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ALBURY-WODONGA
Home > Regional News > Albury-Wodonga
Vale Sheila Swain, AM
31 Mar 2009
The Charles Sturt University (CSU) community was saddened to hear of the recent death of Mrs Sheila Swain, AM. Mrs Swain was first appointed to the Council of Mitchell College of Advanced Education, a predecessor institution of CSU, in 1981. She became Deputy Chair in 1984 and was Chair from 1986 to 1988. The building housing the School of Nursing and Midwifery on the University’s Bathurst Campus was named after Mrs Swain in 2000. Mrs Swain was a councillor on Hunters Hill Municipal Council in Sydney from 1971 to 1991, becoming the first woman elected mayor of the suburb in 1980-82 and was re-elected in 1987-89. She was also active in the Australian Local Government Women's Association - as treasurer, secretary, president of the NSW branch and later national president. In 1986 Mrs Swain was named Outstanding Woman of the Year by the Australian Federation of Business and Professional Women, and in 1987 was appointed a member of the Order of Australia. In 1989 she established and funded four scholarships for female students at CSU suffering financial hardship.
Media Note: More information of Mrs Swain’s life is found here. Print this story Leading Australian joins CSU Council
24 Mar 2009
 Director of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and the former Director of the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, Dr Dawn Casey, PSM, FAHA has been appointed to the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Council. Dr Casey is the newest member of the University’s governing body following her appointment by the NSW Minister for Education and Training, the Hon. Verity Firth, MP, on recommendation from the CSU Council. Dr Casey, who is nationally and internationally recognised for her leadership of the Powerhouse Museum, the National Museum and the Western Australian Museum, has been appointed until June 2011. Dr Casey has made a major contribution to Indigenous policies and programs in Australia as well as to Australia’s cultural heritage, including. the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. She also initiated the joint Commonwealth-State response to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody as a senior executive in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Dr Casey’s appointment comes as the University celebrates the 20th anniversary of its establishment through the Charles Sturt University Act 1989. Read more here.
Media Note: Further information about the CSU Council including membership is available here. Print this story Cec Grant celebrated
24 Mar 2009
 Members of the Wiradjuri and wider Border community can share their memories of the late Wiradjuri elder, Pastor Cec Grant, at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga on Friday 1 May. The life and work of Pastor Grant, or Wongamar, will be celebrated at the Annual Pastor Cec Grant Lecture, which will be presented by local CSU academic and Wiradjuri elder Yalmambirra. CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Ross Chambers, said Pastor Grant made important contributions to Indigenous education at CSU. “The lecture will touch on Christianity and Indigenous culture and spirituality as a tribute to Pastor Grant and his vision,” Professor Chambers said. The evening event will commence with a barbeque at 5pm in front of the Nowik Lecture Theatres, then move into the main theatre for the lecture at 7pm.
Media Note: For interviews with CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Ross Chambers, contact CSU Media. Print this story Albury eases into Harmony
20 Mar 2009
Celebrating Australia’s cultural diversity is the goal for Harmony Day to be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury on Monday 23 March. With the theme of ‘everyone belongs’, event coordinator Ms Lynn Furze said the day is about community participation, inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone in the Albury community. The day will be opened by the acting Cultural and Education Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, Mr Yoni Utomo. Members of the Border community are invited to enjoy music, dance, food and entertainment from around the world, including a free barbeque. Harmony Day at CSU will run from 11am to 1pm at the barbeque area on the University’s Albury City site, off Olive St, Albury.
Media Note: For interviews with Ms Lynn Furze, and photo opportunities during the Harmony Day event, contact CSU Media. Print this story Native plants may help fight cancer
17 Mar 2009
 The search for treatments to beat such modern day diseases as cancer and diabetes is prompting scientists to examine traditional medicines used by Indigenous Australians. Native plants including Prickly Fanflower were used by Indigenous Australians and Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher Dr Philip Kerr is investigating their potential as anti-cancer and anti-diabetic medicine. “Australian and other naturalised flora represent a vast, untapped reserve of potential eco-friendly medicinal agents,” he said. Other plants under investigation include Desert Poplar, Sticky Goodenia, Stiff-leaved Bottlebrush and the well known weed Bathurst Burr which may have the potential to combat cancer. Dr Kerr says his interest was triggered while studying in Western Australia where a controversial ‘cancer treatment’ derived from an Australian native plant was being dispensed to terminal cancer patients. "For many years, natural products from Australian flora had been studied but with no apparent connection to their medicinal potential, but with the renewed interest in medicinal plants worldwide, that interest has burgeoned," he said.
Media Note: CSU researcher Dr Philip Kerr will deliver a seminar, ‘Native Plants, Natural Products, Neoplasia … and Diabetes too!’, from 3pm on Thursday 19 March in the conference room, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Pugsley Place off Pine Gully Road. Dr Kerr is a member of the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, an initiative of CSU and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Dr Kerr will work with the Phytomedicine Programme at the University of Pretoria in South Africa later this year. Print this story Call to rethink investment in land conservation
10 Mar 2009
 Governments across Australia have spent billions of dollars on programs to encourage rural landholders to implement sustainable farming and biodiversity conservation practices, but has this money been well spent? Drawing on his research in south eastern Australia, Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic Professor Allan Curtis will address this question when he speaks at the Fenner Conference on the Environment in Canberra on Wednesday 11 March. Professor Curtis will highlight the reality that most conservation work undertaken by private landholders is not funded by governments and that government investment in conservation programs, particularly those that invest in building and engaging human and social capital in rural communities, makes a difference. “The ‘business as usual’ approaches to engaging rural landholders are unlikely to work in the future given the remarkable change occurring as a large proportion of longer-term owners leave the land,” he said.
Media Note: For interviews contact CSU Media. Professor Allan Curtis, Professor of Integrated Environmental Management at CSU at Albury-Wodonga, will speak on Wednesday 11 March at the Fenner Conference on the Environment, Shine Dome, Gordon St, Canberra. Print this story Marking the years
10 Mar 2009
 While 2009 provides Charles Sturt University (CSU) with an opportunity to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the year is also a time to honour the 114-year tradition of excellence and innovation in teaching, learning and research. The University was established when the Charles Sturt University Act was passed by the NSW Parliament in July 1989, however the institution’s history can be traced back to the Bathurst Experimental Farm, established in 1895.The official opening ceremony for the University’s 20th anniversary will be held from 11am, Thursday 12 March, in Joyes Hall at CSU at Wagga Wagga. Read more here.
Media Note: CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Lyn Gorman is available for interview about the University’s 20-th anniversary. A copy of Professor Gorman's speech to the 20th anniversary opening is available from at the end of the CSU news release here. Manager of CSU Archives Mr Wayne Doubleday is available for interview about the University's history. Photos of the official opening of the 20-th anniversary are also available. Contact CSU Media. Print this story Valuing our natural places
10 Mar 2009
 People in and around Maryborough and Castlemaine in Central Victoria will soon be able to have their say on how communities value natural assets. Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher and PhD student Ms Eloise Seymour is hoping for over 500 replies to a mail survey she is sending out which will give her feedback on how people value local environmental assets such as the local Box-Ironbark Forests, the Moorlort wetlands, and the Loddon River between Baringhup and Vaughan Springs. “The Moorlort wetlands have been dry for 10 years due to the drought but local farmers have said how important they are for bird migration and how spectacular they used to be. Survey participants should consider how they value wetlands now and in the past,” Ms Seymour said. The survey, which should take 20 minutes to complete, will be sent to people living in small towns, regional centres, on farms and with special interests such as field naturalists. “The survey results will help develop better ways for environmental organisations in Australia to decide what natural places should receive government funding and resources,” Ms Seymour said.
Media Note: For interviews with Ms Eloise Seymour on her research project titled ‘Considering community values for natural assets in regional Natural Resource Management decision making’, contact Margrit Beemster on (02) 6051 9653. Her research is funded by the Future Farm Industries Cooperative Research Centre and is part of the Institute for Land, Water and Society. Survey results should be distributed to respondents by August 2009. Print this story The business of AIDS
03 Mar 2009
Many business leaders around the world are aware that they must ‘do something’ about HIV/AIDS. However, in order to take effective action, they need to understand the diverse economic, social, political and health issues relating to the epidemic. Charles Sturt University (CSU) postgraduate student Ms Saskia Faulk aims to develop a risk management tool for companies seeking to understand the extent and dynamics of HIV/AIDS so they can put into place HIV/AIDS workplace programs. Ms Faulk is completing a CSU Doctorate of Business Administration by distance education from Switzerland. Ms Faulk has also co-written a book, AIDS and Business, which presents case studies of businesses in countries including Brazil, India, Mexico, Morocco, Thailand, South Africa, and Switzerland. “The spread of HIV/AIDS affects businesses in all sectors, all industries and all countries, so companies and organisations must take action,” she said.
Media Note: For interviews with CSU postgraduate student Ms Saskia Faulk, contact CSU Media. AIDS and Business by Ms Faulk and Mr Jean-Claude Usunier is published this month by Routledge. Print this story Students forge new ground in Pakistan
03 Mar 2009
 Four Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences have returned with a wealth of experience after a three week visit to Pakistan where they worked with dairy farmers to improve the nutrition and health of their animals. A highlight for the CSU students Ms Amanda-Lee Charman, Mr Rhys Duncan, Ms Emma Hand and Mr Shahid Khalfan was conducting a seminar for 40 Pakistani students on topics including calf management, animal nutrition and health and fodder production. “The visit broke through new frontiers as the CSU students introduced new concepts in learning,” said CSU’s Professor Peter Wynn, who is leading an Australian project to assist Pakistani dairy farmers. “Our host, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Veterinary and Animal Science in the city of Lahore was very interested with the students’ approach to the seminars and he hoped that his University would be able to adopt similar ‘problem solving’ teaching techniques.”
Media Note: CSU is running a long term project through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) which aims to improve extension services for the 8.5 million small dairy farmers of Pakistan. The program is a part of the Australian Government’s commitment to the Pakistani Government under the Agriculture Sector Linkages Program (ASLP). CSU Professor of Animal Production Peter Wynn and the students, based in Wagga Wagga, are available for interview. Contact CSU Media.
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