in 1519, the Bible contains a plethora of surprises. Considering its age, it is in excellent condition. Slightly larger than pocket-sized, it has woodcuts throughout, depicting various biblical stories, as well as a few words and paragraphs in red. It contains the Apocryphal books, and the binding features functioning metal clasps. Marbled end pages and some noticeable cropping indicate the Bible was likely rebound sometime in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. Written in the margins of several pages are notes in Latin and Italian, though they are faded and difficult to read. The printer’s colophon on the last leaf was translated by Reverend Augustine De Noble, OSB, from the Mount Angel Abbey in St. Benedict, Ore. He has also translated many of the marginal notes made by previous owners. The colophon indicates the Bible was printed on October 15, 1519, in Venice at the commission and expense of Luce Antonius de Giunta, a Florentine gentleman. While plans are still being...

Pacific Union College held its annual Fall Revival week from Monday, Oct. 10, through Friday, Oct. 14. Students participated in six services throughout the week, with a powerful Colloquy program on Thursday morning. PUC’s student praise band lead out the week’s colloquial service with, “What a Beautiful Name,” the theme song for the week. As the song came to an end, Campus Chaplain Jonathan Henderson introduced speaker Jason Francis, who serves as the associate pastor at the Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church in Columbus, Ohio. Francis stepped on stage with an energetic vibe and a smile on his face. He began his sermon with the words, “God wants to turn something that is ordinary into something extraordinary,” a statement that echoes the theme of Fall Revival. “I’m glad he reminded us that God has the power to do that,” said Angel Hernandez, head resident assistant for Newton Hall. Francis asked students to open their Bibles to Matthew 5:13, the memory verse his sermon was based upon. It reads, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out...

On Thursday, October 13, Pacific Union College faculty and staff along with friends, and family, gathered to celebrate the 28 year career of John Collins, vice president for asset management, who retired in September. Collins’ tremendous career at PUC began in 1988 where he served as vice president for student services and enrollment and later as vice president for financial administration. During the retirement celebration, colleagues spoke about John’s influence on their careers and on them personally. “John was the person who offered me my first job out of college,” said Michelle Rai, chair of the department of communication. “When I was a senior at PUC, John asked if I wanted a full-time job with the enrollment office. When I told him my dad probably wanted me to get a job back home in Hawaii, he personally spoke to my dad assuring him I would be well taken care of here,” continued Rai. “After talking to John, my dad gave me his blessing to live in California and work for PUC. I told John I would commit to working for PUC for a year. ‘How about two?’ was his reply. That was 18 years ago.” Collins’ life has been dedicated...

Close to 150 academy juniors, seniors, and their sponsors from Seventh-day Adventist academies throughout Northern and Central California visited the campus of Pacific Union College for College Days, October 16-17. It was the first of six visitation events the college will hold this academic year. The two-day event showcased PUC’s beautiful location and unique learning environment, providing visiting students with the opportunity to sit in on college classes, worship with other students, attend a financial aid workshop, tour department facilities, stay with current PUC students in one of the residence halls, and fully immerse themselves into life at the college. A special student panel was held, where visiting students were able to ask questions of current PUC students about their experiences at the college. A particular highlight this College Days were the activities held on Sunday evening, where prospective students participated in a friendly trivia game and Jedi dodgeball in the Pacific Auditorium. The evening closed with a late night ice cream feed in the campus center courtyard. “College Days is a great event to help connect prospective students with PUC,” said J.R. Rogers, director of recruitment. “It helps give them an idea of what it would be like to...