The 2009 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has been presented to Central West ‘local’ Dr Jennifer Sappey, from Oberon, who came to work at Mitchell College of Advanced Education – one of CSU’s predecessor institutions - in 1974 before enrolling to study there in 1975. “For me, education is about social justice, for the individual and the wider community,” Dr Sappey said. “My commitment to education lies in its role as a social equaliser, leading me to an emphasis on bridging theory to practice and my students’ own life experiences. My disciplinary lens, industrial sociology, allows me to understand that teaching is not just something I ‘do’ but who I ‘am’, and my strong belief in Charles Sturt University as a place of inspiration and hope which changes peoples’ lives, both young and old, lies at the heart of my own story.” Dr Sappey taught at other universities before returning to CSU in 2002 to take up a role as lecturer in Management. In 2007 she was appointed to her current role as lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies at CSU at Bathurst.