The Vice-Chancellor of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Ian Goulter, announced the appointment today of Mr Ian Macintosh, AM, as the first Pro-Chancellor of the University. The Pro-Chancellor is a newly created position that will act as an ambassador for the University in the Bathurst and central western communities, including deputising for the Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor at ceremonies. Mr Macintosh is a former Mayor of Bathurst Regional Council and Deputy Chancellor of CSU. He served as a member of the University Council for eight years, including four years as Deputy Chancellor. “Ian is a wonderful servant of the community and a great advocate of Charles Sturt University, and the unanimous endorsement of his appointment by the University Council to this important position reflects the esteem in which he is held within the University,” Professor Goulter said. “It is a great opportunity to continue my connection with one of Australia’s most progressive Universities and to support its development as the national University of inland Australia,” Mr Macintosh said. Mr Macintosh will hold the position for a period of 2 years until December 2010.

The changing communication needs of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) multi-campus environment have led the institution to secure the services of global company, Interactive Intelligence. The firm, which provides contact centre and IP telephony products and services, has won the contract to deploy a unified communications platform across CSU by the end of 2009. . In a competitive tender process, the Interactive Intelligence all-in-one IP communications software suite, Customer Interaction Center® (CIC), was selected. “The aging PABX platform is increasingly difficult to maintain and unable to scale with the University’s changing communications requirements,” said Mr Phil Roy, Director of Operations at CSU’s Division of Information Technology. “The new unified communications solution will be implemented by Interactive Intelligence partner, CallTime Solutions. It is unique in Australia in that it is a single software platform with several features. In addition to all campuses, the University will roll out the new IP telephony system to the University’s new student residential accommodation under construction at CSU at Bathurst, Thurgoona and Wagga Wagga, It will also be deployed for the University’s new dentistry and oral health therapy program.”

The 48 members of the staff/student choir on Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Bathurst Campus of  were in fine voice on Friday 24 August when they won first place in the Chief Choral Section of the 62nd annual Bathurst Eisteddfod. The choir is under the direction of Dr Christopher Klopper, music lecturer at the CSU School of Teacher Education. “This is the second year in a row that we have won this section, and we are all delighted,” Dr Klopper said. “We scored 97 out of a possible 100 and the adjudicator noted ‘A fresh and vital choral blend, with exemplary diction … for a large group the precision was wholly noteworthy. Best of all, the music made one feel uplifted. ‘Brilliant’ is a marketplace cliché, but it must be applied here’.” Participation in the CSU choir is open to all students and staff on the Bathurst Campus.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has appointed a new Head of Campus at Bathurst who has strong long-term links with the community and inland NSW through his upbringing, education, work and sport. Mr Col Sharp, who is also Director of the CSU Office of Planning and Audit, said he was honoured by his appointment. “I hope to strengthen the links between CSU and local communities in order to build understanding of CSU’s role in the community and what it has to offer,” Mr Sharp said. “It is important for people to know that CSU is a large and diverse University with campuses in Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga, Goulburn and Canberra. Its courses are essential for attracting and developing the professionals who will serve our regions. The University’s distance education courses reach students nationally and internationally, and it conducts research into many issues that are critical to Australia’s future. CSU’s success is fundamental to the current economic strength of its campus cities and surrounding districts, and for their long term future.”

A book on economic globalisation with local, national and international contributions edited by CSU academics will be officially launched by the Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Ian Goulter, on Wednesday 13 February. Engagement & Change - Exploring Management, Economic and Finance Implications of a Globalising Environment, examines the issue of globalisation from diverse perspectives. Co-editor Dr PK Basu, Associate Head of the School of Marketing & Management at CSU’s Bathurst Campus, said the book contains “23 papers by Australian and international researchers from different disciplines and addresses the effects of globalisation on areas such as management, economics, finance, accounting, marketing and human resources”. Contributors included 19 academics from CSU and from seven other Australian universities, as well as from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) psychology student is looking for volunteers from the Blayney-Bathurst-Orange area to participate in her research project on victims of mistreatment. Ms Belinda Harris said her research is designed to assist people aged 18 years or older who continue to experience distress, hurt or pain caused by others. “Participants will be invited to take part in a group treatment program that has been designed to assist people who believe they have been abused or significantly hurt by the actions of another individual or group,” Ms Harris said. “The treatment is for people who want to reduce the anger, hurt and discomfort they may feel as a result of interpersonal injustice.” For further information, with no obligation to participate, contact Ms Harris on 0401 276 322 or via email.

New students to Charles Sturt University (CSU) wanting to apply for scholarships for the coming year will need to get their applications in before Monday 18 February. The scholarships, which are offered through the Charles Sturt Foundation, are awarded to students who have demonstrated high levels of academic performance, leadership and motivation throughout their school careers. Some scholarships are also available for students undergoing economic hardship, are disadvantaged, are Indigenous or are undertaking distance education with CSU. In 2007, the Foundation provided 235 students with ongoing support for their University studies through the scholarship program.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a rugby union reunion this Friday 2 to Sunday 4 May to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the victory for the Mitchell 1st XV in the 1978 NSW Central West Rugby Competition. In 1979 the reserve team won the Central West competition - the next time CSU won the competition was in 2006. All players, coaches and managers associated with the Mitchell Rugby teams of 1978 and 1979 have been invited. Sixty will attend the Reunion Dinner, including the Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Ian Goulter, and CSU Rugby Club representatives and the winners of the 2007 and 2008 Bathurst Rugby Alumni Scholarships and 2008 Encouragement Award. Many players in the 1978 and 1979 teams also played for NSW and for carious Sydney clubs, including Ross Reynolds who went on to play for Australia in seven tests. Since July 2006, the Rugby alumni have contributed an annual scholarship worth $2 500 each year for three years for a worthy CSU student. 

Australia’s beef and live export industry will have a greater understanding of Indonesia’s beef market with the launch of a two and a half year project by the Asian Agribusiness Research Centre (AARC) at Charles Sturt University’s Orange Campus. Funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the project ‘Benchmarking the Beef Supply Chain in Eastern Indonesia’ is a collaboration with four Indonesian institutes and the world-wide network agri benchmark. Project leader Dr Claus Deblitz says, “The Indonesian beef supply chain has been identified as a crucial area in Eastern Indonesian agriculture and is one of the most complex”. Drawing a comprehensive picture of the stakeholders, product, finance and information flow, proposals will be developed investigating how the Indonesian supply chain can be more effective and competitive, and provide farmers with higher incomes.