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Pacific Union College is celebrating its 100th anniversary in Angwin as a campus and church. The community and PUC alumni and friends are invited to a celebration weekend starting on Friday night, October 2, 2009.Jonathan Henderson, PUC alumnus and pastor of the Grand Avenue Adventist Church in Oakland, will be the special guest speaker forFriday vespers, held in the PUC Sanctuary at 8 p.m.On Sabbath, pastor and professor Lou Venden will speak for the 100th anniversary church service at 10 a.m. at the PUC Church. Venden is a professor emeritus of religion at Loma Linda University, and he was the pastor of the PUC church for several years as well as PUC's religion department chair. The service will be followed by a potluck,historical campus tour, and hike to Window Tree Valley.The evening activities will also include an Evensong program at 6 p.m., an art show opening reception at 7 p.m., and a music concert at8 p.m.For more information about the day's events, call (707) 965-6303. Celebration Schedule TimeEventOctober 2, 20098:00 p.m. Vespers worship with Jonathan HendersonPUC Church SanctuaryOctober 3, 200910:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Centennial WorshipPUC Church Sanctuary11:30 a.m. - noonFellowship Church PatioNoon-1:30 p.m.Potluck (bring entree, side, or dessert)Paulin Hall...

For 16 years now, Pacific Union College has been named among the best educational institutions in the country by U.S. News & World Report. In the 2010 "America's Best Colleges" issue, released online on August 20, PUC ranked number one in the baccalaureate colleges (West) region for racial diversity (not including international students). Other significant rankings included number two for most international students and number four for freshmen retention rates. In the overall rankings by region, PUC placed number 11. "Here at PUC we have a proud tradition of strong academics; this consistent achievement is recognized by U.S. News, and we're always happy to see it," said Nancy Lecourt, academic dean of PUC. "We are also very pleased to be ranked highly for diversity and international students, since that's part of what makes PUC a rich environment for learning and growth." One of the most well-known and widely referenced sources of college rankings, U.S. News releases "Best Colleges" material in August of each year. The book will be available in October. Data is collected from more than 1,400 colleges for each year's rankings. Racial diversity rankings are provided based on total proportion of minority students. International students are measured in...

For 40 days beginning August 18 and ending September 26, the PUC community is focusing their collective prayers on special needs that impact the church and college. They call it "40 Days of Prayer," and the goal is to communally turn to God to seek His wisdom and ask His blessing for the community. The PUC church and campus asked sister churches from Northern, Central, Nevada-Utah, Arizona, and Hawaii to join in the 40 Days of Prayer. As Adventism faces changes and constituents are challenged to see the big picture of their union and conference functions, and as PUC faces a historical year and changes in economics and leadership, it seemed like a good time to unite in specific prayer for this community. "This fall we are celebrating one hundred years in Angwin, as well as the arrival of our 21st president, Dr. Heather Knight," says academic dean Nancy Lecourt. "With enrollment numbers looking strong, we are hopeful about the future; our prayers should be both petition and thanksgiving. " PUC Church senior pastor Tim Mitchell adds that praying together can help shape our focus. "We want people to think about prayer and the movement of God among us, rather...

A group of 30 young scholars got a head start on their college experience at Pacific Union College's PacificQuest 2009 on July 26 through 31. The annual program, aimed at exceptional 7th through 9th graders interested in planning for college early, exposes the students to a sampling of collegiate curricula. This year's program, "Dimensions of Enlightenment," was directed by PUC professors Lindsay Petersen and Aimee Wyrick and offered a core class in "Experiencing Psychology" taught by professors Aubyn Fulton and Charlene Bainum. Topics for this session included social psychology, developmental psychology, memory, and personality. The students were encouraged to get involved with field research, such as staging small accidents at the campus market to gauge different levels of bystander apathy and observing the play behavior of small children at the preschool. "The students were a great group, very motivated," says Bainum. "They asked lots of questions and took initiative on their projects." Students also had two electives to choose from. The first was an option in "Exploring Physics." In this elective, students took instruction from PUC physics professor Vola Andrianarijaona, especially focusing on the experiments and equations of Christian mathematician physicist James Clerk Maxwell and how the laws of nature...

This year's Digital Art Photography course brought photographers of all levels to Pacific Union College's Albion Field Station on the Mendocino Coast, as it has for several years now. The one-week session was offered twice in July. The course, says Albion director and photography instructor Gibby Muth, "is for people who want to learn the techniques of good 
photography, how to properly manipulate their photos on the computer, how to 
display their work and how to better understand how to use their camera." Photographers at any level can join the class - all they need is a digital camera and willingness to learn. "We
get individuals who are very knowledgeable in all these areas who come to be 
with others of like interests, as well as rank beginners," says Muth. "Our goal is to help 
them become more proficient." This year, teachers Marlowe Burgess, Farrel Brizendine, and Muth each took a different branch of instruction. Burgess worked with photographers who wanted to become more proficient working with images in Photoshop; Farrel taught photographic techniques; and Muth taught beginners the basics of working with images. The group would shoot early in the morning, have a lecture after breakfast, and then shoot again...