In a break with tradition, the Royal School of Church Music is holding its annual summer school for Australia and New Zealand at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst. Mr Matthew Owens, the Organist and Master of the Choristers at Wells Cathedral in the United Kingdom, will lead the summer school, which is open to church musicians of all Christian denominations, from Tuesday 4 to Tuesday 11 January. Participants will live, learn and practise their music at CSU during the school, while the services and concerts will be held in Bathurst’s major churches.

As part of its commitment to sustainability Charles Sturt University (CSU) will promote the use of bubblers and refillable water bottles, with the goal of phasing out the sale of bottled water on its campuses completely. The project has been coordinated by CSU Green to decrease the amount of bottled water purchased on campus and encourage the use of reusable bottles which can be refilled at bubblers and new refilling stations. “Disposable water bottles are a significant aspect of our environmental footprint,” says CSU Energy Manager Mr Edward Maher. “For example, the energy used in the production and delivery of one bottle of water results in emissions equivalent to driving a car a few hundred metres. The use of a reusable bottle also provides the University community with an everyday reminder about how the little decisions that we make on a day-to-day basis can collectively have a big impact on our environment..We will educate students and staff about the project, and encourage them to use the free water service.” CSU communications student, Ms Jessica Davis has developed an educational campaign to promote the initiative as part of her course. New water refilling stations will initially be installed on Bathurst and Orange campuses, with stations to be installed on other campuses later in 2011.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic says the recent wide-spread floods in Australia demonstrate the importance of home owners understanding whether their home and contents insurance covers damage caused by flooding. Senior lecturer in law at the CSU School of Accounting, Dr Bede Harris, says, “In many parts of Australia, insurers do not offer flood insurance because the risk is too great, and even where flood insurance is offered, the premiums tend to be high. The type of risks a policy-owner is covered for depends entirely on the wording of their policy, and this can differ from insurer to insurer.” Dr Harris also emphasizes that it is important to note that insurance policies distinguish between damage caused by rising waters (flood) and falling waters (for example, rain leaking through a roof). “In those cases, coverage will depend on what the immediate cause of the damage was,” Dr Harris said.

Construction projects valued at approximately $7.5 million are underway at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst. Three projects, jointly-funded with Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, are expected to be completed later in 2011. The Regional Inter-Professional Clinical Simulation Centre is a state-of-the-art teaching building for nursing and paramedics students; the Model Digital Learning Module will provide cutting edge physical and digital infrastructure necessary for the preparation of ‘job ready’ teachers for Australian schools; and the Health & Wellness sports facilities upgrade will enhance recreational amenities. This involves the building of four new tennis courts and two multi-purpose courts, the creation of sun shade and barbeque areas, the renovation of the rugby oval and the training oval with new lighting, irrigation, laser levelling and new turf, the upgrade of the existing rugby union club house, and the construction of change rooms and amenities at the training field.

A critically acclaimed program to reduce the incidence of antisocial and dangerous behaviours among young people will be launched in the NSW central west with a free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Monday 7 February. The Manager of Residential Operations at CSU in Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo, Mr James Kelly, said, “Putting Youth in the Picture is a unique educational program that has been developed in regional Queensland to help communities deal with issues confronting youth. This program uses a series of authentic but confronting movie scenarios to show how young people can become involved in life altering incidents as a result of poor decision making. The issues presented and discussed include sexual assault, a bar-room fight, use of illegal recreational drugs, binge drinking and underage drinking at a party featuring all of these behaviours. This program is about peer-to-peer education delivered in a way that youth understand, which is in line with current government literature, and how one bad decision can change their life. The University intends to offer this program to not only its students, but as a regional engagement initiative, extend this to communities in the central west.”

The Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Ian Goulter, welcomed the NSW Minister for Lands, the Hon. Mr Tony Kelly, MLC, to the campus in Bathurst on Monday 31 January to formally approve a change to the ‘public purpose’ of CSU land to allow the University to commence formal negotiations with Day Procedures Australia Pty Ltd to establish a private hospital on the campus. “This is an important step in the development of Charles Sturt University’s planned new Medical School and will enable us to provide high quality training for students in a busy clinical environment,” Professor Goulter said. The University has been in discussions with Day Procedures Australia, which operates the Bathurst Private Hospital and Orange Day Surgery Centre, to lease land on the campus for a new private hospital development. The hospital will be built in a new Health Education Precinct on the campus in Bathurst, alongside the new Dental and Oral Health Clinic and CSU’s planned Primary Health Clinic, and will include two surgical theatres and a 20 bed ward, with radiography, pathology and other services. It will provide services to the Bathurst and central western communities, and expand clinical training opportunities for students enrolled in CSU’s planned medical program and existing health science courses.

With a strong collaborative relationship already established between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA), the partnership will be extended on Wednesday 21 April when APA representatives meet the first students at CSU in Orange. “Although the APA have visited Physiotherapy students at CSU in Albury for a number of years, we now offer Physiotherapy at the Orange Campus and the APA were eager to meet the new students,” lecturer Ms Kerstin McPherson said.  “A fourth year Charles Sturt University physiotherapy student is currently a member of the APA National Student Committee and we hope that a representative from the Orange Campus can be included on the committee in the future.” The APA visitors will meet with CSU students and lecturers, tour the CSU campus and enjoy a barbecue lunch.

Three universities in New South Wales will bring an information road show about going to university to regional schools to give senior high school students a better understanding of tertiary education. The University Road Show comprises Charles Sturt University (CSU), Southern Cross University and the University of New England. Students will get the chance to discover more about university life and potential career paths when the University Road Show visits schools in the New England, North Coast, Hunter, Central West and Blue Mountains regions during March. Now in its tenth year, the University Road Show will visit more schools than ever before, sharing information with around 5 000 students at 120 schools. CSU Prospective Student Adviser Ms Katy Fardell said, “By pooling resources, Charles Sturt University, Southern Cross University and the University of New England are able to provide excellent advice to students in one visit, maximising the study options presented to students while minimising the amount of time students need to be away from the classroom.”

Australia’s population is ageing rapidly and Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dr Rylee Dionigi, a Fellow with the CSU Centre for Inland Health Research, is interviewing Bathurst residents as part of collaborative research about factors affecting physical activity among older adults in Australia and Canada. Dr Dionigi said, “Ageing is generally discussed with the empahasis on the declining body, and the research will inform future policies on healthy ageing. It asks people about their current leisure activities, what dissuades them from regular physical activity, their definition of ‘healthy ageing’ and expectations of the ageing process. I am particularly interested in the meaning older people attach to their physical activity or lack thereof in relation to current health promotions and stereotypes of older age. I hope this research encourages policy makers to heed the outcomes of small scale interpretive studies which will lead to greater understanding and tolerance of later life in general.”