It is highly unlikely that there will be a fresh case of Equine Influenza (EI) but NSW horse owners must continue to comply with all movement restrictions, so that if a new case did occur it could be rapidly traced and controlled, according to Charles Sturt University (CSU) veterinary epidemiologist, Dr Petra Buckley.  The CSU School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences provided emergency assistance during the EI outbreak by sending epidemiologists, Dr Buckley and Dr Jan Lievaart, to the NSW Department of Primary Industries State Disease Control Headquarters at Orange.  Dr Buckley says “Testing so far has shown that NSW is free from EI, due to movement controls and the willingness of the horse industries to restrict their movements, which has been crucial in the fight against EI. The disease eradication program would have been much more difficult, perhaps impossible, if horse movements had not been restricted and tracked”. Because of the need to protect the disease-free areas, horse movements between zones are still restricted and no easing of any of these movement requirements is likely before the Special Restricted Area or purple zone is declared a disease-free green zone.

For interviews with Dr Petra Buckley, contact CSU Media.

Researchers from the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, an alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries, are investigating whether perennial plants can improve the bottom line for meat and wool producers while protecting the environment of inland Australia. EverGraze is a national project, with four trials being conducted around Wagga Wagga in southern NSW. The trials are using summer-active perennials to increase the fertility rate in ewes and phalaris hedgerows or shrub belts to improve lamb survival. The study compares four farming systems based on perennial plants, that efficiently use feed for profit, as well as using shrub belts to intercept water running downhill. Results from the first two years of research shows improved nutrition for ewes and ovulation rates are up by 22 per cent. The EverGraze research team - Dr Michael Friend, Dr Susan Robertson, Mr John Broster and Dr Iain Hume - will present the research results at the seminar, “EverGraze - More livestock from perennials”  from 3.30pm on Thursday 28 February in the Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute’s conference room, Pine Gully Road, Wagga Wagga.

For interviews contact CSU Media.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst and Wagga Wagga as well as students studying by distance education are expected to attend the inaugural Career’s Fair on Wednesday 27 February. The Fair, to be held on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus, has attracted 50 exhibitors and public and private sector employers hoping to discuss career options with students studying arts, business, education, health and science. “The Career’s Fair is not just about graduate recruitment,” said CSU careers development officer Mr Paul Worsfold. “The exhibitors are either seeking to recruit students for 2009 or assisting students in their career development well into the future,” Mr Worsfold added. Students can ask about vacation employment and cadetships. The Fair will also offer students workshops on the formalities of applying for jobs. The inaugural event will be held from 11am until 2.30pm in Joyes Hall and nearby Convention Centre. As part of the University’s commitment to provide programs that prepare students for work and citizenship, it’s hoped the Careers Fair will become an annual event across CSU.

 

CSU careers development officer Mr Paul Worsfold is available for interview. Contact CSU Media.

Students and staff from Charles Sturt University (CSU) as well as local businesses have shown they care for kids with over $5 000 collected last week for the children’s air ambulance service, Careflight. The money was collected during CSU’s Orientation 2008 activities involving students on the University’s Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga campuses. Donations to Careflight were made at the evening and daytime social activities and raffles during the students introduction to academic life at the University. Classes for the Autumn academic session started on all CSU campuses yesterday, Monday 18 February.

For interviews on the Careflight project with Orientation Week coordinator Paul Shaw, contact CSU Media.

In a testament to his leading role in assessing future directions for irrigation in Australia and overseas, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Professor Shahbaz Khan will take up a prestigious new role with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Professor Khan is currently Director of CSU’s International Centre for WATER (IC WATER) and Regional Coordinator of the Asia-Pacific office of UNESCO IHP-HELP. His extensive work has impacted on landholders across inland Australia, the irrigation industry, national water policy in Australia and the international scientific community. In the last few years, Professor Shahbaz and his team, based at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus, have received a number of prestigious awards, including the national 2007 Eureka Prize and CSIRO’s Medal for Research Achievement. Professor Khan will also continue to supervise post graduate students at CSU. Professor Khan will join UNESCO as chief of its section on Sustainable Water Resources Development and Management in Paris, France.

 

The apology to the ‘Stolen Generations’ in federal parliament last week allowed Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Koori Teaching Fellow, Mr Laurie Crawford to leave the University on a high. After 37 years as an Aboriginal educator, including the last 17 years at CSU, Mr Crawford last week retired.  Mr Crawford said he has seen a lot of change in Aboriginal education, some of it good, some of it bad. “The biggest positive change has been the development of technology and the delivery of flexible learning by distance education, with a new focus on teaching methods. Another major change has been the development of CSU’s Dubbo Campus, with a major focus on Aboriginal education.” Mr Crawford started as an Aboriginal Education Assistant (AEA) at Walgett High School in 1972, the first AEA appointed to a NSW high school. He came to Bathurst in 1979 to study for a Diploma of Teaching at Mitchell College of Advanced Education, a predecessor of CSU. He then taught at Eglinton Public School near Bathurst until his appointment in 1991 as Koori Teaching Fellow at CSU.

Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with Mr Laurie Crawford.

Nursing, education and business courses offered on Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dubbo Campus will be the focus for CSU staff next week as they travel and talk to Aboriginal people in remote communities in western NSW. Director of the University’s Centre for Indigenous Studies and Head of Dubbo Campus, Mr Gary Shipp, said “This will be the first opportunity for people in some of these communities to meet senior CSU staff and discuss the courses that are available to them. It is important to talk with the local Aboriginal people about what CSU can offer, especially the newly established Centre for Indigenous Studies at Dubbo Campus.” The group will travel to Hay, Balranald, Dareton, Broken Hill and Wilcannia to visit public and private primary and secondary schools, local councils, health organisations and TAFE facilities.

Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with Mr Gary Shipp. Participants in the recruiting trip include Mr Gary Shipp, Director, CSU Centre for Indigenous Studies and Head of CSU Dubbo Campus; Professor Elaine Duffy, Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery; Mr Ray Eldridge, Manager, Indigenous Support Units (across all CSU campuses); Mr Joe Hull, Community Liaison Officer, Indigenous Support Unit-Bathurst; Mr Daniel Clegg, Community Liaison Officer, Indigenous Support Unit (Albury); and Mr John Nolan, Community Consultant.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic Professor Margaret Alston heads off to New York tomorrow 12 February to take up her role as Australia’s non-government representative to the 2008 meeting of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women. Due to be held at the UN headquarters from Monday 25 February to Friday 7 March, the 52^nd session of the Commission will be held under the theme of ‘Financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women’. The Professor of Social Work and Human Services was selected last year by the Federal Government to join the Australian delegation. Professor Alston has researched widely in the field of rural social issues and is internationally recognised for her work into rural Australia. Established in 1946, the UN Commission on the Status of Women is a committee of the UN Economic and Social Council.

Professor Margaret Alston departs CSU on Wednesday 20 February and is due to return to the University on Wednesday 12 March. For interviews or photos, contact CSU Media.

A book on economic globalisation with local, national and international contributions edited by CSU academics will be officially launched by the Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Ian Goulter, on Wednesday 13 February. Engagement & Change - Exploring Management, Economic and Finance Implications of a Globalising Environment, examines the issue of globalisation from diverse perspectives. Co-editor Dr PK Basu, Associate Head of the School of Marketing & Management at CSU’s Bathurst Campus, said the book contains “23 papers by Australian and international researchers from different disciplines and addresses the effects of globalisation on areas such as management, economics, finance, accounting, marketing and human resources”. Contributors included 19 academics from CSU and from seven other Australian universities, as well as from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) psychology student is looking for volunteers from the Blayney-Bathurst-Orange area to participate in her research project on victims of mistreatment. Ms Belinda Harris said her research is designed to assist people aged 18 years or older who continue to experience distress, hurt or pain caused by others. “Participants will be invited to take part in a group treatment program that has been designed to assist people who believe they have been abused or significantly hurt by the actions of another individual or group,” Ms Harris said. “The treatment is for people who want to reduce the anger, hurt and discomfort they may feel as a result of interpersonal injustice.” For further information, with no obligation to participate, contact Ms Harris on 0401 276 322 or via email.