Charles Sturt University (CSU) theatre media  students at the School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst have collaborated with Bathurst Arts Theatrical Society (BATS) to produce the hilarious Five Woman Wearing the Same Dress. Set at a wedding, Five Woman Wearing the Same Dress is a comedy about five bridesmaids who, in spite of their differences, discover that they have more in common with each other than the bride. Co-director Ms Clare Hennessy said, “This comedy follows a group of women who have been brought together to form a disjointed bridal party. The play takes place in the bedroom of the bride’s sister as the bridesmaids each escape the overdone bridal reception. They banter behind the bride’s back about the horrid dresses they are forced to wear as they each share twisted tales of treachery. The show is equal parts hilarious, irreverent and disarmingly heartfelt - a saucy affair. Don’t miss it.” Five Woman Wearing the Same Dress will be performed nightly at 7pm from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 July as a double bill with the BATS production of Slut. Enjoy a night of comedy, two shows for the price of one – tickets $5 available at the door of the Ponton Theatre (building N3) at CSU, Panorama Avenue, Bathurst.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will host 60 Year 9 students from Blayney Public School, Portland Central School, and Denison College for a 'Future Directions Day' on Friday 19 July. The day is part of CSU’s Future Moves Program, which works at building aspiration for higher education amongst school students in regional NSW and Victoria. Ms Tonya Graham, Future Moves coordinator said, “The Future Directions Day will be the first of its kind to target Year 9 students. By introducing young people to a university campus and enabling them to interact with university students and staff we’re hoping to encourage them to consider tertiary education as a realistic and accessible option. We want to trigger conversations about post-school options early so that students see university as a realistic pathway and feel confident with the career choices they make.” Students will participate in interactive workshops from 10am-2.30pm assisted by CSU staff in various areas, including robotics, paramedics and political science. Students will also tour the campus and have lunch in the University dining hall like university students. Read more about Future Moves here.

Twenty Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga will receive scholarships worth more than $100 000 from the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) Foundation during a ceremony on Thursday 18 July. The RAS Foundation awarded 49 Rural Scholarships in 2013 – a record number – with recipients coming from various educational institutions across NSW. The CSU students are studying a range of courses including agricultural science, agricultural business management, education, equine science, journalism, medical radiation science, physiotherapy and veterinary science. RAS Foundation Rural Scholarships support students who are undertaking post-high school study or training, show a passion for rural issues and who are committed to playing a part in shaping the future of rural and regional NSW. The ceremony will be held on Thursday 18 July from 6pm to 8.30pm at the National Wine and Grape Centre, building 412, McKeown Drive, CSU in Wagga Wagga.

A community development project lead by Charles Sturt University (CSU) students aims to improve the life skills of selected senior high school students in Bathurst so they have better opportunities to succeed in life. In an initiative of the Faculty of Business, CSU undergraduate students working with the Enactus program will assist selected Year-10, 11 and 12 Kelso High School students in the ‘Fulfilling Individuals’ Talent’ (FIT) project. Associate Professor PK Basu at the CSU School of Accounting and Finance, said, “FIT targets about 10 underprivileged students who are struggling but are engaged and have potential. The program will complement the school curriculum by allowing students to focus on the key areas of education, employability and life skills. Activities will be targeted to meet the needs of the group, but may involve guest speakers from the community, goal setting, and resumé preparation.” The first session of the project began on Friday 19 July and will continue for the rest of this year with the group meeting fortnightly for sessions of about 60-minutes at the Kelso High Campus of Denison College.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Professor of Applied Ecology Geoff Gurr will address one of the world’s most urgent challenges when he delivers the Poggendorff Lecture for 2013 as part of National Science Week. The biennial lecture is an initiative of the Royal Society of NSW in honour of Walter Hans George Poggendorff, the eminent Australian agriculturalist and member of the society, and covers agriculture in a broad sense. Professor Gurr, from CSU in Orange, will address the topic ‘Biodiversity and the future of agriculture’. “One of the greatest challenges the world is facing right now is how we plan to feed the estimated population of 9 billion by 2050,” he said. “Not only do we have to meet that challenge, we have to do it in the face of declining availability of good-quality land and water, and the need to preserve biodiversity to provide critical ecosystem services.” Professor Gurr will draw on his international research program to explain how biodiversity can be harnessed to provide effective pest suppression and illustrate how on-farm biodiversity can advantage growers and the wider community.

A filmmaker celebrated for his contribution to Australian cinema will deliver the biennial 2013 Theo Barker Memorial Public Lecture co-hosted by the Bathurst District Historical Society and Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Friday 16 August. The Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, will welcome and introduce Mr Andrew Pike, OAM, the principal of Canberra-based Ronin Films, who will discuss ‘Men and Women of the Bush in Early Australian Cinema’, including the place of bushrangers, the popularity of which led to a ban on bushranger films by the NSW Police in 1912. Dr Rob McLachlan, adjunct senior lecturer in history at the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Bathurst and coordinator of the public lecture, said, “Of the first twenty feature films made in Australia, at least twelve had a bushranger theme, with five of them featuring a Bathurst-area bushranger, including A Bushranger's Ransom, or A Ride for a Life, which was filmed locally in 1911. The main focus of the lecture, however, will be the films featuring the stories of bush women, which took the place of the banned bushranger films. The Bathurst region has a significant place in the making of such films with A Girl of the Bush, filmed locally in 1921. Mr Pike’s lecture will discuss the importance of this film today, for film and social historians.”

It might be ugliness, not beauty, that is in the eye of the beholder, according to a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic. Associate Professor Rocco Crino will address the topic in a School of Psychology seminar at CSU in Bathurst on Wednesday 7 August, in which he will explain research which found people who scrutinised a part of their body they disliked were more likely to feel unattractive. “Preoccupation with mirror checking, gazing, and reflective surface checking are noteworthy features in conditions where body image disturbance is severely affected, such as in Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Eating Disorders,” Professor Crino said. “These mirror behaviours are believed to be significant maintaining factors in these difficult to treat conditions.”  Professor Crino’s research on the topic tested volunteers asked to stand either before a mirror and describe themselves generally, or to stand before a mirror and describe their disliked body part in detail. “Results indicated that those who scrutinised their disliked body part were significantly more concerned and dissatisfied with their appearance, felt significantly more unattractive, and bothered by their appearance related thoughts,” he said.

A forum for candidates in the Calare electorate for the 2013 federal election is being convened by a student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Tuesday 13 August. Mr Jeremy Rubel, a first-year theatre/media student at the School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst took the initiative to host the ‘Q&A’-style forum in order to help answer people’s questions about the candidates’ and their parties’ vision for Australia’s future and how they hope to attain it. Mr Rubel said, “I want to remind people, especially my peers at the University, that we do not live in a two-party democracy, and that there are other choices that we can make if we feel inclined. More importantly, our votes will not be wasted if we choose a party that isn’t ‘the big two’. The candidates at the forum will be expected to answer questions prepared by a panel of students, as well as questions asked directly by the audience. Everyone, not just students, is invited, as this is a perfect chance for people in the Calare electorate to get to know the candidates available to them.”

The 2013 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence will be presented to selected staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst at a presentation ceremony on Wednesday 14 August. Professor Andrew Vann, the Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, will also present the 2013 Faculty and Divisional awards to staff. The awards acknowledge the commitment, dedication and ongoing excellence demonstrated by academic and general staff across CSU. Among the many awards and recipients at the campus in Bathurst are: – an individual V-C Award for Research Supervision Excellence to Professor Sharynne McLeod from RIPPLE; – an individual V-C Award for Teaching Excellence to Dr Izumi Hiramatsu from the School of Psychology; – a team V-C Award for Excellence in Innovation to the TAFE to CSU interact Site Project Team; – a team V-C Award for Performance Excellence to the Regional and Remote Learning Support Team. Some of the Faculty and Division awards go to the Workplace Learning Team in the Faculty of Business, and the Occupational Health and Safety Team within the Division of Human Resources. The awards presentation will be at the James Hardie Room at the Centre for Professional Development (building S17) from 1pm to 3.30pm Wednesday 14 August. Another ceremony, for staff on southern campuses, will be held at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 28 August. A full list of award recipients is available upon request.