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On April 9 and 10, 2009, the Pacific Union College Board of Trustees met in executive session to discuss the results of a commissioned Study Committee report. The report, written by a special committee of faculty and staff, had recommendations on how to strengthen specific programs and departments, better preparing PUC for continued success in the future. The study committee was formed in November 2008 at the request of PUC president Richard Osborn with the board's unanimous support; the group spent four months interviewing employees and reviewing programs. After careful consideration, the board of trustees and Dr. Osborn agreed that new leadership would best serve the college as it looks to addressing some of the recommendations, which lists both challenges and opportunities for PUC. On April 9, Dr. Osborn tendered his resignation as PUC president, effective June 30, 2009; the board accepted the resignation. "On behalf of the Board of Trustees of Pacific Union College, I would like to commend Dr. Richard Osborn for the selfless ministry of leadership he has provided for PUC during the last eight years," said board chair Ricardo Graham. "The benefits of his leadership will be felt for years to come. We ask the entire...

Cheryl Charles, leader in education, environment, and communication, will present on "Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" on April 22 at 7 p.m. at Pacific Union College. The lecture is part of the college's celebration of its second annual Green Week, April 22-25. Green Week is one way the college community hopes to increase commitment to good stewardship of the environment and to inform students and community members about local and global ecological issues. In addition to Charles' lecture, the campus will enjoy other Green Week throughout the week. Charles' lecture will be the keystone presentation of the week. A leading figure on environmentalism, Charles is president of the Children and Nature Network and co-chair of the Education for Sustainable Development Working Group of the Commission on Education and Communication, World Conservation Union (IUCN-CEC). She will share her thoughts on why the health of children and the health of the earth are inseparable matters and what we can do to secure the future of both. Charles will speak at Dauphinee Chapel. To learn more about the lecture or other Green Week activities, call 707-965-7362....

Last year, a student movement called Revo swept the Pacific Union College campus and raised over $10,000 for a shelter and vocational center for trafficked and abused children in Lima, Peru. This year, Revo is back - but students have decided to raise money for a Napa Valley cause. "After a few weeks of researching, asking social work professors, and praying about it, we decided to support the Napa Valley Food Bank," says student Revo leader Grace Jung. The reasons for the choice were numerous, including a timely response to the economic downturn, emphasis on the fact that you don't have to travel oversees to help those in need, and the hope of involving the wider community in the Revo movement. But the foremost motivation for supporting the Food Bank is hunger. "There are people in our own backyard that desperately could use our help," Jung says. "The issue of hunger is becoming very real to more and more Americans. It is not a poverty issue anymore; it is creeping its way into the middle-class, forcing children, single mothers, businessmen, senior citizens, and many more to go to bed hungry at night." As Jung reports, the number of individuals experiencing...

Each year, the Napa Valley Dirt Classic mountain bike race takes place on 22 miles of Pacific Union College's trails through its undeveloped property. Prizes include a purse to each first, second, and third finisher in male and female pro categories, and trophies to top finishers in all categories. For the 2009 Dirt Classic, Aren Timmel took first place in the male pro category, finishing in 1 hour, 27 minutes, and 57 seconds. Katerina Nash came in first for the female pros, at 1 hour, 40 minutes, and 5 seconds. There were 469 racers who finished. "It was a great day," race director and PUC professor of physical education Michael Hellie was glad to report. "We didn't have any large accidents." PUC has been hosting an annual mountain bike race on its property since 1991. A NORBA (National Off-Road Biking Association) cross country race, the Dirt Classic offers riders hilly, smooth to medium-rough trails, service roads, and double track and single track, all through PUC's wooded property. Funds raised from the event benefit PUC recreational projects....

"My job is just to be an athlete," said Erica Davis, a 2004 Pacific Union College graduate. And an athlete she is. Erica's time is almost completely devoted to her love of sports. She is persistent when it comes to her goals. In March, Erica spoke at PUC for an all-school colloquy, wheeling herself onto the stage to share with students the story of her life as an athlete, including the drastic change that landed her in a wheelchair a few years ago. Her journey began at Lodi Academy. Erica played every sport Lodi Academy had to offer, her favorites being softball and football. Her senior year of high school she scored 48 touchdowns during the season. PUC was the next step in her life, a logical decision for a young woman whose parents had both graduated from its campus. Her major of choice was physical education, something she had wanted to do since she was in third grade. "You change your major five times, but I just always wanted to do P.E.," she declared. "It was an easy choice." She actively participated in intramurals and helped run them. "My teachers were good mentors," she noted. In 2005, Erica's life...