News

Successfully adjusting to their year-long exile from Clark Hall, PUC's biology professors have settled into temporary quarters while they await the completion of the Clark Hall remodelling and expansion project."We're kind of camping. We just have to make do with what we have," said Gilbert Muth, professor of biology, of the department's current lodgings. But in general, the transition period is proceeding with few snags. Only one class, an elective, has been canceled for the next school year. The chemistry department is making a couple of laboratories available, and the physics department is making storage and prep space available. "The other science departments are being very helpful and nurturing for us, helping us over this little rough spot here," said Terry Trivett, professor of biology and department chair.Pacific Union College's biology students will have to make a few adjustments as they figure out where classes and labs will meet. Some additional biology classes will be relocated to Irwin Hall, Davidian Hall, and Chan Shun Hall; and the biology department's venerable trailers, which have long hosted ornithology, vertebrate natural history, and natural history of California labs, will now serve as the location for biological foundations labs. "Students will learn new places,...

Eight of PUC's educators are rehearsing for roles in You Can't Take It With You, a humorous and insightful comedy about a crazily offbeat family's collision with the "real world" of respectability and decorum."Many of the characters who need to satisfy our need to be hams are back," said Greg Schneider, who plays an anarchic grandfather. Schneider is joined by Steve Waters, Richard Webb, Todd Peterson, Keith Neergaard, Lary Taylor, Bruce Ivey, and Ginger Ketting, as well as students and community members.The play's 20-character cast is directed by associate professor of biology Bryan Ness. According to Ness, "the main message of the play is that there is more to life than making money and getting ahead. The family that this play focuses on is the opposite of that. They enjoy their life."Do they ever. The Sycamores have decided that life is best lived by letting each member of their family do whatever he or she wants, without regard to success (financial or otherwise) or the standards of the outside world. For example, Paul Sycamore (the father, played by Professor of Mathematics Steve Waters) spends all of his time making and playing with fireworks. He is assisted by Mr. De Pinna...

Marilyn Glaim, professor of English, and Greg King, associate professor of Biblical Studies, were honored as excellent teachers by their students and colleagues during two consecutive chapel programs in May. King was named Teacher of the Year for 1996-97, and Glaim received the Zapara Award for Excellence in Teaching. Each of them received a $1,500 stipend as part of their award.King earned a doctoral degree from the Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, where he focused his research on Old Testament studies with an emphasis on the exegesis of the book of Zephaniah. King has published numerous articles in Adventist Review, Bibliotheca Sacra, Liberty, and other publications. His students comment on his commitment to God, his lucid presentations, and his sincere interest in their personal development.Marilyn Glaim earned her Ph.D. from Washington State University, focusing her research on American studies with an emphasis on early 20th century gender attitudes in American culture and literature. She recently led the English department, which she chairs until July 1, through a major curricular revision, and is an active, highly valued participant in campus faculty governance processes. Glaim's students express particular appreciation for her ability to place American literature in its historical and cultural context....

The next generation of physicians has recently undergone a dramatic increase. Twenty-four Pacific Union College students have been accepted into Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, CA.John S. Thorn, associate dean of admissions at Loma Linda School of Medicine, interviewed prospective medical students from PUC and was impressed with the applicants. "The science department does a marvelous job of advising, and PUC's overall richness of undergraduate education sets the tone for students' future education," he said. According to Thorn, LLU looks at students' "overall academic growth, an approximate GPA of 3.7 in required science courses, and no obvious weakness in MCAT scores."Loma Linda University School of Medicine was founded in 1909. The university currently has an enrollement of 680 medical students.The university is "dedicated to combine the best of medical science with caring Christian compassion," said Thorn.Dr. Gilbert Muth, professor of biology at Pacific Union College, said prospective medical students will have an advantage at smaller colleges like PUC because students get a more personalized education. "They can go to their professors and get help on their work, and their largest class will have 80 students in it instead of 500," Muth said.According to The Right College,...

Mike Mennard, a writer and editor at the public relations office, is at home in many environments. When he's not typing insightful feature articles and dreaming up goofy advertisements in his cell-sized cubical at the rear of the public relations office, Mike is on the road with his guitar, cheering up senior citizens, performing in churches, and raising money for needy people around the world.Working half-time at the public relations office gives Mike time for his music, and he uses every moment he can get. On weekends, Mike (backed up by his band) performs in churches and coffeehouses around California and beyond. He did 120 concerts in six states and Canada in the last year and a half. And during the week, he takes his brightly painted "happy guitar" to perform at a round of convelescent homes, including the Yountville Veterans' Home and the Crestwood Geriatric Treatment Center.Mike is a Christian songwriter as well as a singer, and his weekend concerts generally feature songs which he has written himself. (The audiences at the convelescent homes are treated to a variety of oldies and goodies.) Mike describes his personal musical style as acoustic rock."I always try to write songs about people,"...

Billed as a combination of outreach ministry and alternative learning technique, service learning is quietly gathering steam in Pacific Union College's classrooms. While some professors have long included a community service component in their classes, a growing number of their colleagues from a wide range of disciplines are finding ways to encourage their students to learn by serving others. More students are reinforcing their classroom learning with hands-on experience, helping their community as they master their material."Service learning caters to other types of learning styles," said Linda Thorman, associate academic dean, who points out that for some people, listing to lectures is not the best way to learn. "It also helps you come to a different understanding of who you are as a person and a citizen."The service learning committee, headed by Linda Thorman, gives service learning workshops to teachers who want to include service learning as a course component. "We try to make sure that service learx is matched very closely with the content of the class," said committee member Marilyn Glaim, professor of English. Glaim is incorporating service learning into her English 102 class, which is built around the theme of the American family. Glaim's students will have...

When Michael Wong first came to Pacific Union College in 1993, he had no idea what an Adventist was. Today, the president of PUC's Class of '97 is also a newly baptized Seventh-day Adventist Christian. Here is his story:Wong was born in the United States and raised in Singapore, where his father is a university professor. He grew up believing in a distant God. "We knew there was a God, kind of, but how He interacted with us or what He did in our lives really had no effect on the way we lived," he said. Wong knew next to nothing about the Adventist church. "All I knew about Adventists was from my ex-girlfriend's mom, who said, 'I've heard about these Adventists; they go to church on Saturday, and I've heard they're a cult,'" he said.When Wong was ready to go to college, his parents decided to send him back to the U.S., debating between St. Mary's College (a Catholic institution near Lafayette, Calif.) and Pacific Union College. Wong visited both campuses and liked St. Mary's very well. "It was a really nice campus, great tennis courts, cable TV hooked up, meat; you know, it just sounded like a great...

Pacific Union College's music ensembles are presenting "The Bold and Beautiful Music of Brahms," a centennial celebration of the life of Brahms (1833-1897), on Saturday, April 5, in the Pacific Union College Church. The concert begins at 4 p.m., and admission is free.The concert features a number of Brahms' compositions, including his Alto Rhapsody for alto soloist and men's chorus, excerpts from his well-known Requiem, and several shorter works for organ, piano, strings and mixed chorus. Brahms' works will be performed by Pacific Union College's men's chorus, conducted by Assistant Professor of Music Gennevieve Brown-Kibble; the Pacific Union College String Ensemble, conducted by Associate Professor of Music LeRoy Peterson; mezzo-soprano soloist Ellen Cowan, a recent graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; pianists Lynn Wheeler, professor of music, and Helen Chang, a freshman music major; and Professor of Music Del Case on the Pacific Union College Church's Rieger pipe organ....

Tackle the challenging terrain overlooking the Napa Valley on Sunday, April 20, when Pacific Union College hosts its annual mountain bike race, the Napa Valley Dirt Classic.The Dirt Classic's hilly and forested 22 mile race circuit is made up of smooth to medium rough trails, service roads, double track, and single track. The race is sanctioned by the National Off-Road Bicycle Association, and all NORBA rules apply. A one-year racing license is required for those competing in the categories of pro, expert, and sport. These will be available on race day for $35 from NORBA officials. One-day racing licenses will also be sold for $3 on race day for those competing in the beginner class. ANZI-Snell approved helmets are mandatory during race and race day practice. Emergency medical technicians will be present on the course and at the finish line. The first male and the first female finishers will each receive a $100 purse. Prizes for second and third place are $60 and $30, respectively. All participants will receive a race T-shirt....

The community is invited to join Pacific Union College as it celebrates Cultural Diversity Week from May 5-9. This year's celebration features three events: the Spring Festival, a lecture by Judge Don Chairez, and a bilingual musical play by Teatro Milagro.The college's Spring Festival, which takes place from 4-8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, features the multicultural food and entertainment of Pacific Union College's campus clubs. It takes place in the college's Pacific Auditorium, and admission is free. Food can be purchased at the booths set up by the clubs. For more information, call Rita Hoshino at (707) 965-7121.On Thursday, May 8, Judge Don Chairez of the Eighth Judicial District Court will speak in the college's Dauphinee Chapel. The program begins at 9 a.m., and admission is free.The final event of Cultural Diversity Week is a dramatic performance on Friday, May 9, by Teatro Milagro, the Northwest's largest Latino arts and culture organization. Teatro Milagro will perform the bilingual musical play Corazón Gitano at Pacific Union College's Paulin Hall. Corazón Gitano, which means "Gypsy Heart" in English, dramatizes the marginalization of the Spanish gypsies....