A beach-side holiday was not on the minds of two Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturers as they headed north to the tropics and Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) second largest urban centre, Lae, in January. Dr Peter Rushbrook from CSU’s School of Education in Wagga Wagga and Dr Peter Wilson from the University’s School of Teacher Education in Bathurst spent a fortnight at the Balob Teachers’ College in Lae. Amid a frustrating dial-up internet service, earth tremors, the city’s notorious security problems and potholes, the educators worked with lecturers from the College, including teaching subjects from CSU’s Master of Education. “This was my third trip to the country and I greatly admire the PNG spirit,” said Dr Rushbrook. “PNG is the ‘Land of the Unexpected’.” His travel companion, Dr Wilson said, “our work at the Balob Teachers’ College reminded us how well resourced we are in Australia which we take for granted. College staff were keen to get our support for their institution’s move to become the Lutheran University in 2010.” Eager to return to PNG, Dr Rushbrook said, “there is something about working and living on the edge, using your wits to make things work in adverse or challenging conditions”.

With the start of Orientation Week at Charles Sturt University (CSU), the first students have taken up residence in the newly completed accommodation at Bathurst Campus. University officials are pleased that 120 new rooms were completed and ready to be occupied, and that another 80 rooms will be completed in the coming weeks. CSU’s Director of Student Services, Mr Andrew Callander, said the residences mark a new era in on campus living. “Besides being designed and constructed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable, the new residences come equipped with internet access and cable TV.” The complex consists of 10 modular concrete and corrugated iron buildings paired to enclose an open courtyard. Each block will house 20 students in self-catered accommodation with ‘open plan’ kitchens and living areas. The corrugated iron, which is light, strong, adaptable and durable, shields the internal concrete walls from the summer heat to enable the buildings to maintain a more constant temperature without the use of expensive air conditioning.

New students and supportive family members have flooded onto the Bathurst Campus of Charles Sturt University (CSU) to get their bearings at the start of Orientation Week 2009. During his welcome to new students on 16 February, Head of Bathurst Campus, Mr Col Sharp, said he was delighted by the energy the new students brought to the campus “It’s important that new students are welcomed and assisted with their transition to university life, and we are confident that CSU will be a positive and constructive experience for students as they build their careers.” On Tuesday, students formally enrol, are given information about their courses and subjects and meet teaching staff. On Wednesday 18 February, students attend information sessions about CSU’s online services, electronic communications, learning in an e-environment and how to access support and facilities in information technology, library and student services. Male and female students will also participate in separate compulsory seminars on personal well-being and safety. Thursday is ‘Market Day’ on the library lawn, which provides a feast of information for new students about local businesses and services that they might chose or need to use during their time in Bathurst. There are no formal sessions scheduled for Friday.

A leading Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic will lead a team of researchers contributing to the recently announced five-year, $30 million Australian Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. Professor Allan Curtis, a social researcher with the CSU Institute for Land, Water and Society is well known for his work in natural resource management and rural communities in South Eastern Australia. Professor Curtis says the project aims to improve Australia’s capacity to better manage ground water resources which are threatened by over-extraction and pollution. “While the Centre will examine issues around the sustainable harvesting of groundwater resources, including the interactions between surface and groundwater, there is an important contribution for social research in terms of engaging groundwater users in developing practices that make more effective use of groundwater; and developing innovative arrangements that lead to more sustainable use of groundwater,” he said. The new centre is a partnership of 20 organisations including the Australian Research Council and the National Water Commission, CSIRO and 12 universities. Professor Curtis, along with other CSU researchers including Dr Digby Race and Dr Maureen Rogers, will work to identify projects to be funded over the next six months.

International recognition for his expertise in wetland management has led to the reappointment of a senior Charles Sturt University (CSU) scientist to a scientific panel for the international Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Director of CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society Professor Max Finlayson will be a member of Ramsar's Scientific and Technical Review Panel from 2009 to 2012, specialising in the effects of climate change on wetlands and water and the social and economic effects on people who rely on them. Professor Finlayson said the appointment is a great honour and is recognition of scientific expertise available at CSU. The Ramsar Convention, established in 1975, aims to protect wetlands worldwide, including the iconic Barmah Forest and Lower Lakes on the Murray River and the Macquarie Marshes in central NSW.

Fourteen visitors from Indonesia touring Victoria and Tasmania to bring closer understanding between Muslims and Christians will meet with members of the Border community at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Tuesday 3 March. Hosted by the Uniting Church in Australia, the group particularly aims to increase mutual understanding and cultural appreciation between the Muslim majority of Indonesia and Australia’s Christian communities. While in Albury, the group will visit the University’s facilities and speak with CSU students at Thurgoona. “The University hopes the visit will enhance understanding and relations between the faiths and our cultures,” said visit coordinator and CSU student counsellor Mr Geoff Simmons. The visit will include a public forum hosted by CSU Professor The Rev. James Haire from the University’s School of Theology in Canberra.

In this Year of the Blood Donor staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are being asked to donate blood on its five campuses from Monday 2 to Friday 6 March. As part of CSU’s 20th anniversary celebrations this year, the University has issued a ‘North-South’ challenge, with the total staff and student donations at CSU campuses at Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst (North) being tallied against donations at Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga (South). The Head of Campus at CSU at Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, said the University aims to achieve 1 000 donations during the week. “While we have been planning this event for some time, it is given added urgency and significance by the needs of burns victims from the recent bushfires in Victoria,” Mr Sharp said. “I urge all University staff and students to donate blood if they possibly can. It costs nothing, takes less than an hour and does so much good.” One in three Australians will need blood during their lifetime, yet only one in 30 donates blood.

John Glastonbury, Associate Professor in Diagnostic Pathology with Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at Wagga Wagga, is available for comment on emergency management of the swine influenza in animals. Professor Glastonbury’s teaching and research interests include diseases of pigs, and he can describe how the disease behaves in pigs, a history of other outbreaks and its threat to people. A public seminar will be held on the influenza A (H1N1) at CSU at Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 6 May. Read more here.

A new book examining the mixed reactions to the influence of Hollywood on national and local cinemas will be launched in Bathurst on Thursday 7 May by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Anthony Cahalan. Loving & Hating Hollywood – Reframing global and local cinema by Associate Professor Jane Mills from the CSU School of Communication, argues that cinema, an art form for more than 100 years, is in a state of constant reinvention due to the interactions between cinemas, films, filmmakers and audiences. Professor Mills asserts that the influence of Hollywood, home of film production in the United States, is often viewed with unnecessary antagonism around the world. “It makes more sense to look at the constant give and take between film cultures in an industry that has been globalised since the very beginnings of cinema. If we focus on a negative view of Hollywood, we ignore or fail to see how all cinemas influence each other. This often results in exciting new films and types of cinemas which push the boundaries of film art,” Professor Mills said.