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Charles Sturt University (CSU) Chancellor, Mr Lawrence Willett, AO, will officiate at the launch of The Centre for Inland Health (CIH) and the Inland Health Foundation (IHF) on Monday 10 December on the CSU Bathurst Campus. CIH Director Dr Rod Pope explained that the Centre is based on a model that “involves academics from all campuses who participate in research and development in the four CSU faculties – Arts, Business, Education and Science – to serve the shared vision of health for our inland communities. It builds linkages between staff from various CSU Schools, Centres and Groups and links them with service providers, government agencies and community representatives for research and development, rather than operating as a discrete grouping of academics focused on either research or teaching and learning,” Dr Pope said. The Inland Health Foundation is being established to fund the Centre’s work through donations.

Three Charles Sturt University (CSU) academics from Ontario in Canada will get a taste of the Australian summer when they visit the Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst and Wagga Wagga campuses this month. The trio will visit CSU in Australia on a familiarisation tour of campus facilities and staff as well as the larger regional cities of Albury, Bathurst and Wagga Wagga. Ms Janet Adler, a lecturer in creative arts and mathematics, Ms Gail Grant, a lecturer in language and literacy and social studies and Mr Don Jones a lecturer in mathematics and science are a key part of the CSU Ontario team delivering the University’s Bachelor of Primary Education Studies, an elementary program for primary-junior teachers in Ontario. The 2007-2008 student intake are currently on their teaching practical work before they head off for their winter holiday break. The group represents CSU’s third annual student intake in the successful Ontario program.

Community support is growing for Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Centre for Inland Health initiative, which was established in response to the existing lack of information and realistic solutions to meet the health needs of inland Australian communities. Riverina identity and past president of the Country Women’s Association (CWA) Ms Elaine Armstrong congratulated CSU for the initiative to present the health symposium, Planning Together for the Future and the launch of the Centre on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 December. “The workshops offered are of special interest to women and their families in this region as they cover areas such as lung health, muscle, bone and joint health, life with cancer, health workforce and services, heart health, ageing and health and mental health,” said Ms Armstrong. “Of special interest is the symposium on mental health, because of the extended drought conditions which are causing stress and anxiety for families. Anxiety in younger farmers is another major issue, with statistics showing that men aged 30 to 45 years and living in rural and remote areas, are at risk of mental breakdowns and suicides.”

 

One of the country’s great thinkers, Dr Barry Jones, AO, will look at the role of the public intellectual in Australia when he visits Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Wagga Wagga Campus on Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 December.  The writer, broadcaster and former politician will address a dinner of senior CSU staff from 6.30pm on Monday in a speech entitled, What is the role of the public intellectual in Australia? Dr Jones will travel to CSU’s Albury-Wodonga Campus on Tuesday 4 December to present the keynote address at the CSU Community Engagement Forum. Dr Jones served in Federal Parliament from 1977 to 1998 and was Australia’s longest serving Science Minister from 1983 to 1990. He was the ALP National President from 1992 to 2000 and again in 2005. Dr Jones is the only person to be elected as a Fellow to all four Australian Academies. He has written three books; Sleepers, Wake!: Technology and the Future of Work (1982), Dictionary of World Biography (1994) and his 2006 autobiography, A Thinking Reed.

Working with people with brain injuries or working in mental health as well as with older and young people and in rural areas will all be discussed at the annual occupational therapy conference for final year students from Charles Sturt University (CSU). The two day conference in Albury, which includes keynote addresses by the Head of Albury-Wodonga Campus, Professor Gail Whiteford and a local expert in childcare in remote Aboriginal communities, Ms Helen Fitzgerald, will include work by 44 students who will graduate next year from the University’s four year course. “We will discuss issues affecting our profession, including working with people with brain injuries, in mental health, with older and young people and in rural areas. The conference helps prepare us for our future professional lives and is a great way to complete our studies at CSU,” said conference coordinator Ms Vanessa Mahon. The conference starts at 9am on Wednesday 28 November in the CSU Nowik lecture theatres, Guinea St, Albury, and continues on Thursday 29 November.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) theatre/media student, Mr Adam Deusien will be heading to Brisbane in January 2008 to take-up a prestigious six-month internship with the Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre company. Adam is the first CSU student to win one of the highly contested internships with Zen Zen Zo. He will specialise in Viewpoints, a technique taught to him at weekly workshops since April by Ms Fiona Green, associate lecturer at the School of Communication at CSU’s Bathurst Campus, and Ms Margie Breen, Performing Arts Producer/Animateur at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre. Ms Green said, “Adam is a dedicated and motivated student who has the talent and drive to succeed in a difficult industry. We’ve told him to dream big and that’s just what he’s done.” Mr Deusien will undertake a rigorous training program with 13 other interns from around Australia and then perform in a company production at the end of the internship. He will then return to Bathurst to finish his degree and conduct workshops with theatre/media students in 2008.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Chancellor, Mr Lawrence Willett, AO, will host a community reception Thursday 6 December to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the establishment of CSU’s Dubbo Campus. The event will be marked by the release of the 10 Year Anniversary booklet and the launch CSU’s Centre for Inland Health (CIH) in Dubbo.  Head of CSU’s Dubbo Campus, Mr Gary Shipp said, “The Chancellor has invited all staff to attend the community reception in recognition of their invaluable, loyal and friendly service to the University and community". Mr Shipp also explained that The Centre for Inland Health is different to most of the University’s other Centres in that “it uses academics from all campuses who are involved in research and development in the four CSU faculties – Arts, Business, Education and Science – to serve the shared vision of health for our inland communities”.

Three art pieces that highlight iconic images of modern Australia have been donated to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Ontario, Canada. Three works by Melbourne artist Lianne Lewis now adorn the walls of the University’s Burlington campus after they were passed on to the Associate Head of School at CSU Ontario, Professor Rod Francis through the Australian Consulate in nearby Toronto. The brightly coloured modernist works depict landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student in the third year of her teaching degree, Ms Millie Whitehead should really get to know herself in the coming week as she endeavours to ride her bicycle the 500 kilometres from Albury to Warragul in western Victoria in seven days. Departing on Sunday 2 December, Ms Whitehead is raising money for the Leukaemia Foundation in memory of her good friend “Ben”. Teaching staff from the University’s Murray School of Education will support her, accompanying her on the first 10 kilometres of her journey.  Albury City Council will stage a lunchtime barbeque to help raise funds with Ms Whitehead. The bbq will be held on Friday 30 November at the Library Museum, Kiewa St, Albury. The CSU student is hoping to raise at least $10 000 for leukemia research. Ms Whitehead will set out from QEII Square, central Albury at 9am on 2 December.

This week Mr Kevin Wilkins, senior lecturer in mathematics at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Accounting and Computer Science, will retire after 30 years’ service on the Bathurst Campus. Mr Wilkins began lecturing at CSU’s predecessor, the Mitchell College of Advanced Education, in 1974. Head of School, Associate Professor Ross Wilson, said, “Kevin is a person who has the best interests of his students and his colleagues as his priority at all times. He is always available to offer help to students and staff with intriguing mathematical problems. His colleagues will miss his passion for ensuring his workmates get a 'fair go' at all times.” A former Head of the School, Associate Professor Sue Moffatt, praised Mr Wilkins as an example of the kind of excellence in teaching that institutions such as CSU need in a competitive market. “As a teacher, Kevin had the capacity to make complex concepts seem straightforward and he challenged even the brightest Games Technology student. The student evaluations of ‘Big K’ were always well above the mean.”