News

Pacific Union College is delighted to announce that Brandon Broome has been appointed as PUC’s new athletic director, bringing 16 years of coaching and program-development experience. With six years of collegiate-level experience, Broome envisions creating a place where athletes pursue excellence and acceptance is a priority.He graduated from Oakwood University with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 2010. As a collegiate basketball player for OU from 2007 to 2010, he helped build the school’s first of four United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) teams. Broome also held the USCAA Slam Dunk Contest title as part of the National Championship team in 2008– a precursor to the passion, drive, and determination that has followed him into his coaching career.Before joining PUC, he served as head men’s Basketball Coach and Compliance Administrator at Walla Walla University for six years, guiding players on the court and contributing to the institution’s success.Broome began his role as athletic director on September 30. When you see him on campus, say hi and welcome him and his family to Angwin’s beloved college on the hill....

When PUC alumna Natasha Elloway-Negrete’s daughter received a busy board, she loved watching her learn numbers and the alphabet and saw how educational it was for children. Then she wondered if there was a busy board that taught children about the Bible. After finding only a few Christian options that didn't include the Bible truths and stories she wanted her children to learn, she was inspired to create one herself.After designing activities, securing a manufacturer, and going through countless samples and revisions, Elloway-Negrete finalized her first Bible busy board and launched it in June of this year. Although she created this busy board for her two children, she wanted to share it with other families and help their kids learn Bible stories through hands-on play. By making these boards, she also founded a small business named Faith & Fun Kids Co. Just two months after launching the first 150 boards, she sold out, with 200 boards already in production to restock in October and a Spanish version in the making.Seeing and hearing families enjoy her Bible Fun Busy Board is Elloway-Negrete’s favorite part about running Faith & Fun Kids Co. “I love seeing photos of children using and enjoying something...

Pacific Union College is happy to introduce Anthony Cadavid as the new MBA Program Director and Professor of Business Administration. Between teaching and supporting students and faculty, he develops partnerships to strengthen the department and support graduates, and ensures the program is on track to meet PUC’s vision.“PUC is an institution I have respected for decades,” said Cadavid. “I was genuinely happy to join the PUC family and have the opportunity to contribute to the important work the college is already doing. It also brought together things that matter deeply to me: education, leadership, faith, service, and helping people grow into responsibilities they may not yet realize they are capable of taking on.”When accepting this position, Cadavid was also drawn to PUC’s MBA Program's Christian mission, small class sizes for getting to know students on a personal level, and the flexibility to teach working students. “What excited me most was the opportunity to help shape the program around those needs and bring together exceptional faculty who could make that vision real,” said Cadavid. “I also found people already connected to the program who care deeply about our students, believe in what we can build, and have been incredibly supportive of...

On August 24, Pacific Union College Enrollment Counselor and Angwin to Angwish Coordinator Abraham Garrido participated in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (TDS), a 100-mile race that crosses through the scenic views of the French Alps in Chamonix.The race began at midnight in freezing rain, foreshadowing a long night and day in the mountains for the 1,290 starting participants. The course included about 31,000 feet of elevation gain, taking runners through what Garrido described as “incredible terrain” in France and Italy, with mountain refuges on standby to house and care for participants. One of the coolest things he shared was being able to run with people from so many different countries and backgrounds, and how running can bring so many people from all over the world together.As he endured this life-altering experience, his wife, PUC Director of Recruitment, Isabella Malan-Garrido, along with his brother and sister, cheered him on at different aid stations, making it even more meaningful. “Honestly, one of the coolest parts of the whole experience was getting to share it with my family. I couldn’t have done it without them.”More than anything, getting to be in the Alps, running through the night, and sharing the experience with so...

From August 30 to September 1, Pacific Union College held its 36th annual Publication Workshop, hosting 129 high school and academy students, along with sponsors, from 13 schools. Faculty and staff from the visual arts, communication, marketing, and enrollment departments collaborated to put together this event. Students received hands-on practice in writing, journalism, video production, photography, design, newswriting, and social media, taught by PUC’s very own faculty– professionals in their respective crafts and fields.This year, PUC welcomed Armona Union Academy, Central Valley Christian, Columbia Adventist Academy, Lodi Academy, Miramonte Christian School, Mesa Grande Academy, Mountain View Academy, Pleasant Hill Academy, PUC Preparatory, Redlands Academy, Roseburg Christian Academy, San Fernando Valley Academy, and Tualatin Valley Academy.Sponsored by the communication and visual arts departments, students learned valuable skills through teacher-led activities while also getting a glimpse of the Christ-centered campus and its wide range of offerings. Faculty and staff members involved in this year’s workshop were PUC Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Professions and Director of Publication Workshop, Milbert Mariano; Associate Professor of Communication Tara Hargrove; Professor of Communication Patricia Maxwell; Professor of Graphic Design and Department Chair Brian Kyle; Instructor of Visual Arts Nephtali Marin; Adjunct Professor of Photography Mike Murtaugh;...

Pacific Union College is delighted to announce that it has been ranked #15 in Overall Rank in the Regional Colleges (West) category and #5 in California in that same category in the 2026-2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges List. PUC has also earned a new ranking of #12 in Top Private Colleges, a category for private institutions funded entirely by non-government sources like tuition, endowments, and alumni gifts.U.S. News Best Colleges rates about 1,700 educational institutions nationwide, weighing factors like academic quality, graduation and retention rates, post-graduate outcomes, and academic resources, with the Regional Colleges (West) category awarding only 49 schools based on the career- and job-focused degrees they offer.Currently, PUC is #15 in the Overall Rank and #34 in Top Performers on Social Mobility– all in the Regional Colleges (West) category.Proudly embracing the tagline, "Learn with Purpose, Rise in Faith, and Serve with Love," PUC takes pride in and is known for its dedicated faculty and staff, who are fully devoted to serving the entire student body– from fostering a Christ-centered environment to a robust academic program."At PUC we are focused on quality and student experience," said PUC President Ralph Trecartin. "Whenever the U.S. News rankings come...

From July 29 to August 1, four of Pacific Union College’s biology professors attended the Conference for North American Division (NAD) Science Professors in Pasco, Washington. Organized by the Geoscience Research Institute (GRI), the event was an opportunity to highlight research and presentations and celebrate higher education.PUC’s Dean of the School of Sciences, Aimee Wyrick, attended the conference, alongside Chair of Biology Bryan Ness and Professors Floyd Hayes and Backil Sung. With this year's theme being “Your Wondrous Works,” scientists and professors from the GRI, Loma Linda University and other Seventh-day Adventist institutions, along with LLU graduate students presented on topics such as paleontology, geology, biology, and the environment. Through those presentations, PUC’s biology professors collected new information that would be useful in their own lectures and benefit their students. They were also able to meet new colleagues, explore research projects, and see old friends from different Adventist schools.Before the conference officially began, Wyrick joined a group of 30 faculty members and graduate students from various universities and colleges on a two-day field trip to explore the Columbia River Basalt and Channeled Scablands. They learned about the geologic history and Missoula megafloods that shaped the area. Although Wyrick already knew...

Throughout the year, the Pacific Union College aviation program has received many provisions from God, including acquiring Charlie, their Cessna 206 missionary plane, and adding several talented instructors to their team. Recently, a glider was generously donated to the PUC aviation program. Flight Center Director Nathan Tasker has been working diligently on plans for a glider program on campus, so this was nothing short of an answer to prayer for Tasker and his team.Several months ago, Tasker met with a fellow Adventist glider pilot who had been working on his glider instructor certificate and had recently acquired it. This milestone encouraged Tasker and the instructor to schedule a meeting for July 6 to plan next steps. Among those steps was the acquisition of gliders. They met at 12 p.m. as planned, and, just 30 minutes into their meeting, the daily mail arrived. In it was an unsolicited letter from someone named Joanne Lessard. In the letter, Lessard explained that her husband, George Lessard, a 1963 PUC alumnus and a passionate glider pilot, had passed away this past January. After reading the recent article circulating on the PUC website and in ViewPoint publications about “Charlie,” she inquired whether PUC could use...

Pacific Union College is thrilled to announce that the athletics department earned the Champions of Character Five-Star Institution Award for the 2025-2026 season from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). To earn this award, NAIA colleges and universities use the Champions of Character core report to measure the pursuit of character-driven athletics, where they must reach a minimum of 60 out of 100 points. With PUC scoring 100, the NAIA recognizes the college is committed to providing an experience where their student-athletes can grow not just as competitors, but as individuals.“For me, what makes this award special is that it represents our student-athletes,” said PUC Athletic Director Tony Nakashima. They have demonstrated that it’s possible to compete at a high level while showing respect for opponents, officials, teammates, and the game itself. Their commitment to living out those values is what truly earned this recognition.”Nakashima credits the coaches for creating a program built on trust, accountability, and support that positively motivates their athletes to be the best versions of themselves on and off the court. With each coach heavily invested in each player, he says they inspire their student-athletes to grow in competition and life.“At PUC, our goal is...

After graduating from Pacific Union College with a B.S. in psychology and an A.S. in Photography in 1987, Jon Wood began his career as a 3D Motion Graphic Artist before eventually returning to PUC as a professor of film and television. In 2005, the Lord impressed him to start Jesus for Asia, a missionary organization that sends missionaries to unreached areas of the Asian continent. And now, 21 years later, the ministry has worked in over 10 countries, with nearly 1,000 workers worldwide, touching the lives of many with the good news of Jesus.It was not easy to start a ministry, especially one of this caliber, but Wood and his wife, Natalie, also a PUC alumna, were determined, so the first thing they did was pray about how God would work and lead them as they felt called to lead others. “We spent months, actually years, praying about what that would look like, how it would be set up, what principles we would use to run it, what project we would start with to make the biggest impact,” he said.In the winter of 2004, Wood, along with a small team of students, traveled to Thailand around the time the Indian...