The high standard of services offered by the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Library to its users no matter where they live has been praised in a biennial survey conducted in September. The Library Client Survey 2012 attracted 3 844 respondents, with almost 54 per cent of the surveys completed by CSU distance education students. The Library’s Director of Client Services, Ms Alice Ferguson said, “In this latest survey, the Charles Sturt University Library has moved from the bottom 25 per cent of libraries in 2010 to the top 25 per cent for overall performance of Australian university libraries surveyed over the last two years. Our staff were highly commended in the survey for the standard of service they provide to our users.” During the last two years, CSU has established new Learning Commons in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Orange and Wagga Wagga, and increased its use of social media through the Library. A part promoting the survey, cash prizes were offered to library users to participate in the evaluation. Two of the four winners, medical radiation science student Mr Thomas Belling and Master of Health Science Honours student Ms Di Wintle, were presented certificates by Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann at the Convention Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 6 November.

In a first for Australia, a new research network will be launched at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Thursday 8 November to focus on environmental justice and governance in Australia. The new group is part of CSU’s Institute for Land Water and Society (ILWS)  and will be known as the Environmental Justice and Governance for Social Change Strategic Research Area. Co-leaders of the new group, Dr Helen Masterman-Smith, an environmental sociologist, and Associate Professor Vaughan Higgins, a rural sociologist, said, “This new Strategic Research Area is one of the first research concentrations or networks in Australia that focuses on the fields of justice and governance in environmental issues, including climate change.” To launch the new group, a public workshop, Environmental Justice and Governance: Strategies for building environmentally sustainable and socially just communities will be held from 10 to 4pm on Thursday 8 November at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Pre-eminent Australian environmental sociologist, Professor Stewart Lockie from The Australian National University, will give the keynote address from 10.30am to 12noon. . To RSVP, contact Dr John Rafferty on 02 6051 9406 or email. A full workshop program is available from the ILWS here.

About 60 Year Six students from Peak Hill Central School and Kandos Public School will participate in workshops at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Tuesday 13 November as part of a Future Moves program, Check It Out Day. The event gives the students first-hand experience of a university. Ms Tonya Graham, Future Moves coordinator, said, “By introducing young people to the experience of university study we hope to encourage them to become more engaged in school studies and more confident to consider tertiary study as a later option. The Future Moves program is directed at students who have the potential to succeed in tertiary education and who come from families with little or no experience of higher education. Students who participate often say, ‘I never considered university, but now I really want to go’. Events like the Check It Out days are a great way to start a conversation with students and their families about the options available to them when they finish school.” The Year Six students will engage in a range of fun interactive workshops delivered by CSU courses staff, including paramedics, nursing, art education, communications, and theatre/media. The day will conclude with students dressing in graduation attire for a mock mini-graduation.

Shiftwork impacts on many women employed in Australia today and a Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher seeks Registered Nurses in the NSW central west to participate in interviews to learn about how it affects them and their families. Ms Annabel Matheson, a lecturer and PhD researcher at the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health in Bathurst, says her research aims to understand the shiftwork experience of Registered Nurses who have care responsibilities for children. “My research will explore the personal, social, health and financial impacts for women who work shiftwork while caring for children,” Ms Matheson said. “The research is a qualitative study and the data will be collected by me during individual confidential face-to-face interviews.” Registered Nurses who are interested in participating in the research can contact Ms Matheson on (02) 6338 4086 or email.

Nursing student from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga, Ms Carol Mudford, has been recognised for her enthusiasm for nursing in rural and remote areas with a national award. The 26 year old, who has also studied with the Flying Fruit Flies and completed her schooling at Beechworth Secondary College, was one of five students nationally to be accepted into the Emerging Nurse Leader (ENL) Program sponsored by the Australian College of Nursing. Born on a sheep-wheat farm near Gilgandra in the NSW central west, Ms Mudford has completed an Arts degree and travelled and worked around Australia and overseas before becoming a volunteer leader at Mittagundi Outdoor Education Centre, an adventure program for young people on a farm in the Victorian High Plains. “That experience motivated me to pursue a career in nursing, with which I hope to work for rural and remote communities,” Ms Mudford said. “My varied life experiences, particularly at Mittagundi, have helped me appreciate community relationships and activities, so I have been motivated to become involved with local and national health student networks.”

A regional youth road safety campaign, to be implemented in the NSW central west in 2013, will use the creative ideas of one of four teams from the Kajulu Communications student advertising agency at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst. Ms Anne Llewellynn, advertising lecturer in the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Bathurst, said, “I am delighted that our students  have developed such an attitude-changing campaign about road safety aimed at their peers in the region. Our agency gives students the opportunity to work on real client briefs such as this, so they are ready to hit the ground running when they graduate at the end of the year. The great outcome from this client brief is that the campaign will hopefully change the attitudes of young drivers and reduce the road toll in the region.” Four final-year Kajulu advertising teams were briefed by Ms Iris Dorsett, Tablelands Area Road Safety Officer, to competitively prepare integrated marketing communication recommendations for a regional road safety campaign funded by Bathurst and Blayney Regional Councils. “What a success,” Ms Dorsett said. “The students accepted and embraced this challenge and produced professional and exciting campaigns. Plans are already underway to apply their creative ideas for road safety education in the Tablelands Area, and the winning team's work will be launched in February 2013.”

Former Olympic swimming champion Mr Michael Klim was the guest of honour and presented awards to student sports and social groups at the annual Blues Ball at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst recently. CSU student support officer Ms Jean Ryan said, “The Blues Ball awards give us the opportunity to recognise the considerable talent of the University’s students, and a great night was had by all. It was particularly pleasing to have the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Andrew Vann, attend, and to welcome Mr Michael Klim and recently returned London Olympics competitor Ms Jo Brigden-Jones (K4 kayaking) who received the Distance Education Sportsperson of the Year Award.” The Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, also attended the Blues Ball to celebrate the students’ achievements. Mr Lachlan Martens and Mr James Dunston, members of the CSU Sports Council, shared the master of ceremonies role.

Twenty five Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will assist with the organisation of the 2012 Inland Sea of Sound Festival of world music in Bathurst from Tuesday 16 to Saturday 20 October. Ms Kate Smith, lecturer in theatre/media at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, said, “The students are involved in work experience and internships as production staff and crew for the event. This includes stage management, production management, and volunteer coordination of events in backyards, in the park, and at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre.” The 2012 Inland Sea of Sound Festival features musician-led workshops, two twilight concerts in private backyards, and leading performers - Jeff Lang, Rasa Duende, Fred Smith, Liz Frencham, Greg Sheehan, Bandaluzia, Kerrianne Cox, Kim Sanders, Jade Flynn, and the Sea of Sound Band. More information and tickets can be obtained from the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre at 105 William Street, Bathurst, or on 6333 6161 or at www.bmec.com.au or www.inlandseaofsound.com. 

Charles Sturt University's (CSU) lawn bowls team has won through to the gold medal match of the Australian University Games (AUG) in Adelaide to defend the national title it won last year. CSU team manager, Mr Nik Granger, said the team had won five of its seven pool games to qualify third for the play-offs behind the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the University of NSW (UNSW). “We lost to both universities in the pool stage, but we beat UNSW in the semi-final and the team is confident it can knock over UWA in the final”, he said. CSU first earned a place in the top tier of the AUG in 2009 and won a first division bronze in 2010 before taking the national title last year. Mr Granger said the past 10 years had seen a sharp increase in the standard of competition at the Games, which were now Australia’s largest annual multi-sport event. “There are Olympians, Commonwealth Games medallists, and various state and national representatives throughout the competition,” he said. “CSU will have students from our Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga and Bathurst campuses competing as well as several distance education students.”