Dr. Heather Knight, second in command at the Seventh-day Adventist flagship university, will be bringing 20 years experience in higher education to Pacific Union College. She built a reputation in scholarship, majoring in English studies in her BA, MA and PhD programs. She earned her BA at Oakwood College, her MA at Loma Linda University, and her PhD. at Stanford.

Her career in administration began in California, as associate provost at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, where she developed programs in faculty development, diversity, and special programs. During her three years at Andrews, she has successfully developed and implemented a strategic plan and brought financial stability to the campus.

Dr. Knight's husband is Dr. Norman Knight, senior pastor at two Michigan churches and a professor of homiletics at Andrews.

Conjecture runs high about Dr. Knight's role in the controversial PUC eco-village. It is predictable that she will follow the instructions of the PUC Board which is still gaga about the prospects of raising millions of dollars from the sale of college land, but she may bring back some respect for the idea of making the college's vast land holdings more productive instead.

Hopefully, someone in Save Rural Angwin, the Napa County Farm Bureau or the Sierra Club will send Dr. Knight the policies in the new Napa County General Plan intended to protect Angwin as a "rural community" and to discourage the kind of subdivision developments the College is seeking.

The Triad corporation of Seattle has decided to not lead the charge any longer for the so-called Eco-Village in Angwin. PUC will take the lead in pushing ahead with the project in the desperate hope of winning County approval.

Triad will keep one foot in the door by serving as an "advisor." If the College is successful in getting a County OK, Triad could come back into the picture, buying the PUC land and developing the project. But it is no longer committed to that.

The contract between Triad and PUC has been renegotiated several times. The original proposal was for 580 housing units on 880 acres completely surrounding the campus. That was reduced to 380 units.

Triad's decision was based on the poor housing market and the realization that the County is not thrilled about the project. The College did not disclose how much more money it will take to complete the Environmental Impact Report. The total cost of getting the project through the County steps could reach $4 million. Neither side has disclosed how it will split those costs.

Save Rural Angwin (SRA) applauded the idea of PUC taking charge of its destiny, but will continue to oppose the project vigorously. PUC Vice President John Collins estimated that the draft EIR will be completed in October and the project brought before the County supervisors in the second quarter of next year.

SRA's environmental consultant will immediately critique the EIR and submit a second opinion to the County. SRA's lawyer will review the project to determine if it is consistent with the County's new General Plan.