The importance of recent drought research by rural social researchers from Charles Sturt University (CSU) was on the agenda during a visit to the University’s Wagga Wagga Campus by members of the national philanthropic organisation, the Rural Education Program of the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR). Led by FRRR patron and head of the Myer Foundation, Ballieau Myer, the group met with Professor Margaret Alston and Dr Jenny Kent from the University’s Centre for Rural Social Research on Saturday 1 July. As part of the vision of Federation for Rural and Regional Renewal to support communities to respond positively to change and build social and economic wealth in rural and regional Australia, the Foundation funded research into the impact of drought on young people’s access to education. The report, entitled The impact of drought on secondary education access in Australia's rural and remote areas, was also funded by the Federal Government. “The visit to the University gave us a chance to thank the Foundation for financially supporting significant research into the impact of one of the country’s worst droughts,” said Professor Alston. Further information on the drought report, including key recommendations can be found here.

When Central Tablelands Landcare held community forums to try and boost local support, they turned to Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Zelma Bone to monitor and evaluate their efforts. Using a grant from the Natural Resources Advisory Council of NSW and her US experience with what is called deliberative process, Ms Bone and Dr Judith Crockett from CSU have assisted in three community forums so far, not only reinvigorating interest in Landcare, but also re-engaging the locals in community issues. In Blayney, the Landcare group established a relationship with one of the local schools, overcoming transport obstacles which had held them back in the past. And in Millthorpe, the primary school community garden will expand with help from the local gardening club, prompting interest in locally grown produce. Ms Bone explains that deliberative forums are unlike public meetings “where you get a lot of discussion and debate but sometimes not very useful outcomes. Deliberation is a process where we identify a couple of choices, look at the costs and consequences of each one, and ultimately the real benefit is moving people from the individual to a more community perspective”. Central to the success is follow-up, says Ms Bone. “They agree on a project, and we can help with external resources or steer them in the right direction, but then it is up to them. Our project goes back to these local communities in six months time to track the progress.”

When Kelso High School burned to the ground in August last year, it was a sad day for school education in the Bathurst region. But now a new secondary college concept is rising from the ashes, sparked by a unique collaboration between Kelso and Bathurst High Schools, the local community, TAFE and Charles Sturt University (CSU). Mr Mike Tom, a project manager with the Department of Education and Training (DET) says the new school will share curriculum in years 11 and 12 with Bathurst High School and he is hoping the project will encourage even greater cooperation with CSU. A “critical friend” in the process according to Mr Tom, is Dr Alan Bain, an expert in school renewal from CSU’s School of Teacher Education. Dr Bain worked on a number of public, private and charter school reform and renewal projects in the US and internationally before coming to Bathurst a few years ago. Dr Bain says while secondary college collaborations do exist in other parts of the state and country, the circumstances in Bathurst are unique with a TAFE and University in the same town. “It’s an opportunity for a different kind of collaboration, being driven by a series of unfortunate and traumatic events but nonetheless with the promise of  producing something powerful. It has immense potential for CSU, TAFE and for other schools,” Dr Bain says.

David Hunter was determined to complete his PhD thesis before he died of bone marrow cancer in December 2003. After 10 years of juggling study, caring for three young children and cancer treatment, David completed the draft of his thesis on the hermeneutics of French philosopher Paul Ricoeur applied to the Gospel of John, just two weeks before his death at the age of 41. David’s widow, Rev. Jeanette Mathews accepted David’s posthumous Doctorate of Philosophy on his behalf at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Theology graduation earlier this month (June 2). As well as working on his PhD, David was a sessional lecturer in New Testament studies at CSU’s School of Theology which is based at St Mark’s National Theological Centre in Canberra. David Hunter did a degree in Agricultural Science at Melbourne University before switching to theology. After he and Jeanette were married they both completed Bachelor of Divinity degrees at the international Baptist Theological Seminary near Zurich, Switzerland.  They moved to Canberra when Jeanette was appointed Associate Minister at the Canberra Baptist Church in 1997. David combined his PhD work with being a househusband and primary carer of the couple’s three young sons as well as his active involvement in social justice issues and Aboriginal reconciliation. After being diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2000, David kept up his study which Jeanette says was “life-giving and sustaining” for him during his illness. “As I stood in David’s place to accept his PhD I felt his life’s work had been completed but it wouldn’t have been finished without the help and support of our friends and colleagues at St Mark’s,” said Jeanette who is also a sessional lecturer at St Mark’s National Theological Centre.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Professional Development Unit (PDU) has been contracted by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council to develop a training and development strategy for Aboriginal Land Councils. The PDU will evaluate the current training packages, make recommendations for the development of new ones to fill any gaps and provide recommendations regarding delivery schedules and methods. Pat Bradbery, manager of the PDU at Bathurst CSU, says this is an important step for the PDU in its efforts to develop targeted business-related courses for Indigenous people. “The PDU will ensure the training is aligned with the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (ALRA) with the object of making the local Aboriginal Land Councils more effective and efficient in carrying out their work which primarily is to acquire and manage land on behalf of Aboriginal people.” He says the strategy can’t be the same for all as Land Councils can vary considerably. “It certainly is an interesting project because of the ALRA requirements. It is very different to developing a training strategy for a corporate customer. Because of the community involvement in Local Aboriginal Land Councils, we need to be conscious of what the executive wants as well as what the rank and file members desire,” Mr Bradbery added.

It has been an exciting six months for Dr Sharynne McLeod, senior lecturer in language acquisition at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Teacher Education. As a world-renowned speech pathologist, she is just back from Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University College after successfully applying for a prestigious British Academy Visiting Fellowship worth over £8000. Dr McLeod was there for a project entitled Mapping tongue/palate contact for speech sound production. “I needed to go to Edinburgh to finish analysing my work. They have been developing new technology combining ultrasound and electropalatography so you can actually map the tongue’s movement during speech. No one has combined these techniques before,” Dr McLeod said. Whilst in Europe, Dr McLeod presented some of her mapping research to the British Association of Academic Phoneticians in Scotland as well as presenting to speech pathologists, students and academics at universities in London, Sheffield and Edinburgh. There was more good news waiting for Dr McLeod on her return home when she discovered she had been awarded a Fellowship of Speech Pathology Australia, one of only two Fellowships awarded throughout Australia.

Central West businesses are lining up to attend a Charles Sturt University (CSU) Debt Collection workshop next week which will save them time and money when it comes to dealing with bad debts. The workshop will offer advice on debt collection options and procedures involved; effective systems to minimise and prevent bad debts in your business and, as a last resort, ,steps in debt collection which involve the court. The course has been developed especially with local businesses in mind by Antony Smith, an Adjunct Lecturer in the Faculty of Commerce at CSU Orange Campus. “I’ve discovered in my time that people in small businesses don’t really understand the debt collection process so they tend to put things off as long as they can, hoping they won’t have to do anything about it,” Mr Smith says. “Debt is made a lot worse by the passage of time so we felt it was important to run a short course on how to manage debt collection.” There are two workshops next week at CSU Orange Campus on Tuesday June 27 and Thursday June 29 from 6pm to 8pm and one on Saturday, July 1 from 9am to 1pm. The cost of the workshop is $80. Places are limited, for more information contact the program coordinator on 02 6365 7813 or go to the CSU Community Education site.  

Central West businesses are lining up to attend a Charles Sturt University (CSU) Debt Collection workshop next week which will save them time and money when it comes to dealing with bad debts. The workshop will offer advice on debt collection options and procedures involved; effective systems to minimise and prevent bad debts in your business and, as a last resort, ,steps in debt collection which involve the court. The course has been developed especially with local businesses in mind by Antony Smith, an Adjunct Lecturer in the Faculty of Commerce at CSU Orange Campus. “I’ve discovered in my time that people in small businesses don’t really understand the debt collection process so they tend to put things off as long as they can, hoping they won’t have to do anything about it,” Mr Smith says. “Debt is made a lot worse by the passage of time so we felt it was important to run a short course on how to manage debt collection.” There are two workshops next week at CSU Orange Campus on Tuesday June 27 and Thursday June 29 from 6pm to 8pm and one on Saturday, July 1 from 9am to 1pm. The cost of the workshop is $80. Places are limited, for more information contact the program coordinator on 02 6365 7813 or go to the CSU Community Education site.  

Can our democratic processes protect our civil liberties and freedom of expression or do we need a Bill of Rights? According to Free Speech Central West (FSCW), Australia is the only western democracy without a Bill of Rights or constitutional recognition of the right to free speech. The organisation is holding a forum at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Orange Campus this Sunday June 25. Kay Nankervis, a lecturer in CSU’s School of Communication and a member of FSCW says it is imperative that her journalism students be aware of the issue. “They often don’t immediately grasp the importance of their freedom to report: that it is not curbed by whomever they work for or by security laws that prevent them from naming certain activities or information. Like most Australians they can be complacent about our rights of freedom of association and to express an opinion. We assume those rights will always be there, but they can be legislated away.”  Speakers at the forum including constitutional lawyer Professor George Williams, Orange barrister Derek Cassidy QC, former independent State and Federal parliamentarian Ted Mack,and Federal Member for Calare, Peter Andren will debate the statement: In a democracy like Australia there is no need for a bill of rights.