People from all faiths will come together at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at CSU in Canberra this week for a service of peace for those suffering in the Middle East. The service, For the sake of humanity, is being hosted by the Centre in conjunction with the Canberra Interfaith Forum and the ACT Council of Churches. Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture Executive Director the Right Reverend Professor Stephen Pickard said, "The service calls people of all faiths and good will to join together in an act of solidarity with those who are suffering and victims of violence in the Middle East, whether it is Iraq, Gaza, Southern Israel, Syria or elsewhere. This is a time for the bonds of our common humanity to be recognised. Lament and yearning for peace are the themes for the service. There will be songs by the Canberra based Chorus of Women, dance, symbol and reflections". The service will be held from 6pm to 6:45pm on Wednesday 13 August in The Chapel at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, 15 Blackall Street, Barton, ACT. For more information contact Ms Margaret Roberts from the ACC&C on (02) 6272 6203 or send an email acc-c@csu.edu.au.

The Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Canberra will host a multi-faith community memorial service for victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy as part of the National Day of Mourning on Thursday 7 August. The Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, the Right Reverend Professor Stephen Pickard, said, "The tragic loss of life on flight MH17 has touched all Australians and we join with grieving families here and around the world to commemorate this sad event. This solemn memorial service will direct our prayers and wishes to all who are suffering, and offer our hopes for the peaceful and successful investigation and recovery efforts underway in Ukraine. All who grieve and share the desire for a peaceful world are welcome to attend." The service, to be held in conjunction with the Canberra Interfaith Forum and the ACT Council of Churches, will be in The Chapel at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture 15 Blackall Street, Barton ACT, from 5.15pm to 6pm Thursday 7 August. Please direct enquires to Ms Margaret Roberts on (02) 6272 6203 or acc-c@csu.edu.au.

The Republic of Azerbaijan has hosted the inaugural conference of the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU), a not-for-profit body formed to promote the academic standing of the customs profession. The conference, Trade Facilitation Post-Bali: Putting Policy into Practice was held in late May in the city of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Jointly organised by the INCU and Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee, the event brought together delegates from over 70 countries including representatives of customs administrations, the private sector, academic institutions and international organisations. Co-chairing the conference was the Canberra-based INCU President and chief executive of the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies, Professor David Widdowson. The INCU has adopted the Baku Resolution to guide its future direction. Read the resolution here. In July 2013, Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies announced a new partnership to deliver the Bachelor of Border Management and Graduate Certificate in Customs Administration by distance education.  Read more about the partnership in CSU News here. The University's Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security and the Centre for Customs Excise are co-located in Canberra's parliamentary triangle.

An academic procession down the aisle of St Paul's Anglican Church will begin the formal graduation ceremony for Charles Sturt University's (CSU) School of Theology in Canberra on Monday 16 December.  Doctorates, degrees, diplomas and certificates will be awarded to 50 graduates in front of 140 guests. "This is a milestone event in which the achievements of all graduates are celebrated and we give thanks for the support of families and friends," said Associate Head of School, Dr Heather Thomson. "Graduates are encouraged to continue in the path of wisdom, truth and goodness, as they make their contributions to the church and the wider world." The Occasional address will be delivered by CSU Executive Dean of Arts Professor Jennifer McKinnon. Read more about Professor McKinnon on CSU News here. During the ceremony Mr Paul Baker will be presented with the University Medal, the highest honour for academic achievement at CSU, when he is awarded a Bachelor of Theology (Honours). Mr Baker is a mediator in Alice Springs and studied part-time by distance education.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Winery will launch a new-look series of labels for its Charles Sturt and Reserve ranges at CSU in Bathurst on Tuesday 1 October. Marketing manager Mr Justin Byrne said the new labels reflected the University’s history and spirit of exploration. “The labels feature the rivers of regional NSW, the Macquarie, the Murray, the Murrumbidgee and the Darling,” he said. “It was the explorer Charles Sturt who first traced the Murray and the Murrumbidgee, and those journeys are also represented on the labels.” Mr Byrne said Charles Sturt University Winery had been making wine, and winemakers, for more than 35 years. “We own and operate two vineyards, growing warm climate varieties in Wagga Wagga and cool climate varieties in Orange, and also work with growers in other regions. We have two production facilities in Wagga Wagga; a commercial winery producing our three product ranges and an experimental winery producing our student wines.” CSU staff and local business people will attend the launch event and the new labels will be on shelves throughout NSW and Victoria in the coming months.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Council has welcomed the appointment of three new highly successful alumni to its ranks. Mrs Jennifer Hayes from Albury-Wodonga is a former senior executive of the Mars Corporation, including as a senior financial executive in Asia Pacific and Europe.  Ms Saranne Cooke from Bathurst joins the Council from the energy sector and recently led a team working on energy sector reform in NSW.  Ms Cooke is also a Director of the Western Medicare Local.  Mr Jamie Newman from Orange is a member of a number of boards and committees, and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Orange Aboriginal Medical Service. He is a descendent of the Kalar tribe of the Wiradjuri nation.  The new appointees join current CSU alumni members Mr Angelos Frangopoulos (CEO of SkyNews Australia and Board Member of the Victor Chang Foundation) and Mr Peter Hayes (a Wine Industry Consultant who has held senior positions with the CRC for Irrigation Futures, CRC for Viticulture and the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation).  The Council also welcomed Mr Robert Fitzpatrick, an external independent appointee, who currently heads up the infrastructure, transport and logistics business with the National Centre of Excellence in ICT Australia and spent 7 years in global consulting for McKinsey in international business and technology. Under the leadership of Chancellor Mr Lawrence Willett, AO, the CSU Council has 15 members.

How proximity to a 'green' roof or wall affects city residents is the subject of a research project being carried out in Sydney by Charles Sturt University (CSU) student, Ms Karina Maloney. The Honours student in the School of Environmental Sciences at CSU in Albury-Wodonga is investigating residents living in or near a building that has plants growing on roofs or outside walls, and the impact it has on residents’ perceptions of the local landscape and their health. "As more Australians move to the city, the role of nature in the urban environment has become increasingly important," Ms Maloney said. "To learn more about the role of nature in urban areas, we are conducting a survey of residents in one of the three groups: those that reside in a building with a ‘green’ roof or wall; those that can see the vegetation of a nearby green roof or wall; and those that live in a nearby building and cannot see green roof or wall vegetation. We are looking for relationships between the three groups of residents in their satisfaction in the surrounding landscape, their connection to nature and their physical health.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will close for the Christmas-New Year break from 12.30pm on Friday 21 December and will re-open on Wednesday 2 January 2013. Best wishes to all our readers from the CSU Media team.

The high standard of services offered by the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Library to its users no matter where they live has been praised in a biennial survey conducted in September. The Library Client Survey 2012 attracted 3 844 respondents, with almost 54 per cent of the surveys completed by CSU distance education students. The Library’s Director of Client Services, Ms Alice Ferguson said, “In this latest survey, the Charles Sturt University Library has moved from the bottom 25 per cent of libraries in 2010 to the top 25 per cent for overall performance of Australian university libraries surveyed over the last two years. Our staff were highly commended in the survey for the standard of service they provide to our users.” During the last two years, CSU has established new Learning Commons in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Orange and Wagga Wagga, and increased its use of social media through the Library. A part promoting the survey, cash prizes were offered to library users to participate in the evaluation. Two of the four winners, medical radiation science student Mr Thomas Belling and Master of Health Science Honours student Ms Di Wintle, were presented certificates by Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann at the Convention Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 6 November.