A leading Australian theologian will examine the relationship between Christianity and Islam when he delivers a public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst on Tuesday 14 April as part of the University’s 20th anniversary celebrations. Reverend Professor James Haire, AM, whose address will draw on his extensive international and inter-faith experience, is Professor of Theology at CSU, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture and Director of CSU's Public and Contextual Theology Research Centre, based in Canberra. “I will look at the inter-relationships of Christianity and Islam in global perspective, and at the implications for Australia. I will also draw on personal experience in inter-faith dialogue and negotiations,” Reverend Professor Haire said. The lecture will start at 6.30pm on 14 April in the James Hardie Room, Centre for Professional Development, at CSU Bathurst Campus.

The Federal Government has finally got the plan right for the National Broadband Network (NBN) according to Charles Sturt University (CSU) adjunct researcher Mr Peter Adams. Mr Adams, who has studied household broadband adoption for the past seven years, said today's announcement by the Rudd Government that it would form a public-private partnership to build the NBN is the best outcome from what has been an issue poorly managed by successive governments."Having the Commonwealth control the building of such important national infrastructure will ultimately achieve the best outcome for broadband users by ensuring there is clear separation between the provider of the cables and the commercial companies who compete to service consumers.” The researcher from CSU's Centre for Research in Complex Systems warned the Rudd Government now has a big job: it will manage the building of the network, and needs to convince households they will be better off under the proposed NBN. "Research conducted at CSU in 2008 showed householders are not convinced they should spend their income on higher speed broadband.  Clear information must be provided to consumers about the benefits of NBN services."

Lecturers at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Human Movement Studies have secured a contract with Indonesia’s State Ministry of Youth and Sport Affairs to provide education programs for the coaches of elite athletes. Dr Stephen Bird and Mr Ben Barrington-Higgs secured the contract, which is in addition to their contract to provide strength and conditioning training for elite athletes, after 10 Indonesian national sports coaches undertook intensive training for an Advanced Certificate in Sport Conditioning at CSU at Bathurst in December last year. “We’re very excited to be an international industry partner of this program because the Ministry is dedicated to improving performance through education of their coaches and athletes,” Dr Bird said. “We will continue to provide expertise to our northern neighbours following the improved performance of Indonesian athletes at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.” Dr Bird and Mr Barrington-Higgs depart for Riau and Surabaya in Indonesia on Monday 20 April as part of preparations for the next South-East Asian Games in December.

The prospect of gaining fresh employment leads was so inviting to a Charles Sturt University (CSU) distance education student that he travelled from Adelaide to attend the University’s Careers Fair at Bathurst on Monday 9 March. Mr Paul Cooper has studied a Bachelor of Business (Agricultural Commerce) with the School of Management and Marketing by distance education and will graduate at CSU at Orange later in March. “This is a great way to kick off career employment opportunities,” Mr Cooper said. “It’s an excellent meeting place for employers and graduates, and has confirmed for me that networking is the way find a great job. It has definitely been worth coming over from Adelaide to attend this event.” Ms Vicki Anderson, Student Services Career Counsellor and event organiser, said that the 36 employer organisations who participated all gave her positive feedback, as did the many CSU students who attended.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has already reached its 2015 target for water savings having slashed its water use by over 40 per cent in the past two years. These figures were highlighted in the 2008 CSU Environmental Scorecard recently released by the University. “This is a fantastic effort across the whole University, all the more important as most of these campuses are or have been in drought declared areas across NSW,” said William Adlong, Manager of CSU’s sustainability office, CSU Green. “Water usage at CSU in 2008 decreased by 16 per cent.” Energy use has decreased by eight per cent since 2006, with a slight increase by 1.5 percent during 2008. “However, there has been an increase in the area of buildings heated and cooled as CSU continued its extensive building program in 2007 and 2008,” said CSU Energy Manager Edward Maher. CSU is also addressing the carbon emissions caused by its staff travelling in cars and aircraft by replacing its large petrol cars with hybrid, diesel and small four cylinder cars in 2009.

The most significant sculpture or art work commissioned by Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be dedicated at a special 20th anniversary event at the Bathurst Campus on Saturday 18 April. Intended as a lasting memorial to the students and staff of Bathurst Teachers College (BTC), the Bathurst Teachers College Commemorative Water Feature is now a focal point within the Bathurst Alumni Common. In 2005, Dr Peter Wilson, ceramic artist and sculptor, alumnus of Mitchell College of Advanced Education and senior lecturer in creative arts at the CSU School of Teacher Education, was commissioned to design and create the feature. “The concept I developed is loosely based on the spiralled nautilus shell, where the fins all emanate from a central point, spiralling outwards. This represents the paths our students take but forever stay connected by their shared experiences and commitment to the creation of new knowledge for the next generation,” Dr Wilson said.

Education, industrial relations and a low carbon future is the topic of a public lecture to be presented by Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) President Sharan Burrow at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury on Thursday 23 April. Ms Burrow says Australian education institutions are well placed to deepen workforce planning and frame skills development to meet the challenges facing Australia. "We must position ourselves to ensure we have the education and skills to capture a half trillion dollar share of a three trillion dollar global green industry. Our universities and colleges, businesses and unions, must drive demand for research and development and for an intensity of skills effort like never before, and government must stand ready to partner these plans.  Our workplaces must meet the industrial challenges and changes this new economy requires," Ms Burrow said. The second annual Bob Meyenn Education Lecture will commence at 7.30pm in the Nowik Auditorium, CSU Albury City site, Guinea St, Albury.

Students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will honour the men and women of Australia’s armed services, past and present, when they lay a wreath at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Carillon War Memorial in Kings Parade, Bathurst, on Saturday 25 April. Mr Tim East, a third year student at the School of Teacher Education and the head resident of Chifley Halls at the CSU Bathurst Campus, said that today’s students want to play a part to continue and preserve the ANZAC legacy. “CSU students attended the Dawn Service last year and felt they were missing out,” Mr East said. “We wanted to unite the University’s student community with the rest of Bathurst, and to formally pay our respect on behalf of the residences at CSU. Many of us have family members who served in the armed forces, or have mates who are serving now. We want CSU students to stand proud as Australians and hold the values of determination, courage, compassion and resourcefulness throughout their lives.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has secured a national scholarship to assist her research into the development of multi-purpose health services in rural NSW. PhD student Ms Judith Anderson is the recipient of the Joan Hardy Scholarship from the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). The Joan Hardy Scholarship for postgraduate nursing research recognises the contributions the late Joan Hardy made to higher education and higher education unionism.“I was involved in a small rural health service when it became a ‘multi-purpose service’, making me intrigued by the cultural change and leading me to begin my study in 2006,” said Ms Anderson, who is studying through the School of Nursing and Midwifery at CSU at Bathurst. Her thesis examines the process of developing this new model of health care for small rural communities. “As the majority of staff and managers who work at these facilities are nurses, this study aims to give them a voice, enabling them to describe current practices and their roles within this process. I hope that recommendations and guidelines will emerge from this to enable the process to be improved in the future.”