“Did you know that West Hall Annex used to be the prized new physics building?” The words across the screen brought a chuckle from the audience as they reflected on the currently run-down condition of the building. To the surprise of some, Pacific Union College also did not used to have a student senate or student association. PUC students had a glimpse into these and other changes from the college’s past when Lisa Gilbert, PUC senior graphic design major, did an honors project comparing the old and the new. Gilbert’s 40-minute documentary film showing interviews with former students and faculty gave an idea of what PUC used to look like. As Keith Francis, associate professor of history and Gilbert’s faculty advisor, said, the project came about as a result of “Lisa’s fecund and furtive mind” and an interest in PUC history. Gilbert says, “I just wanted students to be aware of what PUC used to be like so they could better appreciate how it is today. If they know how strict the rules used to be they won’t take for granted the freedom they have now, and hopefully they’ll use their freedom more wisely.” The three faculty members Gilbert interviewed...

For the ninth straight year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Pacific Union College among the top ten western comprehensive colleges. Of western comprehensive colleges in California, PUC ranked number two. The national magazine releases its 2002 rankings to newsstands on September 10, 2002, in the “America’s Best Colleges” issue. Significantly, U.S. News continues to name PUC in its top ten list of “Best Values” among liberal arts colleges in the Western United States. According to U.S. News, PUC’s strong rankings are based in part on academic reputation. Many of PUC’s departments average above the 90th percentile in standardized achievement tests, and of all universities and colleges in North America, PUC has one of the highest medical school acceptance rates. Furthermore, PUC’s rankings are based on high graduation rates. The western comprehensive region covers 14 states from Oklahoma to California. PUC was compared to other four-year colleges in this region that do not offer graduate degrees. “This ranking illustrates a continuing recognition in the broader world that you can have a strong faith-centered college and also be seen as offering an excellent academic program of great value,” says PUC President Richard Osborn. “Pacific Union College will continue to explore ways...

The portrait of Jesus has always alluded us; the pictures we do have of what the Messiah may have looked like have been mere speculation. There have been legends of a document written by Pontius Pilate in 1514, describing Jesus as a blue eyed sheperd with a head of cascading curls; the ancient Greek assumed that the Jewish carpenter resembled Apollo; and still more radical ideas hint that Jesus may have been mishapen. History reveals our inability to accurately describe Jesus, so who, today, would be as bold as to paint a picture of Christ? Certainly, not Tom Turner, an associate professor of art at Pacific Union College. Well, at least not without some convincing. Last fall, Mic Thurber, pastor of PUC Church, decided to present a series of sermons that painted a picture of Christ. He used the analogy that Jesus’s life was the brushstroke of God, painting a picture of Himself on the canvas of life and history. “What I wanted to do was pull from the Gospel of John the kinds of things that would illustrate who God is as pictured in Jesus,” says Pastor Thurber. “I simply picked different places in John with an eye towards...

On February 5, four hundred educators from all over Napa Valley and the Western United States packed into Pacific Union College’s Paulin Hall to hear Dr. William Glasser, president and founder of The William Glasser Institute in Los Angeles, speak on the principles of building a quality school. The presentation, “Every Student Can Succeed—a day with William Glasser,” was sponsored by PUC, the Seventh-day Adventist Northern California Conference, and the PUC education department. Dr. Glasser focused on how each individual has the freedom to make choices and the responsibilities that goes with that freedom. He takes this theory and applies it to the school setting, explaining how educators have fallen into the trap of coercive management strategies. He encourages teachers to use choice theory, a non-coercive approach which helps students understand the power they have to make choices. “The choice theory is something we should have been doing years ago,” says Samir Berbawy, principal of Lodi Academy. “It makes absolute sense. We’re going to start using it at our school.” Educators from the Seventh-day Adventist Pacific Union Conference, spanning Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, and Hawaii, attended as part of a teacher inservice day. Administrators from local public schools also attended...

The mission of Pacific Union College has always been to offer a quality, Christ centered education. The mission statement is to the point: "Our mission is to offer an excellent and distinctive Christian education designed to prepare our students for productive lives of useful service and uncompromising integrity." In short, PUC's goal is to graduate students who are like Christ. Of course, such a goal is idealistic. Still, it reflects the faith of our college's founders and the dream we share for all of our schools. A brief stroll on PUC's campus--stopping to chat with various students--makes it clear that the mission is alive and well today. When the board of trustees met on February 28, it was encouraged to see how the college's commitment to that mission remains central. The board was also presented with some harsh realities. It is increasingly apparent that PUC lacks the financial strength to overcome an encroaching dilemma: the desperate need for entry-level housing for faculty and staff. The Pacific Union certainly chose one of the most beautiful locations in the world when it purchased Edwin Angwin's health resort in 1909 for PUC's campus. Two days later, Ellen White surveyed the newly purchased property...