The risks of driving while under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs. or while tired, are being brought home to students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) during a drug awareness campaign until Friday 6June. Organised by the University's Health Promotions Service, the campaign involves parking damaged motorbikes and cars at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga. Health Promotions Officer at CSU Ms Coleen Pearce said, "These vehicles, which are on loan from local businesses, have been sign posted and cordoned off. They aim to show students what can happen if they drink and drive or take drugs and get behind the wheel. The awareness campaign supports the Plan B road safety campaign."

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students and staff will undertake a training program to foster a culture that is inclusive of people who are of diverse sexuality or gender identity will be held at CSU in Albury on Friday 16 May. The Ally Program, launched last month by CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann, will establish a network of allies who publicly support the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI). Student equity and diversity officer, Ms Chai Palila, said, "The Ally Program is in place in a number of universities in Australia and New Zealand and we are very excited about its launch at Charles Sturt University. This is about supporting a higher education environment that is inclusive, safe and respectful of all people at the University." The Ally Program is an initiative of the University's Office of the Dean of Students.

Scholarships will be presented to Charles Sturt University (CSU) students next week to mark their academic excellence and personal achievements. A total of 31 academic scholarships will be presented to students at CSU in Albury-Wodonga on Tuesday 20 May.Officiating at his last official ceremony at the Albury-Wodonga campus ahead of his retirement in 2014, CSU Chancellor Lawrence Willett, AO will welcome prize winners and donor representatives as well as family and friends and CSU staff. Winner of the 2014 David Battersby Award for Student Citizenship, Mr Lewis Tinley, will also give the vote of thanks on behalf of fellow scholarship winners, whose prizes will include cash awards and accommodation from local councils, international corporations, local businesses, community groups and individuals from Albury-Wodonga and surrounding districts. The ceremony will commence at 5.30pm on 20 May in the Boardroom, Gordon Beavan building (673), CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Leahy Street, Thurgoona. Read more about CSU scholarships here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will take part in year's Biggest Morning Tea to help finance research into various cancers to be held on Friday 16 May between 8 and 10 am at CSU in Albury-Wodonga. Charles Sturt Cleaning Services, a company managed by CSU that provides cleaning services across the University, will sell breakfast and run a raffle to raise funds for the Australian Cancer Council. The event will be held from 8 am in the Gums Cafe, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students and staff will undertake a training program to foster a culture that is inclusive of people who are of diverse sexuality or gender identity will be held at CSU in Albury on Friday 16 May. The Ally Program, launched last month by CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann, will establish a network of allies who publicly support the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI). Student equity and diversity officer, Ms Chai Palila, said, "The Ally Program is in place in a number of universities in Australia and New Zealand and we are very excited about its launch at Charles Sturt University. This is about supporting a higher education environment that is inclusive, safe and respectful of all people at the University." The Ally Program is an initiative of the University's Office of the Dean of Students.

Are you active and experience chronic pain from sore muscles or tendons in legs, arms or shoulders? Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Community Engagement and Wellness Centre (CEWC) has received a radial shockwave machine on loan for the next 10 weeks to treat active people of all ages free of charge as part of a normal consultation. CSU podiatry educator Mr Brent Smith said radial shockwave therapy has been shown to effectively treat chronic pain caused by various musculoskeletal conditions such as heel pain, plantar fasciitis, problems with Achilles tendon, and sore arms and shoulders. "The therapy consists of three treatments, one a week for 10 minutes. Scientific evidence shows eight out of 10 people treated with the machine experience relief of their pain after the full treatment. We are particularly keen to see people who are engaged in active sports, or who are getting or maintaining their fitness in their later years," Mr Smith said. He said there was limited access to the technology in Albury-Wodonga, and podiatry and physiotherapy students from the School of Community Health at CSU in Albury-Wodonga will also be trained how to use the machine. To find out more about the treatment or book an appointment, contact CSU's Community Engagement and Wellness (CEW) Centre on (02) 6051 9299. Read more about the Centre in CSU News here.

Taking the temperature of the global ocean is the topic of a free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga, Orange and Wagga Wagga by Distinguished Professor Tony Haymet from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). From 2006 to 2012, the Australian scientist led the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, a 110 year old geoscience research organisation focussing on the solid earth, oceans and atmosphere, and marine biology.  In his talks, Professor Haymet will track the factors that influenced the UCSD university and hospital campus community of 45 000 to change the way they generate energy. He will discuss how an understanding of how heat moves around the planet, developed through measuring ocean temperatures, can have impacts locally, nationally and globally. Professor Haymet is Director and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at Scripps, and formerly Chief of Marine and Atmospheric Research at CSIRO in Australia. The lectures are part of CSU's 2014 Explorations Series which aims to encourage debate about the big issues facing society. The lectures are free and the public is welcome to attend. Details of Professor Haymet's lectures are:Friday 2 May from 6pm in the Wal Fife Lecture Theatres, building 14, near car park 4, Tooma Way, CSU in Wagga Wagga.Monday 5 May from 6.30pm in Room 104 in the CD Blake Auditorium, building 751, CSU in Albury-Wodonga.Tuesday 6 May from 6pm in Room 120, Lecture Theatre 3, building 1004, CSU in Orange.

Australian and Lao researchers have collaborated to address the growing problem of allowing native fish to move between the mighty Mekong River, the most important river in South East Asia, and surrounding rice paddies and wetlands. Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) are hosting a visiting academic from the National University of Laos on the Border region this week to further the study of "fishways", simple structures that assist native fish in their regular migration between wetlands, paddies and the Mekong. Dr Malavanh Chittavong, an expert in animal production and fisheries in developing countries, won a fellowship from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) to visit Australia and further her research. Dr Chittavong, a member of the ACIAR research project in Laos, will visit CSU in Albury-Wodonga on Thursday 27 March to meet with CSU social researcher Dr Joanne Millar and Dr Lee Baumgartner from DPI's Narrandera Fisheries Research Centre to discuss research initiatives in Laos.

A US expert in early childhood education will discuss the importance of teachers having various skills and knowledge to work with children and families at Charles Sturt University (CSU) tomorrow, Wednesday 26 March. This includes learning more about how and where their students live and the resources they have. Professor Beth Graue, from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in USA, will present a lecture on how, through improvisational teaching, teachers can draw on their knowledge of their students, their families and resources, to develop learning environments that work well for all. Professor Graue also has academic interests in home-school relations, the effects of class sizes on education, and children's transition to school. Her lecture will be presented to students and staff from the CSU School of Education at 1pm Wednesday 26 March in room 114/115, building 754, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.