* New CSU Science Dean shows good things come from regional Australia

* Professor Megan Smith is a home grown leader at CSU with considerable teaching research and managerial experience in regional areas

* Professor Smith wants CSU science graduates to make a difference to regional and rural communities and is excited to be leading the introduction of medicine at CSU

Professor Megan Smith (pictured left) brings something a little different to the role of Dean of Science.

The new Executive Dean of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Faculty of Science commenced her working life in 1990 as a physiotherapist in big hospitals in Sydney and London, however, her passion for teaching and rural living drew her back to the country.

“I know country living. I grew up on my parent’s farm outside Coolamon in the Riverina region of NSW. I attended Coolamon Central School.

“I choose to live and work in rural Australia; this is my home.”

A ‘home-grown’ academic leader at CSU since 2000, Professor Smith has held positions as a lecturer, course leader, Head of School and Deputy Dean.

In 2017, she was appointed the inaugural head of the Three Rivers University Department of Rural Health, a collaborative university effort to improve the training and retention of allied health professionals in regional NSW that included CSU.

Professor Smith is deeply committed to providing quality professional education that meets the needs of regional communities and rural people.

“I love that Charles Sturt University makes a difference to our communities.

“Our graduates are employed across our region and the nation. I’m proud that they are positively impacting on the lives of my family, friends and community through courses that include the health professions, vet science, agriculture, and environmental science.

“I’m also really excited that students will soon be able to study medicine at Charles Sturt University through our Faculty.

“Our courses are designed to meet their needs and those of the communities they will serve, whether they be in our local regions, our nation or elsewhere around the globe.”

Professor Smith believes CSU students are well supported in their science courses by academics eminently qualified for their education.

“We have staff who are experts in their field, along with world-class teaching facilities, and they are right here in regional Australia.

“I also want to build the opportunities for our communities to benefit from what we have right here on their doorsteps.”

Professor Smith is enthusiastic about the pathways that CSU students can follow, both online and on-campus, to obtain a professional education.

“There are so many opportunities in the Faculty of Science and at Charles Sturt University for students to pursue the career they want and in the way they want to learn,” Professor Smith said.

“Our university is special because we care about people as individuals, we care about where they come from and where they want to go.”