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PUC in Top Ten "Best Colleges"

Posted by Larry Pena on August 17, 2010

Pacific Union College was ranked among the region’s 10 best baccalaureate colleges by U.S. News and World Report’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” issue—one of the best-known and most reputable sources for college rankings. This is PUC’s 17th consecutive year on this list, which was released online this week. In addition to the recognition for outright quality of education, PUC was also ranked number two in the region for ethnic diversity, and number three for value. "Pacific Union College is again thrilled to be recognized as one of America's Best Colleges by U.S. News and World Report,” says PUC president Heather J. Knight. “This recognition highlights PUC's ability to make a distinctive impact and to deliver superior performance over a long period of time.” PUC, ranked number 10, is in a category for institutions that focus on undergraduate education and grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines. The ranking evaluates more than 1,400 American colleges and universities. Regionally, PUC competes among colleges in 15 western states, stretching from Hawaii to Texas. High scores are based on such elements as peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving. Ethnic diversity is evaluated...

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Italian Adventure for Honors Students

Posted by Katelynn Christensen on August 16, 2010

Most college students would jump at the opportunity to travel Italy for five weeks of summer and call it academic credit. That is exactly what a group of seven PUC Honors students did from June 30-July 28, but this dream educational opportunity was a little more complicated than it sounds. The seminar entitled “Beauty” is a required component of the Honors program that explores the concepts of art and aesthetics in one of the most historically appropriate locations in the world—Florence, Italy. Students examine questions of how beauty shapes people and their views of the world and gain an understanding of the development of what is perceived as beautiful in the Western world. Every day of the course was a highly purposeful adventure. Students left the campus of Villa Aurora, the Italian Seventh-day Adventist college where they lived, early in the mornings to visit an array of museums and tour famous places such as Rome, Cinque Terre, Assisi, San Gimignano, Pisa, Lago di Garda and Venice. Afternoons were filled with three-hour art history lectures and discussions of art philosophy. Evenings were no less intensive, as students were assigned between 80 and 200 pages of philosophical readings and response writing almost...

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Digital Photography at Albion

Posted by Midori Yoshimura on August 11, 2010

As seagulls squealed and misty veils cooled the nights, shutters snapped—these were the sights and sounds of 2010’s digital art photography class at Pacific Union College’s Albion Field Station. One-week sessions at the college’s remote coastal facility offered students of all ages, abilities, and cameras the chance to begin or advance their photography skills, with the lovely Mendocino coast as a backdrop. Under the tutelage of Gilbert Muth, professor emeritus of biology and the station’s director, the 11 beginner-to-intermediate students enjoyed a scenic tour of the surrounding coastal area, including the communities of Albion and Mendocino and the nearby Albion River. This year, the class emphasized landscape and nature photography, as well as the uniquely quaint architecture of the area. In nearby Fort Bragg, flashes found inspiration at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. Returning to the station’s laboratory, participants learned how to improve their photos via Photoshop, in anticipation of each evening’s critiques. This culminated in Friday morning’s student slide shows, which allowed the presenters to demonstrate their digital works of art and all their hard work for the week. “Typically, the first photos on the first evening of Digital Photography need a lot of improvement,” admitted Muth. “However, by...

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Hayes Leads Conservation Research Project

Posted by Katelynn Christensen on August 11, 2010

It is an exciting time for Floyd Hayes, professor of biology, as he takes a leading role in a new project to protect nesting grebes, some of northern California’s most elegant fresh water birds. “I'm really excited about the project because I'll be able to spend a lot of time out on Clear Lake getting intimately familiar with these elegant birds,” says Hayes. “[They] have some of the most spectacular courtship displays in the avian world.” Hayes will be responsible for managing $50,800 from a grant from the National Wildlife Federation to monitor and conduct conservation efforts toward breeding grebes at Clear Lake—California’s largest freshwater lake, about two hours’ drive from PUC. He and his collaborators will conduct weekly surveys during the nesting season to locate grebes and measure their reproductive success. A few selected PUC students who are aspiring field biologists will have the unique opportunity to assist Hayes in his research. The team will also post buoys and barriers to break up waves in the vicinity of colonies and reach out to local stakeholders through presentations and distribution of printed materials, which will inform locals of the hazardous impact of boat wakes and recreational fishing on grebes’ floating...

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PUC Professor joins Jordan Archaeological Dig

Posted by Midori Yoshimura on August 10, 2010

For PUC English professor John McDowell, the long days of summer began in the cool of 4:15 am, local Jordan time. From June 23-July 28, he participated in the Madaba Plains Project at Tall al ‘Umayri, an archaeological dig sponsored jointly by several Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities. Thanks to a 2010 Herber Grant, McDowell was able to serve as this season’s lead photographer, post online weekly updates, and write articles of creative and human interest. Why might an English professor receive a grant to work as an archaeologist? “I know archaeology is a long way from English,” McDowell says, “but there are artificial divisions. Archaeology is trying to write a story about a past. It’s connected to not only the biblical past, but also our own past. You try to get the story right, as much as possible… it’s fragmentary, you have to put it together.” In the field, sewing the narrative together requires an early start to the day’s labors, due to the scorching dry heat of Jordan. Dig participants sift strata in five-meter-by-five-meter squares—five centimeters at a time. However, before beginning the next level, a top plan must be drawn and numerous measurements taken. After all, once...

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