In its second year, the Herber Family Endowment presented ten Pacific Union College professors with grants to aid in professional development. The college announced this year’s recipients at the annual Faculty Awards program on April 26. This year, the awards will finance a range of research pursuits. Bryan Ness, professor of biology, will use the grant to support his efforts in writing a new textbook over the summer. Rachelle Davis, assistant professor of music, will attend a Mark O’Conner San Diego Strings Conference. Other projects include cancer prevention studies, linguistic research, and various professional workshops. Established by St. Helena physician and PUC alumnus Steve Herber, his sisters Sandra and Susan Herber, and his father Ray Herber, this endowment will annually provide faculty with professional development grants to facilitate teachers in their quest to achieve and sustain innovative, quality instruction....

As part of its 125th anniversary celebration, Pacific Union College welcomes Dr. Jan Paulsen, president of the Adventist World Church, as a special guest speaker for Homecoming Weekend, April 20-22, 2007. On Saturday, Paulsen will speak for worship services at 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. at the PUC Church. At 3 p.m., Paulsen will lead a discussion with PUC students on “Let’s Talk,” a televised forum for young people to share their views on faith with church leaders. The second worship service and “Let’s Talk,” to be held in the Paulin Hall auditorium, will be broadcast live on the Hope Channel. The public is welcome to attend both programs....

Discoveryland Childrens Preschool has been voted “Best Child Care, Napa Valley” in the North Bay Bohemian, Best of 2007 issue. The first-place win is the result of the publication’s annual online poll, which invites the North Bay community to vote for favorite local businesses in several categories. Discoveryland, with programs in Angwin and St. Helena, is a state-licensed facility and is among the few centers in the upper valley to offer infant care. Discoveryland, an auxiliary of Pacific Union College, started in Angwin more than forty years ago as a preschool and teaching outlet for PUC students. In 2002 the Trinchero family donated a St. Helena facility where PUC opened a second Discoveryland. Today, the Angwin and St. Helena locations have nearly 100 children enrolled....

In April, a high school student, who had been hiding her pregnancy, delivered her baby in a bathtub, cut her own umbilical cord, and then proceeded to wrap her baby in a plastic bag. The infant was later found dead under her bed. It is a horrific crime but one that is not uncommon. Each year, an alarming number of young women, hide their pregnancies, then abandon their newborn babies. While many infants survive, others have encountered devastating fates. The situation is especially tragic considering there is a law in place to protect those unwanted babies. Since 2001, the safe surrender law (also called Safe Haven or Safely Surrendered Baby) allows parents to anonymously give a newborn to a hospital, police or fire station within 72 hours of the baby’s birth, without criminal implications. The problem is that the majority of young people don’t know the law exists. “A lot of education has gone to health-care workers and adult audiences,” says Jaynie Boren, vice president for strategic planning and business development at San Antonio Community Hospital. “What’s been missing is information geared toward junior high, high school, and college audiences.” But all that is about to change. This past summer,...

School is back and the Pacific Union College Student Association kicked off the academic year with an al fresco fiesta, complete with a live mariachi band. Hundreds of students, faculty, and staff gathered at the track and field on Monday evening, September 25, to socialize and dine picnic-style on the grass. The annual event is a farewell to the summer, an opportunity for people to reconnect, and a celebration for the start of the fall quarter. “I think [the All School Party] is a good segue into the year. It starts everyone off on a good note and in a friendly atmosphere. It shows that PUC likes to have fun,” said Kristina Reiber, a sophomore English major. The majority of the college’s student body returned to campus over the weekend in preparation for classes, which began on Tuesday, September 26. The incoming freshmen, however, started moving into the residence halls last Thursday. In another campus tradition called Porter Power, campus volunteers helped the new students get settled by carrying boxes and suitcases to their rooms. “I think it’s really important to make the students feel welcome,” says Linda Cochran, assistant professor of nursing. She has been helping with Porter Power...

Set against the backdrop of towering cathedrals and pristine palatial gardens, seven Pacific Union College students completed a two-week trip to Paris, France as part of the Honor program’s Summer Term Abroad. “Beauty,” a required course for Honors students, explores ideas about art and aesthetics as developed within Western culture. The course started at the PUC campus in late June with an intensive week of classroom lectures and discussions based on readings from writers such as Edmund Burke and Virginia Woolf. The class then traveled to Paris for two weeks of learning “on location.” The itinerary included visits to the Louvre, one of the world’s largest and most expansive art museums, and Giverny, the residence and garden of impressionist artist, Claude Monet. “The course is not only a study of art history, but an examination of how we define beauty and aesthetics and how our definitions shape our perceptions of the world,” says Milbert Mariano, chair of the visual arts department. He teaches the course with Nancy Lecourt, who is transitioning from the English department to her new role as Academic Dean this summer. While their stay in France was relatively brief, the students immersed themselves in Parisian culture by...

During President George W. Bush’s four-day visit to California, Angwin unexpectedly became the center of the media's attention. After days of press speculation as to where Bush would land for his brief visit to the Napa Valley, military helicopters touched down at the Angwin Airport on Friday—contrary to numerous presidential advance team reports. As of Friday, Pacific Union College officials had received confirmation that the president would not be arriving in Angwin, despite practice landings earlier in the week. With Angwin out of the picture, the valley swirled with rumors that the entourage would be arriving at a St. Helena elementary school, where practice runs had also been held, or at a private resort. But around 6 p.m. Friday, a train of law enforcement vehicles began zipping up Howell Mountain Road and towards the airport. Close to 8 p.m., helicopters could be heard roaring through the dark sky. Ten minutes later, a motorcade sped past a modest gathering of citizens who had caught on that the president of the United States would be driving through their quiet little town. The excitement continued early Saturday morning when residents noticed a number of cars making their way to the Los Posadas State...

On March 12, Nancy Lecourt accepted the invitation of the Pacific Union College board to serve as vice president for academic administration, starting July 1, 2006. Lecourt is a professor of English at PUC. She has been teaching at the college since 1979, serving as chair of the department for ten accumulative years. Lecourt has a Ph.D. in English from the University of New Hampshire. “Dr. Lecourt has shown as a professor and department chair at PUC that she has the leadership qualities and respect from colleagues needed to make an excellent Academic Dean. She has been serving this year as the writer for the accreditation reports to our regional accrediting body showing vision as a futurist leader,” said President Richard Osborn. Lecourt will replace current academic dean Ileana Douglas, who is leaving administration to return to the classroom. Douglas has served as vice president for academic administration since 1999. Prior to coming to PUC, Douglas taught history at Atlantic Union College. Next fall, she will begin a teaching appointment in the PUC history department as a professor. The search for a new academic dean began in January. Osborn chaired the search committee along with membership of one board member,...