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The psychology students at Pacific Union College, with the support of their faculty mentors, have received 10 Psi Chi Regional Research Awards over the past 10 years. During this time, PUC earned the 2nd highest number of awards of all schools in the western region and the seventh highest number of awards across all regions in the United States!There are about 10 PUC students who are a part of Psi Chi. “These awards are a true testament to the hard work our faculty and students do every day,” said Damaris Perez, chair of psychology and social work. “We are committed to teaching and supporting our students and their pursuit of research endeavors. We take great pride in their accomplishments and hope to continue reaching these milestones.” Psi Chi is an International Honor Society committed to recognizing and promoting excellence in the science and application of psychology. These awards are earned by Psi Chi student members whose empirical research has been evaluated as outstanding by faculty judges and who personally present their research at one of the regional conferences. The awards are highly competitive as the regional conferences draw a large number of the best student researchers each year. The psychology...

The Pacific Union College Church is thrilled to announce and welcome their new Lead Pastor, Nate Furness, his wife Jennie, and their sons Alex and Anders. On Saturday, February 4, 2023, the Northern California Conference and local church leadership officially installed Pastor Nate during the sabbath worship service. Growing up in Orange County, CA., as a pastor’s kid, Pastor Nate would watch his father and knew he wanted to be a pastor. Although he knew what it meant to be a pastor, he wasn’t ready to fulfill that obligation during his undergrad years. “I had some growing to do,” shares Pastor Nate. “After I married Jennie in 2005, I knew it was time to become a pastor.” During his college years, Pastor Nate attended PUC for two years, then graduated from Southern Adventist University with a Bachelor of Science in Health, Wellness, and Physical Education, following a Masters of Theological Studies degree from La Sierra University. He started his pastoral ministry at Westminster Good Samaritan SDA Church in Orange County for two years, then became the lead pastor at the Costa Mesa SDA church for nine years.For the last five years, he served as lead pastor of the Napa Community...

During Homecoming on April 16, 2022, Pacific Union College dedicated the Walter C. Utt Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Named after one of PUC’s distinguished professors and historians, the center is essentially a historical archive holding a collection of documents related to PUC and Adventist history. The purpose of the center is to conserve historical documents and materials so visiting scholars, PUC faculty, and PUC students can study original documents and interpret the history of Adventism and the college for themselves.The Utt Center has a brand new building where the bulk of the archives from the library “Penthouse” has moved to the center. “We hope to be ‘open for business’ sometime in Spring 2023,” shares Karl Wilcox, director of The Utt Center. “The Utt Center is an extension from the existing library, but it has its own character and feel and, in my opinion, the study rooms and research areas are very conducive to research and learning.”Other uses for the center will feature exhibits of historical interest and function as a venue for scholarly conferences, PUC board meetings, lectures, and classes. “The fact that the Utt Center exists tells me that PUC is fully committed to honoring and remaining true...

Sahmyook University in Seoul, South Korea, is collaborating with Pacific Union College to enhance the program of both colleges by providing transfer opportunities for undergraduate students. This collaboration will establish a program of academic and research cooperation to contribute their resources to strengthen international education. Sahmyook University President Il Mok Kim and PUC President Ralph Trecartin met on November 7, 2022, to officially approve this agreement.During their meeting, both presidents spent a few hours discussing multiple levels of involvement between their institutions. “There was a very innovative positive spirit between the two groups of leaders looking for new and better ways for two well-established Adventist colleges to work together,” said ​​Gene Edelbach, PUC Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing & Communication.A few years ago, President Trecartin stopped by Sahmyook University for church and to see the campus. As a visitor, he was amazed by the Bible studies going on everywhere and “loved the intentional way they interacted with each person that came through the door.” ”I was treated as family and invited for Bible Study, sermon, and lunch even though I had no connection with the University at that time,'' shares President Trecartin. “Sahmyook University is at the forefront in combining...

The 2022-2023 school year has officially started at PUC, and the first week was nothing short of eventful to welcome students back on campus. Welcome Day was on Wednesday, September 21, when new students arrived. Staff and student workers greeted new students and their families at the check-in station to register them for orientation and give them their name badges and welcome bags. Dorm workers, RA’s, faculty, staff, and the president greeted them at the residence halls to assist them in moving in, distributing water, and answering questions. Student life added a prayer station by the campus center for new students and their families to be prayed for by faculty and staff. Classes began on Monday, September 26. With students getting back into the swing of a class schedule, they were given a food truck dinner at the campus center to enjoy, socialize, and take a break from a first busy day of school. At 10 p.m. on Wednesday, students, staff, and faculty, gathered together at the pacific auditorium for Pioneer Madness- a pep rally that happens every year on the first week of school to support the student-athletes. Everyone on the bleachers bring out their pom-poms, signs, and school...

Pacific Union College hosted the Thirty-Second Annual Publication Workshop from September 11-13. This is the first time the workshop was in person since September 2019, and PUC was excited to welcome 12 academies from California and Oregon. The workshop offers training and valuable tips for jump-starting school’s yearbook, newspaper, or video yearbook. Participants get practical, hands-on information from college educators, student leaders, and industry professionals. Through workshops and worship, students can network with advisers, editors, designers, photographers, videographers, and editorial staff.Sponsors of Publication Workshop are the department of visual arts, communication, and English at PUC. Tim de la Torre, a PUC visual arts instructor, was this year’s Publication Workshop director. This was his first year as a director- however, de la Torre has been a workshop presenter since 2014 and started helping organize it in 2020. Having Publication Workshop back on campus was initially worrisome because of how overwhelming it might be trying to coordinate everything. “Online was a lot of work, but we didn’t have to house and feed students or pick them up from the airport.” says de la Torre. “This year, we had a conversation with Gene Edelbach to see if their department might be able to...

Pacific Union College is proud to announce that the education department received full accreditation, which allows the department to recommend candidates for a California state teaching credential and SDA certificates in elementary, middle, and secondary teaching. With receiving full accreditation, the education department requires one report due each year.The education department was given six months to address the accreditation body’s concerns. Dr. Jean Buller, chair of the education department, appeared before the state committee, and shortly after her meeting, full accreditation was granted. “The process is very rigorous, and we are proud of our approval status,” Buller said. The accreditation was conducted online for three days in April, and the accreditation team interviewed current students, graduates, and graduate employers. The education department initially received a few stipulations, including an increase in faculty training for student diversity, equity, and inclusion, meeting more often with the field advisory schools where teaching candidates are placed, and improving procedures for placement of students in lab schools. PUC has been fully accredited since the 1950’s. In May, the department also completed the process to renew our SDA North American Division Certification. ...

PUC’s new Paramedic to RN program has received full approval and is ready for its first cohort to begin in Fall 2022. The program is one of only a few of its kind in the state of California and will enable students with a paramedic background to continue their education and become registered nurses (RN). The program was presented to the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) during an onsite campus visit during April and granted official approval on May 17. Classes and labs for the Paramedic to RN path will be held at the college’s satellite campus in nearby Napa, California, which makes the program more accessible for commuting students. The new program also follows a non-traditional format built to accommodates busy professionals, following the successful model of PUC’s existing licensed vocational nurse (LVN) to RN program.“Classroom instruction is taught in ‘core weeks’ where students come to class Sunday to Wednesday for eight-hour days every six weeks, and 12-hour clinicals are held on Sundays,” said Debra Wallace, Associate Professor of Nursing and Director of off campus programs. “This format allows individuals to be able to pursue a professional nursing degree while continuing to work full-time, fulfill military commitments, or...