Albury institution celebrates 150 years

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
One the of the oldest public institutions in Albury, the public hospital, is celebrating its 150^th anniversary. Local historian and adjunct academic with Charles Sturt University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, Associate Professor Bruce Pennay, has gathered a collection of documents, photos, films and artefacts to commemorate the event, which will be on show at the Albury LibraryMuseum in Kiewa Street. “Many people have been involved with the Albury Hospital since it was established in 1861, either as patients, visitors, employees or fund-raisers. This is their opportunity to celebrate the hospital and its links to the Albury community,” Professor Pennay said. The Exhibition will be officially opened at 1pm on Sunday 13 March in the LibraryMuseum, and continues to Sunday 1 May.

Indigenous voices in poetry

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Indigenous poet Ms Ali Cobby Eckermann is the first Writer-In-Residence for 2011 at the Booranga Writers’ Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. A Nunga writer, Ms Cobby Eckermann lives in the South Australia town of Koolunga. Her first poetry collection, published by Picaro Press in 2009, little bit longtime, charts her journey to reconnect with her Yankunytjatjara family. In 2007, Ms Cobby Eckermann was granted two poetry mentorships through the Northern Territory Writers’ Centre and Varuna, The Writers’ House. The poet will be joined in Wagga Wagga by fellow writer Mr Lionel Fogarty, a Murri man from Queensland. His internationally acclaimed work includes ten books of poetry and a children’s book. Mr Fogarty is well known for his activism for the rights of Indigenous Australians since he was a teenager. While a Writer-In-Residence until Friday 11 March, Ms Cobby Eckermann will be accompanied by her partner on visits to the Riverina Juvenile Justice Centre in Wagga Wagga, where they will be working on writing with detainees.

MyDay in environmental sciences

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Students from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Environmental Sciences will give high school students from around Albury-Wodonga a personal experience of study at CSU on Thursday 10 March. The 11 high school students will work with CSU undergraduate students for the day, following them through lectures, laboratory study and fieldwork, as the CSU students go about a ‘normal day’ in their studies as part of the University’s MyDay program. Head of the School of Environmental Sciences, Associate Professor Ben Wilson, said open days can only show a snapshot of university life, but “you have to ‘be a student for a day’ to see what it is really like. This is particularly important for such a ‘hands-on’ degree as environmental sciences.”

US Consul General visits CSU in Wagga Wagga

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
The US Consul General in Australia, Mr Niels Marquardt, will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 16 March to learn about the work of the University and to deliver a lecture to staff and students. The Head of Campus at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr Adrian Lindner, said, “I look forward to welcoming Mr Marquardt to the University and showing him some of the excellent facilities here. We will tour the campus, and visit the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, and the International Centre of Water for Food Security. We will also discuss the work of the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation. Mr Marquardt will then present a lecture for staff and students about his experience in the US Peace Corp.” Mr Marquardt’s lecture, The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love: Volunteering in the Developing World, will explore his experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Rwanda from1977-79. The Peace Corps is an independent US government agency established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to encourage young Americans to serve their country in the cause of peace by volunteering to live and work in developing countries that request assistance. Mr Lindner hopes meeting and listening to Mr Marquardt’s experiences will inspire current CSU students to get involved and make a positive contribution in developing countries.

Graduations at CSU in Dubbo next week

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Students from a range of disciplines at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will graduate at a ceremony on Wednesday 23 March 2011. The Head of Campus at CSU in Dubbo, Dr Beverley Moriarty, said, “I’m delighted that 109 students from teaching, nursing, business and social work courses will graduate from Charles Sturt University in Dubbo this year. It is pleasing to note this continuing upward trend in the number of graduating students, many of whom will take up employment in regional NSW.” The Occasional Address will be delivered by Dubbo businessman Mr Bob Berry. The graduation ceremony starts at 10.30am at the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre, Darling St, Dubbo.

Orange will see stars

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Orange is set to be the home of a new $10 million planetarium thanks to the hard work of a group of astronomy enthusiasts who will present a public lecture hosted by the Central West Branch of the Royal Society of New South Wales at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Friday 18 March. Orange Planetarium Inc. President, Mr Rod Sommerville, and Vice-President, Mr Nat Burgio, will provide a detailed overview of this unique and visionary project, which will help advance community understanding of astronomy, and science generally, and will be a major educational and tourism attraction for the Central West. “The Orange Planetarium group has been planning the Southern Skies Earth and Space Centre for more than eight years and it’s exciting to see the project develop,” said Professor Kevin Parton, Chair of the Central West Branch of the Royal Society of New South Wales and Head of Campus at CSU in Orange. “The public lecture will showcase final design concepts which will include internal and external rendered images of what the facility will look like.”

Mentors for new students

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
The move to university is being made easier for new students with the introduction of a mentor program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst and Wagga Wagga. The Student Mentor Program offers new on-campus and distance education students extra support during their first year at CSU. The student mentors are trained by the University’s Division of Student Services and then matched with new students in a similar course. The support offered by the new program includes information from the student mentor on where to go for academic assistance or information about CSU. The contact between mentor and the new student can be direct or via the telephone or by email. The volunteer scheme has so far attracted 35 mentors.  . “I found my first year at university rather daunting and confusing, so I feel the Student Mentor Program is one way these feelings can be alleviated in new students,” Bachelor of Arts (Psychology, Animation and Visual Effects) student Ms Georgina McMahon explains. “My role is to oversee the program, making sure mentors are offering new students the correct support. It is hoped this program will discourage any struggling new students from giving up and dropping out of university.”

US wildlife research experience applies in Australia

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student will present a seminar on Wednesday 16 March at CSU in Albury-Wodonga about how she is using her research experience in the USA to monitor threatened species in Australia. Last year, environmental sciences student, Ms Gaye Bourke, spent the final semester of her degree working as a fieldwork biologist with the Cascades Carnivore Connectivity Project in Washington state, evaluating how highways act as barriers to the movement of American black bears in the North Cascades Mountains. Ms Bourke lived in the tiny community of Newhalem (population 27) in the centre of the spectacular North Cascades National Park. “The three months were a steep learning curve, especially given the lack of large carnivore species in Australia. There were some magic moments, like our first close-up ‘bear encounter’ where we stood watching a female foraging for berries while her cub bounded playfully from rock to rock in front of us,” she said. “The techniques we used with the US black bears are applicable in Australia and they have already been used to monitor populations of threatened species here.”

Two free CSU seminars for runners in Bathurst

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Lecturers at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Human Movement Studies will deliver four presentations at two free seminars for participants in the 25th CSU Bathurst Half Marathon and 10 kilometre Run to be held on Sunday 1 May. CSU lecturer Mr Peter Micalos said the seminars, at 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday 22 March and Tuesday 5 April at the CSU gym lecture room, will provide runners with current scientific knowledge about how to enhance their performance. “The first seminar on Tuesday 22 March will include presentations by Head of the School of Human Movement Studies, Professor Frank Marino, who will examine the question How will you hydrate for this event?, and Dr Rob Duffield’s presentation, Post-training recovery; recent evidence on best practice, will detail recent CSU-based research on positive and negative recovery practices following exercise. The following seminar on 5 April will examine Why should endurance athletes include weight training exercise? and Dietary fats and performance; the good, the bad, and the ugly,” Mr Micalos said.

CSU Albury-Wodonga political forum for NSW election

Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Local radio station ABC Goulburn Murray and The Border Mail will host a political forum at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga on Wednesday 23 March. CSU political commentator Dr Troy Whitford will be a guest speaker for the evening event, which will be facilitated by ABC morning show presenter Mr Joseph Thomsen and Border Mail journalist Ms Di Thomas, who will take questions from the floor and online. The public forum will be an opportunity for the Albury community to meet with candidates for the coming NSW election and question them on their policies and plans for the state seat of Albury.