Archive
CSU in Ontario’s Teacher of Excellence
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Ontario graduate Elizabeth Wild has been chosen as a First Year Teacher of Excellence for the Calgary Catholic School District in Canada. Elizabeth was in the first group of graduates from CSU’s Bachelor of Primary Education Studies, an elementary program for primary–junior teachers, which is offered by CSU onsite in Burlington, Ontario. Elizabeth teaches grade two at St. Rupert Elementary School in Calgary. She says she “loved” her CSU experience. “It provided me with hands-on, practical knowledge and experience and I was taught very cutting edge and progressive teaching techniques. CSU's program was absolutely fantastic. I really do feel like it is the best program in Ontario to prepare teachers for what the real classroom is going to be like. I think what I learned from CSU was a big part of the reason I was nominated for this award.”CSU Distance Education psychology student tops University honours
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003A Charles Sturt University (CSU) Distance Education psychology student will be awarded four separate University prizes as well as the University Medal when he graduates with first class honours at the CSU Bathurst Campus graduation ceremony on Friday 11 May. Mr Justin Harrison will receive his Bachelor of Psychology (Honours, Class 1) together with the Australian Psychological Society Prize, the Coleman's Prize in Psychology, the Social Sciences and Liberal Studies School Prize, and the W J Coote Showcase Jewellers Prize. “I did my first three years undergraduate as a distance education student in Alice Springs and completed my thesis part-time in Wagga Wagga,” Justin explained. “It is great to reap the rewards of hard work, but at the end of the day you are as good as your training, and my training has been excellent. I am now honoured to be counted as a new colleague among the CSU teaching team I hold in such high regard,” Justin said.
CSU’s new senior administrator
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Professor Lyn Gorman has been appointed the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at Charles Sturt University (CSU). In making the announcement on Thursday 3 May, CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter congratulated Professor Gorman and said, “I look forward to working with Professor Gorman in achieving the University Strategy 2007-2011 over the coming years”. Professor Gorman, who was previously the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and acting DV-C since June 2006, began her career at CSU in 1991. “I love what I am doing. I enjoy the opportunity for engagement with the Divisions, but I also remain involved with the Graduate Certificate in University Leadership and Management, which I sponsored when I was Dean of the Faculty, and also in developing online resources through my work as the presiding officer of the NSW HSC Online project’s Board of Management.”
CSU sports internship gives rural athletes the edge
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003A Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Human Movement Studies initiative with the Western Region Academy of Sport (WRAS) at Bathurst aims to enhance the performance and competitive edge of elite athletes from regional NSW while providing practical experience for CSU Human Movement students. Dr Stephen Bird, a lecturer in Human Movement at CSU, said the program, known as the ‘WRAS Strength and Conditioning Internship (SCI)’, offers the human resources, scientific knowledge and programming expertise that enables athletes to train systematically and safely to improve sports performance and reduce the risk of injury. “The Internships are open to senior second and third year Human Movement students and will give them the proficiency, skills and knowledge required as early-career strength and conditioning professionals. The first two CSU interns, Ryan Drew and Geoff Minett, will devise individualised programs with strength and conditioning activities specific to each athlete’s chosen sport,” he said.
CSU introduces new online environment
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003Academics and other professional staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are being introduced to the next wave of online change. Associate Professor Marian Tulloch, the Director of the Centre for Enhanced Learning and Teaching (CELT), will introduce the new online learning and teaching environment CSU Interact at a series of seminars on CSU’s campuses between 7 May and 16 May. “In early 2008 CSU Interact the new online collaborative scholarly environment will be rolled out across the University for learning and teaching,” Professor Tulloch said. “As part of CSU’s flexible learning strategy it will provide an integrated, enhanced and evolving learning environment for on and off campus students. Because it is a complex and collaborative process, these seminars will provide an opportunity for staff to hear more about the development of CSU Interact, to ask questions, and make suggestions.”
Enhancing Indigenous education
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Kiama High School pupils will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dubbo Campus tomorrow to hear about CSU’s innovative Enhanced Training Program for teaching in schools with significant Aboriginal enrolments. Tracey Simpson, senior lecturer and Associate Head of the School of Teacher Education at CSU Dubbo, is the driving force behind the program. She explains that fourth year Bachelor of Teaching students, who participate in the Enhanced Program, take on subjects that explore “Aboriginal history and social justice issues, as well as working within schools and communities where there are Aboriginal families”. Todd Mackie, who attended Kiama High, is currently undertaking the Enhanced Program, which he describes as, “Extremely positive. It is amazing how the learning experiences in the program are starting to connect and help us see the bigger picture - addressing systematic educational inequalities."
CSU honours St George Bank CEO Gail Kelly
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003Charles Sturt University (CSU) will honour the achievements of Mrs Gail Kelly, the managing director and chief executive office (CEO) of the St George Bank at the University’s Bathurst Campus graduation ceremony at 10.30am on Friday 11 May. Mrs Kelly will receive an honorary Doctor of Business for her contribution to the financial services and banking industries, and to the promotion of women in leadership. Mrs Kelly, who will also deliver the occasional address at the graduation ceremony, migrated from South Africa to Australia with her husband and four children in 1997. She was head of the Customer Service Division of the Commonwealth Bank prior to joining the St George Bank in January 2002, and was the first woman to become CEO of a major Australian bank and one of the top 15 public companies in Australia. The Australian Women’s Weekly magazine recently nominated Mrs Kelly as one of the ten most powerful women in Australia.
A robust approach to frailty
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
A series of workshops on an “acutely important subject” – frailty – will be held around New South Wales and South Australia regional locations between May and October. The first workshop will be held in Wagga Wagga on Sunday 20 May. According to Professor Patrick Ball, from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences, who leads the multidisciplinary team developing the program, the aim is to optimise the care of frail elderly people in rural and remote communities. “A frail elderly person who falls ill can suddenly go from living independently to being in institutional care. But if you intervene appropriately and vigorously in the early stages, you can keep them at home for years longer. This is especially important in rural and remote areas so you don’t disrupt their life. Their social circle isn’t ruined and we do not finish up picking up the bill as a society.”
Top teaching award to moving lecturer
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003The Vice-Chancellor of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Ian Goulter, will confer his Teaching Excellence Award for 2006 on Ms Deborah Clarke, lecturer at the School of Human Movement, at the University’s Bathurst Campus postgraduate students’ graduation ceremony on Thursday 10 May. Ms Clarke’s ability to engage her students and develop them into critical thinkers and life-long learners was central to her success. “In everything she does, Ms Clarke focuses on making connections between university study and the world of schools,” says Professor Toni Downes, Dean of the Faculty of Education. “Her classes are highly interactive and always at the forefront of knowledge about teaching, a point consistently acknowledged by her students. Above all, she helps her students to see how dry curriculum documents can be translated into exciting and meaningful classroom experiences for children in schools. She does this by modelling creative, challenging and innovative ways of teaching children and always looking for ways to improve her own practice.”
First upgraded nurses set to graduate
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
The lack of doctors and dentists in rural areas often overshadows the critical shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs). To overcome this, Charles Sturt University (CSU), the Moira Nursing Education Consortium and the Greater Southern Area Health Services (GSAHS) have collaborated in programs that encourage Enrolled Nurses (ENs) who are based in rural, regional and remote areas to upgrade their skills and become RNs. The program takes residential schools and clinical placements to the ENs, as well as providing them with financial and other support. Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Health Science at CSU, Heather Latham says, “We are confident they will continue to work in their local communities. It is so important to support these nurses”. One of the nurses, Sharyn Maxwell who works at Tumut Hospital, said, “We already live here, work here and want to stay here. It was a wonderful experience. The CSU lecturers were very supportive and approachable. It made such a difference having that peer and financial support, as well as the support from my employers.”