Staff and students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) successfully flew the flag at the inaugural cycling race Tour de Timor held recently in Timor Leste (East Timor). CSU student Mr Neil Van der Pleog from Mount Beauty in Victoria won the 450-kilometre race around the country. CSU students and staff also provided extensive physiotherapy services for competitors throughout the tough event. Started by President Dr Jose Ramos-Horta in the capital Dili, the five day event took cyclists through the nine regions of Timor before returning to Dili.  At the hilliest stage of the race, riders climbed to 1 850 metres. Two third year Bachelor of Physiotherapy students Mr Tom Bidstrup and Ms Rachael McLeod and physiotherapy lecturer Mr Tim Retchford from the School of Community Health at CSU at Albury-Wodonga provided physiotherapy services for the 350 competitors. Many of the riders were international participants who were attracted to Timor Leste for the gruelling US$75 000 event. “The Tour de Timor coincided with the celebration of the 10 years since East Timor's independence vote,” said Mr Retchford. “Locals lined Dili’s streets up to 10 deep to cheer the riders as they crossed the finish line.”

CSU physiotherapy lecturer Mr Tim Retchford and the physiotherapy students are available for interview tomorrow, Wednesday 9 September, before they go on clinical placement outside the Albury-Wodonga region. Contact CSU Media. The physiotherapy program runs through the School of Community Health at CSU at Albury-Wodonga.

In 2009, Ph student Rohan Nichol was awarded funding from the Australia Council. Read more here.  

He is available for interview on 0416 362 133. Finalists in the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award will present their entries to a panel of judges in October. The overall winner will be announced on Wednesday 18 November. The works will then be included in the Design Discovery Award Exhibition at the Establishment Hotel in Bridge Lane, Sydney from Monday 9 until Monday 30 November and in Melbourne and Brisbane in early 2010. Read more about the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award here.

The commercial radio course at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has propelled two recent graduates and a current student into the ranks of finalists of the 2009 Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRA). Mr Brett Van Heekeren, lecturer and course coordinator of the commercial radio course in the School of Communication at CSU at Bathurst says graduates of the commercial radio course have won at least one of these industry awards every year for the last four years. “One of this year’s finalists, Mr Nicholas Day, is a full-time first-year student in the course, and is nominated in the Best Music Director category for his work at B ROCK FM in Bathurst. For Nicholas to reach the finals is a wonderful effort,” Mr Van Heekeren said. The recent CSU graduate finalists are Mr Brendan Beale, now working at 2DAY FM in Sydney and nominated in the Best New Talent Off-Air category, and Mr Cameron Williams, who is nominated in the Best Program Director category for his work at SNOW FM in Cooma.

The annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards night will be held on Saturday 10 October at the Bayside Grand Hall at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour in Sydney. Read about other CSU finalists in the awards here. Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with CSU lecturer Mr Brett Van Heekeren.

The National Council on Intellectual Disability (NCID) will provide further support to Charles Sturt University (CSU) to assist children with disabilities. The Council is contributing $3 000 to a special library collection. The ‘Wings Away Collection’, which is housed and managed by the Library at CSU at Albury-Wodonga, has an emphasis on developmental disabilities in young children and support for families of children with disabilities. ‘Wings Away’ is an association of former TAA, Australian Airlines and Qantas flight attendants who work together to help children with disabilities and research into the causes of their disabilities. The NCID contribution will be presented to the CSU Library in Thurgoona at 4pm on Friday 11 September.

For interviews about the ‘Wings Away Collection’ at the Library at CSU at Albury-Wodonga, contact CSU Media.

One of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) most senior academics is among those honoured for his years of service to CSU and its predecessor institutions. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers is one of 13 staff eligible to receive 20 and 30 year service medals during a ceremony on Friday 11 September in the Convention Centre at CSU at Wagga Wagga from 12.30pm. Professor Chambers joined the Riverina College of Advanced Education (RCAE) in 1979 as an Associate Lecturer in history and politics after studies at the University of Sydney and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London.  He was appointed a Principal Lecturer at RCAE in 1987.  Following the creation of CSU in 1989, Professor Chambers was appointed Head of the School of Humanities and Social Science and in 1992 the Dean of the Faculty of Arts.  In 2002 he was appointed to his current position as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic). “It has been a great privilege to be part of the development of Charles Sturt University and to work with the community of staff and students at the University,” said Professor Chambers. “I have especially appreciated being part of an organisation with a strong commitment to the values of equity in access and participation and of service to its communities.”

The service medals are presented to long-serving staff as CSU continues to celebrate its 20th year in 2009. Read more about the 20^th anniversary celebrations here. The 20 and 30 year service medals will be presented to staff on Friday 11 September from 12.30pm to 3pm in the Chancellor’s Room, Convention Centre, building 230, near Jingellic Place, CSU, Wagga Wagga. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers will be overseas during the ceremony and will receive his medal at a later date. Photos of Professor Chambers are available from CSU Media. A second group of staff will also be awarded long service medals from 12.30pm to 3pm at the same venue on Tuesday 22 September.

Studying for a career in social work in the Riverina is a lot easier thanks to a new agreement that comes into force from Tuesday 1 September. A state-wide agreement between TAFE NSW and Charles Sturt University (CSU) will enable local people interested in a career in social welfare to more easily articulate from TAFE to university studies. The agreement provides Riverina students with a seamless progression between a range of Diploma of Community Services courses at TAFE NSW Riverina Institute and the Bachelor of Social Science (Social Welfare) at CSU. Charles Sturt University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Goulter said, “I welcome this example of Charles Sturt University working more closely with the TAFE sector as an important step in helping increase opportunities for higher education, particularly for people who live in rural and regional Australia. Riverina Institute’s relieving Director Ms Joy Stocker says the agreement is a very positive step toward addressing shortages of qualified community services staff in rural NSW.

This agreement was signed by Charles Sturt University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Goulter, and The Hon. Verity Firth, MP, Minister for Education and Training and Minister for Women on Thursday 23 July. There are seven diploma level qualifications available through TAFE NSW Riverina Institute which articulate directly into the social welfare program at CSU. These include Diplomas of Disability, Alcohol and Other Drugs, Community Services, Community Development and Case Management.  New diplomas available in 2010, including Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs and Mental Health will also articulate with the CSU degree. In the Riverina, students will be able to complete their two-year TAFE NSW Diploma course and then articulate into the third and final year of the Bachelor qualification at CSU. People wishing to study Diploma of Community Services in 2010 have a matter of weeks to take advantage of this new arrangement. Some new courses require applications, so prospective students are urged to enquire about the course of their choice now. For more information, visit here or call 1300 138 318.

 

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic is taking her wide knowledge of the management of invasive weeds to an audience of government and business representatives, academics and volunteers. Professor Leslie Weston is the keynote speaker at the NSW Weeds Conference 2009 on Tuesday 15 September in Narrabri, NSW. Professor Weston will earlier outline her research into the management of invasive weeds and development of natural plant products as pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or insecticides at a seminar at the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 3 September. The EH Graham Centre is a collaborative alliance between CSU and the NSW Department of Industry and Investment. ‘Factors involved in the establishment of invasive weed species - is allelopathy involved?’ is the topic of her seminar at the EH Graham Centre. Professor Weston joined CSU in 2008 as the Strategic Research Professor of Plant Biology.  She is based at the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga.

 

Read more about Professor Leslie Weston here. The seminar at the EH Graham Centre will be held from 3pm on Thursday 3 September in the conference room at the Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Pugsley Place, Wagga Wagga. Professor Weston’s keynote address at the NSW Weeds Conference 2009 will be held from 9am on Tuesday 15 September in The Crossing Theatre, Narrabri. Professor Weston is available for interview on 02 6933 2429.

 

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is proud to reveal its latest buildings at Orange. More than a library, the new Learning Commons at CSU at Orange is a student-centred space equipped with a range of learning and social areas. The new facility caters for a range of study options from group study pods through to quiet individual study areas.  A mix of computing and multimedia equipment supports group and individual learning.  As well as the new Learning Commons at CSU at Orange, a brand new lecture theatre featuring video conferencing facilities has been built. New student accommodation is currently under construction as the University prepares for more students at Orange in 2010.

 

When 19 Year Five primary school students and their teachers from St Laurence’s Catholic School at Dubbo made a three-hour excursion to Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Dubbo on Friday 28 August, they did scientific observations that provided practical insights into the work of scientists in the field and in the laboratory. Dr Patricia Logan, a lecturer with the School of Biomedical Science at CSU says the University is committed to nurturing the region’s future young scientists through its support of the CSIRO Scientists in Schools Program. “The CSIRO program is a system that pairs schools with an institutional scientist, such as university science lecturers like me, so that schools and school children can gain access to working scientists,” Dr Logan said. “The children collected water and plant samples from the reserve area below the campus and brought them back to the laboratory where they had a chance to look at their samples under the microscopes. They also had the opportunity to look closely at some plant, shell and coral fossils, as well as a trilobite from the Forbes area.”

 

Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with Dr Patricia Logan from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU. Three CSU students enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) – Mr Jon Crosby, Mr Jason Stewart and Ms Lauren Gaiter – assisted with the excursion.

In the 1950s, artists and designer Ann Gillmore Rees moved with her husband from London to Woorooma West station at Moulamein in the Riverina. Her career as a designer and teacher began in England in the 1920s and concluded in rural Australia in the 1970s. Despite living in the bush from 1939, Rees continued her professional pursuits and contributed to the cultural life of Australia in many ways. A public lecture in Deniliquin by Dr Sue Wood from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga will follow Rees’ life and work, focussing particularly on her life in Australia. It will also explore some of the research strategies used in reconstructing her story and reflect on the importance of local museums and family history groups in preserving Australia’s cultural history. The lecture, ‘London to the Bush - The Life and Work of Ann Gillmore Rees’ will be held on Wednesday 2 September from 6pm in the Deniliquin Council Chambers, Civic Place, Deniliquin. Dr Wood is a practising visual artist who has exhibited in Australia and overseas. Read more here.

Dr Sue Wood from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences is available for interview. RSVP  to Ms Faye Falahey at Deniliquin Shire Council on 03 5898 3040 or send an email. CSU wines and cheeses will be served following the lecture. The lecture is hosted by CSU and Deniliquin Shire Council.

Final year podiatry students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are preparing to enter the workforce as they near completion of their four year course on the Albury-Wodonga Campus, ready to become independent practitioners. By the time they finish their studies in three months, the students will have done over 1 000 hours of clinical practice in addition to theory work. The clinical education has taken place at the CSU Allied Health Clinic in Albury, and in professional placements in regional, rural and metropolitan areas. “This experience helps us manage the patients better,” said Honours student Ms Kate Carroll, who received a number of job offers from prestigious clinics before recently accepting a graduate position with Hunter New England Health in regional NSW. Ms Carroll said the course was certainly demanding but, “when you see yourself on placement, compared to students from other universities, you know you are competent. Our supervisors loved having students from CSU, because we have such a good name. They knew they could put us in a room with a patient and we could manage that patient’s entire treatment”. Kate has had experience in Caulfield (Vic), Newcastle and Canberra over the past four years, winning a CSU scholarship which helped with her placement costs.

In a world saturated with advertising and media using sex to sell, a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic has warned of the long-term risks for children. Dr Emma Rush, Associate Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences says companies are increasingly marketing their products to children to capture the children’s allegiance to their brands. However she says some products, like padded bras for eight-year-old girls, are completely inappropriate.”Big companies make products to make money, but the clothing, magazines, toys and games are becoming increasingly sexualised,” said Dr Rush. The CSU academic is a contributing author to a new book, Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls. The book deals with the sexualisation and objectification of girls and women in the media, popular culture and society. “Experts are seeing psychological damage in younger and younger children and a rise in behaviours such as low self-esteem, depression, self-harms and eating disorders. The children should be out in the world having fun. They should be constructing themselves, rather than squashing into a narrow stereotype,” said Dr Rush. “As adults we have responsibilities for children’s health and development. It is wrong to think of premature sexualisation as simply a matter of taste; the fact is that it has risks for children.”

Dr Emma Rush is an Associate Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga. She is researching the impact of the sexualisation of children. Dr Rush is pushing for a review of the recommendations of the Senate Inquiry into the Sexualisation of children in the contemporary media. Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls is published by Spinifex Press.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has been honoured in a national award for its successful traineeship programs. CSU was named as a runner up in the 2009 Minister’s Awards for Excellence for Employers of Australian Apprentices.  The University was among the top four employers of apprentices in the Western NSW category. Two CSU traineeship programs, known as Front Line Management for existing employees and Indigenous Traineeships, were submitted to the national awards. “The success of these two programs has led to the retention of trainees, a good completion rate for accredited training, expanded career opportunities for existing staff and improved employment opportunities at the University for Indigenous trainees,” said Ms Sarah McCormick , Manager of Diversity and Equity at CSU. Ms McCormick and CSU Training Manager Ms Jenny King attended the award ceremony hosted by the Federal Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations the Hon. Julia Gillard, MP, at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday 18 August.

The Minister’s Awards for Excellence recognise and reward organisations and individuals who make an outstanding contribution towards the training of Australian apprentices. More information about Awards can be found here. Through its Division of Human Resources, CSU offers a staff development calendar offering over 100 workshops and forums annually. The University also runs an in-house Registered Training Organisation (RTO), CSU Training to deliver vocational qualifications.

A new book by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic explores the need for and path towards successful community development in both developed and developing countries in the Asia Pacific region. Community Development in Asia and the Pacific by Associate Professor Manohar Pawar, from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Wagga Wagga, delves into the challenges and impediments for successful community development programs. "Both developed and developing countries have been re-emphasising the importance of community development but really need to address issues such as entrenched community power structures, unstable political systems and authoritarian leadership styles which play a big part in obstructing community development," Associate Professor Pawar said. ”The four key principles needed to put development into practice include respect for human rights, self reliance, self determination and participation,” he said. "This book examines the latest community trends in the Asia Pacific region. It makes a case for adopting values- and principles-based practice; for altering current leadership styles and developing new leaders; for retaining diversity and learning from it; for practicing what is preached; and for having a local level comprehensive social development perspective.”

Associate Professor Manohar Pawar lectures in the Social Work and Human Services program in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Wagga Wagga. He has more than 20 years of experience in social work education, research and practice in Australia and India.  Community Development in Asia and the Pacific is published by Routledge.Contact CSU Media to arrange an interview.

A new facility to further research into the experiences that people have with new computer technologies will be unveiled at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 26 August. The new laboratory in the University library aims to allow researchers to ensure that the needs and practices of computer users are reflected in future software applications and information technologies. The equipment in the new Digital Library Usability Laboratory includes three high-end desktop PCs running on Windows XP, equipped with microphones, headset and Webcam; Morae (version 3) software which allows software and website usability testing for market research; two rooms to accommodate researcher and research participants; and a one-way mirror between rooms to facilitate observation.

A final year agricultural science student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga has secured a prestigious award from the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (AIAST). Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) student Mr Jaron Bennett, from Lalbert near Swan Hill in Victoria, was named the most outstanding student in the study of agricultural systems. The award was presented to Mr Bennett by AIAST ACT and Southern NSW President Mr Hugh Dove during the inaugural Agricultural and Animal Industry Careers Fair held at CSU at Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 12 August. Students from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences and the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences attended the Fair seeking information about careers in agribusiness, agronomy, animal production, horticulture, viticulture and wildlife conservation. One of the exhibitors attending the inaugural Careers Fair was Swift Australia Human Resources Manager, Ms Ainslie Cavanagh who noted, “I was really impressed with this initiative and CSU staff and students have shown a great way forward for the industry”. During the Fair, the National Party’s Whip in the NSW Legislative Council, The Hon. Rick Colless MLC launched the new Bachelor of Agricultural Science.  

 

The Careers Fair was organised by a committee of CSU students who, inspired by the inaugural event, have begun planning for 2010. Read more about the inaugural Agricultural and Animal Industry Careers Fair here. For further information contact, lecturer in Agricultural Systems and Extension Dr Alison Southwell from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga on 02 6933 2636.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Communication at Bathurst and School of Visual and Performing Arts at Wagga Wagga will hold their fifth annual information day - iDay - at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney on Saturday 29 August. Head of the School of Communication at Bathurst, Associate Professor Rod McCulloch, said iDay at the Powerhouse Museum has proven to be an invaluable venue for students wanting first-hand information about courses, as well as about studying and living at CSU. “This event has also been directly responsible for many students deciding on a CSU course. Unlike other university open days, iDay allows students access to detailed discussions with course coordinators and students from the Schools of Communication and Visual and Performing Arts, rather than having to wade through hundreds of courses on display at the one time. Feedback from parents, too, is always positive. They like the openness and accessibility of our Schools and academics, and they love to hear from our students. iDay is a great way to start building the relationship between prospective students and our Schools,” Professor McCulloch said.

Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with Associate Professor Rod McCulloch from the School of Communication at CSU at Bathurst. Admission is free to iDay at the Powerhouse Museum, Harris St Ultimo, Sydney, on Saturday 29 August.