• Charles Sturt announces inaugural ‘Distinguished Alumni Awards Program’
• Annual program will recognise and celebrate achievements of Charles Sturt alumni
• Nominations for the awards are open until Friday 4 September, with winners of the four award categories announced online on Friday 23 October

Charles Sturt University is proud to announce it will launch its first alumni awards program this year.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards Program will recognise and celebrate the achievements of members of Charles Sturt’s alumni.

The awards, which will be held by the University annually, include four ‘alumni of the year’ categories: Professional Achievement, Service to the Community, Young Alumni, and Association Member.

Nominations for the awards are open until Friday 4 September and can be made by members of the public and the Charles Sturt community, including staff, students and alumni. Alumni members can also self-nominate.  

Charles Sturt’s Associate Director, Development and Alumni Relations, Ms Jennifer Galloway, said the University introduced the new awards program to formally recognise the exceptional contributions many Charles Sturt alumni members make to the wider community.

“Charles Sturt University’s Distinguished Alumni Awards Program is an opportunity to recognise the exceptional professional, academic and research contributions our alumni make to communities at both a national and international level,” Ms Galloway said.

“We are constantly hearing positive feedback from those our graduates have helped and inspired, and about the positive impacts our alumni have on their communities and across the world.

“Our spotlight stories on our alumni website, and in our alumni magazine, Thrive, are jam-packed with stories of great people doing great things.

“We look forward to hosting the very first alumni awards program to formally acknowledge how our alumni members are embodying the Charles Sturt ethos of ‘Yindyamarra Winhanganha’, a Wiradjuri phrase meaning 'the wisdom of knowing how to live well in a world worth living in’.”

The inaugural winners will be announced online on Friday 23 October and invited to receive their award in person at one of the University’s graduation ceremonies.

They will also be invited to speak at the University’s graduation ceremonies to inspire the next wave of graduates.

Nominees for the awards will be shortlisted by an internal Charles Sturt committee comprised of a number of the University’s senior leaders, faculty members and Advancement Office staff members.

The Charles Sturt Distinguished Alumni Awards Program has been developed to align with the University Strategy and ethos.

Nominations for the awards can be made via the 'Alumni Awards' page on the Charles Sturt website. Further information about the awards program is also available on this webpage.

To read more about the interesting and diverse work of members of the University’s alumni, please refer to the list of 10 recent alumni stories below and visit the Charles Sturt news site for more stories.

1. Charles Sturt says #thanksambos for their service during these uncertain times
2. Our thanks to pharmacy staff, vital frontline workers in COVID-19 times
3. Cyber security provides a challenging and rewarding career for graduate
4. The job as a newly-qualified nurse during COVID-19
5. The perfect pairing: two Charles Sturt graduates are now co-owners of a boutique winery
6. Six months after graduation: the full-circle moment for a regional teaching graduate
7. Charles Sturt alumna and employee calls for unity ahead of World Refugee Day
8. Charles Sturt alumnus tells of 20-year career in Australia’s tourism industry
9. Charles Sturt alumna’s path to writing for Law and Order: SVU and the opportunities in between
10. Charles Sturt graduate awarded a second Gates Cambridge Scholarship