The sound rising smoothly into a low roar, Pacific Union College’s new cogeneration plant made its official debut as college President Richard Osborn, Financial Vice President John Collins, and Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon “flipped the switch” on October 21. A massive project for the college, and representing the cutting edge of forward-thinking energy production, the cogeneration plant has garnered its fair share of local and not-so-local attention. The grand opening was attended by officials from Trane, Kawasaki, Titan, and Patch Services, all companies involved in various ways in the construction and powering of the new plant. Members of the local community, media, and Napa Valley Advisory Council also joined college faculty, staff and students in the opening ceremonies and plant tours. In addition to PUC’s administration, Kelly Bock of the Pacific Union Conference spoke briefly at the opening, and Diane Dillon gave the keynote address. The cogeneration plant is, as Dillon summed it up, “Clean, clever, and climate smart.” It uses a 1,400 kilowatt Kawasaki turbine generator, unparalleled for its low emissions levels, to supply the majority of the college’s electrical needs. Recovered waste heat will also be used to supply the campus with heating and air conditioning. In...

From nurses to music professors, volunteers of every skill and background are welcomed into disaster relief teams. So as aid continues for thousands of hurricane victims, an assortment of Angwin residents have found ways to get involved. As a campus and community, Angwin and Pacific Union College responded to the disaster by raising funds, coordinating a drive for personal kits, and offering tuition assistance to affected PUC students and free tuition to students of colleges that were closed as a result of Hurricane Katrina. But there were also faculty, staff, students and alumni who got directly involved in the relief work. David Krussow, a PUC nursing alumnus, was deployed in New Orleans with the Texas Taskforce Team One (TxTFT-1). Krussow, who works as a flight nurse with STARFlight in Austin, was part of a six-helicopter unit that rescued over 6,800 victims and delivered over 2000 cases of food and 2000 cases of water in nine days. “[The relief work] was an operation of unimaginable magnitude,” he says. “While the looters and shooters garner all of the attention, let me reassure you that heroes do still exist. I could tell story after story of ordinary people performing extra-ordinary acts at high...

It’s autumn in Angwin, which means the vineyards are turning deep maroon-red, the blue sky is becoming crisp and cool, and the school year is kicking off with all sorts of events, festivities, and a few challenges. The days just before school were marked by the second annual FUSION retreat for new students, green-shirted volunteers providing Porter Power to move tons of stuff up endless flights of dorm stairs, and shockingly bright leis at the Hawaiian-themed all-school get-acquainted party. Then, just as students were beginning to get the hang of their new schedules, the revised schedule for Week of Prayer hit. The blessings seemed to outweigh the confusion, however; speaker Michael Knecht provided such solid, captivating messages that students flocked to the daily morning and evening meetings. Knecht, who pastors the CrossWalk Church in Redlands, spoke on “Mastering the Art of Living.” A brand-new development this year is the PUC radio podcast, with weekly shows hosted by students Dustin Comm and Jaymes Cheney, and by new campus chaplain Roy Ice. So far, the podcasts have featured guests such as SA president Juliana Gisele Dalotto, Week of Prayer speaker Michael Knecht, and worship and outreach pastor Jessica Shine. Finally, there have...

For 30 years, Eric Anderson has been propounding historical discussion in Irwin Hall. That’s plenty of time to get thoroughly involved in campus life, make a lasting impression on countless students, and build rapport and memories with colleagues. Which is exactly what Anderson has done. “Anderson has been part of the academic soul of PUC,” says President Richard Osborn. Anderson has been the chair of the history department, director of the Honors Program, presiding officer of Academic Senate and Educator of the Year—to name a few. “He’s done remarkable things on our campus,” adds Academic Dean Ileana Douglas. In spite of his involvement in so many aspects of PUC, Anderson’s main role has been in the classroom, where his teaching interests included African American history, the American South, and American political thought. These interests spilled over into three published books, plenty of shorter writings and a stint as Fulbright Professor at Ionian University in Greece. Midsummer, Anderson received and accepted the offer to become president of Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, Texas. With mixed feelings of pride and regret, Anderson’s colleagues gathered for a farewell that took place on the deck of the presidential house. As a glorious sunset lingered...

There’s an epidemic of hard hats and giant trucks on campus this summer—not to mention the massive trench that’s being excavated right through campus. It’s all a little mysterious to those of us who are mere sitters-in-offices or drivers-through-campus. When you talk to the people who have an “in” on the happenings, they tell you all about excavators, about switching over to 12KV, about condensate lines, and about trench details from A to V. Which only adds to the mystery. In layman’s terms, what it comes down to is this: a cogeneration plant and an associated electrical upgrade—and lots of other stuff. The “other stuff” is what usually keeps physical plant employees busy during the summer: replacing masses of dorm room doors (for fire safety), carpeting in Newton, replacing galvanized shower plumbing with copper in 18 Winning rooms (just in the nick of time for Korean camp meeting), renovating rooms and bathrooms in various dorms, repairing walls and lecture hall chairs, installing a new projection screen in Fisher, repainting classrooms… All these things are being done this summer. But over and above it all is “The Cogen” —the new cogeneration plant with its hefty building at the top of the...

It was a glorious Friday afternoon in July. A group of teenage boys were starting a game of football on Pacific Union College’s football field. But who was that tall fellow playing quarterback? The boys could tell you: it was Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs. Of course, it isn’t every week that these boys get to play football with a pro NFL player. But last year’s visit from Gonzalez and Warren Moon was such an all-around hit that they called for a repeat performance this summer. The teens came from New Horizons, a non-profit organization that has three Angwin and Napa homes for teenage boys. Eighteen residents from these homes gathered on the field Friday for their own private football session with Gonzalez. They started with a question and answer time, which ranged from questions such as “How much money do you make?” to real-life advice from Gonzalez. Some of the boys also had football cards for Gonzalez to sign. After the Q&A, Gonzalez had the boys run through warm up drills before dividing into teams and playing some football. New Horizons also has another connection with PUC: several college students have worked as counselors in the New...

During the sunny green days of summer, the campus kicks off its shoes and falls into a comfortable doze. There’s no massive noon hubbub in the cafeteria; you’re just as likely to encounter maintenance workers as students; and there’s no sudden flood of students hurrying up and down stairs every hour. But all is not asleep and empty. Here and there in library chairs and dorm rooms, students still read thick books and stare at computer screens. Faculty and staff come and go in their offices. And in the quiet buildings, small groups of students meet daily for their general psychology class or their physics lab. With about 70 classes offered (including some at the Albion Field Station, the Honors Summer Abroad, and online courses), there are plenty of students—and teachers—still hard at the books. The tone of these classes is noticeably different from regular session classes. For one thing, the classes tend to be small. Amanda Rusch is taking History of World Civilizations along with six other students—but, she says, only 3 come to class every day! The others do their reading outside of class and come for the tests. “So it’s much more personal, just because it’s so...

For an event that includes a large group of people dressed in black, solemn organ music and a carefully prescribed traditional ceremony, commencement certainly produces an astonishing supply of enthusiasm! This year, as usual, corn tortillas flew into the air between solemnities, and here and there beach balls soared above the black-capped heads. It’s not surprising that commencement should be thick with formalities; certainly, it marks impressive academic achievements and years of dedicated work that will (hopefully) mark these individuals as thinking, well-educated citizens. Yet neither is it surprising that commencement should be so full of joyous excitement; after all, these graduates have finally made it through some of the most intense and amazing years of their lives and are at last being recognized for all that they poured into their college experience. The class of ’05 was an active class with a spirited and dedicated group of leaders and officers. Class president Joshua Okallo reflected some of this sense of teamwork and involvement as he addressed the class in a frank, good-natured style—including a jesting reprimand to those who ate all the cafeteria’s chocolate chip cookies before he got any! A group of singers from the senior class also...

Dark-suited bigwigs filled the elegant interior of the recently completed Pacific Union College presidential residence. University presidents, a publishing press president and conference presidents mingled with pastors and education leaders in a luncheon preceding their constituency meeting. The tone was chatty and conservative, accompanied by a grey mist that obscured the expansive view from giant bay windows. Seated among this large group of church and education leaders was an acclaimed local vintner—feeling a little out of place among a group that has a long history of avid teetotalism. Randy Dunn, owner of Howell Mountain’s Dunn Vineyards, came by special invitation to be honored for yet another paradox: a vintner giving up winery rights to save trees. John Collins, PUC’s vice president for financial administration, shared with the group a number of amusing stories about Randy Dunn, a successful yet down-to-earth local who is both a business associate and a personal friend of Collins. Several years ago, Collins explained, the college sold a 64-acre parcel of land. When Dunn purchased the property, everyone envisioned the trees being cleared and vineyards popping up. But Randy and his wife Lori had other plans. Giving up vineyard and winery rights to the property, they...

Stress, senioritis and spring fever characterize the third academic quarter. Fortunately, PUC’s wind ensemble and jazz band made a point of contributing an infectious dose of swing and jollity to the mix this spring. May brought a Symphonic Wind Ensemble concert featuring “Godzilla Eats Las Vegas” (complete with accompanying visuals), a stunning “Rhapsody in Blue” starring Kristen La Madrid on piano, and “Carnival of Venice” with Alex Caceres on trumpet. Then, despite looming finals, the Jazz Band’s June concert attracted a vociferously appreciative audience to Paulin Hall. The relatively young band has quickly become highly popular—and rightly so. With an easy-going atmosphere, big band tunes that keep listeners feeling amazingly cheery long after the concert’s over, and awe-inspiringly talented musicians, the Jazz Band is something no one wants to miss. The superb contributions of guest saxophonist Guido Fazio added yet another layer of appeal to the band’s June 5 concert. An acclaimed San Francisco musician, Fazio is an old classmate of band director Kenneth Narducci and is also the current saxophone teacher of Darren Wheeler, PUC student and Jazz Band saxophonist. As always, the crowd demanded “one more!” at the end of the concert—and were rewarded with one last foot-tapping...