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At Thursday morning’s Faculty Awards Colloquy, PUC business professor Lary Taylor was named Educator of the Year. This is the third time Taylor has won the award—an unprecedented feat in PUC history. The Educator of the Year is decided by student vote, and the results are a closely guarded secret in the weeks between the balloting and the Colloquy program. Professor emeritus of chemistry Bill Hemmerlin, a longtime friend and colleague of Taylor’s, introduced the award, revealing the winner gradually with a series of childhood photos and biographical hints. As the final clue was revealed, Taylor stood and approached the stage with good-humored reluctance as the church audience rose to applaud the repeat honoree. Academic dean Nancy Lecourt presented him with a framed certificate, and then he took a seat on the dais as Hemmerlin delivered a teasing roast of his friend. Later in the program, business department colleagues Wally Lighthouse and John Nunes and business students Chris Madrid and Kelly Chung presented tributes to the professor. Each speaker highlighted the major factor that keeps students voting for Taylor again and again: his warm and welcoming attitude to those around him. “Simply put, my friend Professor Lary Taylor has an...

Three Pacific Union College varsity athletes have been named to the 2012 Daktronics NAIA Division II Scholar-Athletes List, two of which are receiving the honor for the second time. Both Carla Bartlett and Michael Giang were listed for the second year, with first time honors going to Josh Jewett. Carla Bartlett, a guard on the Pioneers women’s varsity basketball team, is a senior Exercise Science major. Earlier this year, Bartlett was also an Honorable Mention from the conference for the all-conference team at the conclusion of the season. Last December, Bartlett , who is from Banning, Calif., was named a Cal Pac Player of the Week. Yucaipa, Calif., native Michael Giang is a four-year member of the men's varsity basketball team. He majored in both chemistry and biochemistry at PUC; following graduation, he will attend Loma Linda University Medical School this fall. New to the list is Josh Jewett, from Scottsdale, Ariz. Jewett was named First Team All Conference player for the men’s varsity basketball team and was also named a Cal Pac Player of the Week in December. He will graduate this June with degrees in Intercultural Communication and Spanish. In order to be a recipient of the Daktronics-NAIA...

An article posted today online in the North Bay Business Journal highlighted Pacific Union College’s state-of-the-art cogeneration plant. The facility produces electricity for the campus with the help of recycled steam power, and the efficiency of the process saves the college $1 million per year in energy costs. Read the full article below. Co-generation plant saves Pacific Union College $1 million a year in energy costs – Monday, March 19, 2012...

At Colloquy on March 15, Pacific Union College paid tribute to Richard Rockwell, this year's new professor emeritus. Rockwell, professor of mathematics, is retiring at the end of the academic year after teaching at PUC for more than four decades. Rockwell began his career in the classroom while attending PUC; during his sophomore year in college, he taught a yearlong computer science course. After graduating from PUC in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Rockwell went on to the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his master’s degree in 1969. Immediately after, PUC hired Rockwell to teach in the math department; a few years later, while teaching, he earned his doctorate from U.C. Berkeley. In the 1970s and 1980s, Rockwell was the chair of the math department for over a decade. At the Thursday morning colloquy program, Steve Waters, also a professor of mathematics, shared his memories of studying under Rockwell in the 1970s. “I first got to know him personally my sophomore year at PUC, and he became my advisor and mentor,” said Waters. “Whether he knows it or not, he’s never stopped being my advisor and mentor.” Waters followed in Rockwell’s footsteps, graduating from PUC with...

Students from Pacific Union College’s Introduction to Biology class worked on protecting the ecosystem in a project with the Land Trust of Napa County on March 4. The project involved removing foreign plant species that had begun to invade the plant ecosystem surrounding Linda Falls, a small waterfall in Angwin. The waterfall, located on property owned by the Land Trust, is a short walk from campus. “This is a long-term partnership that will allow students on campus to have an impact on a place many students, staff, and faculty enjoy,” explains Aimee Wyrick, an associate professor in the biology department who coordinated the project. For students, the trip offered a chance to get out of the classroom for a good cause. “It was an opportunity to do something with your community,” said Jesse Jewett, a freshman liberal studies major. “Up here on the hill, we forget that anyone else is here...we think its just PUC, but there’s a whole community here.” Jewett adds, “Whether it was getting rid of invasive plant species or just picking up litter that’s accumulated, it was just cool to get out and feel like we were doing something to benefit the environment around us.”...