A decade-long relationship in cyberspace between fourteen Australian and New Zealand female visual artists has led to a new exhibition of stitched textiles focussing on the issue of climate change. The email group includes Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer, Dr Sue Wood from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Wagga Wagga. Organised by email, the exhibition, A Change in the Weather, is currently travelling in New Zealand. It is curated by New Zealand textile artist Ms Clare Smith who found one of her inspirations in her husband, Dr David Wratt, a climate change scientist for Niwa. The works – all 50 by 150 centimetres, highlight the potential causes and consequences of climate change. “My piece, ‘The Forgotten Factor’ is inspired by where I live; fertile farming land shrinks under the onslaught of drought and fire,” said Dr Wood. “We debate the causes and we debate about what to do, but we don't talk any more about the impact of an exponentially increasing world population.”

To say the odds are long when it comes to the chance of winning the largest lottery draw in Australian history on Tuesday 30 June is an understatement. Professor Nick Klomp, Dean of the Faculty of Science at Charles Sturt University (CSU), puts the chance of winning the jackpot in the $90 million Oz Lotto draw next week at one in 45 million. “If you want an even chance to win the first division just once in your life, you would have to buy a 10-game ticket every single week of your life, even when a baby,” said Professor Klomp. However the CSU academic adds “oh, and you’d have to live to be over 87 000 years old”. “You are much, much more likely to die from being struck by lightning than pick the seven winning numbers by playing a single game next week.” Professor Klomp usually advises people to keep their money in their pocket. He sees lottery tickets as voluntary taxes for people who are lousy at mathematics, but the size of this jackpot makes it worth thinking about.“In any normal week, the best way to be a winner is to put the money you were going to spend on lottery tickets into a savings plan,” said Professor Klomp. “However a $90 million lottery is not normal.  As soon as the first division prize goes over $50 million, the potential payback becomes worth the investment.  It doesn’t increase your chances of winning; it just makes it mathematically more sensible to buy a ticket.” Professor Klomp is keen to point out that all of this assumes that if you win the jackpot, you aren’t sharing it.  “You need the potential payback to be at least 45 million times every dollar you spend. So long as you don’t think it’s an investment and you get your money back in fun, then go ahead and enjoy yourself,” advises Professor Klomp.

After 35 years at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst and its predecessor institution Mitchell College of Advanced Education (MCAE), Associate Professor Leonora Ritter, Head of the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies, will retire on Wednesday 1 July. Professor Anthony Cahalan, Dean of Faculty of Arts at CSU, said following her appointment to an academic position at MCAE in 1974, Professor Ritter has gone on to make an extraordinary contribution to the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies and to CSU. “Leonora has been Head of School for the past six years and has chaired and served on numerous committees at all levels of the institution. In every role, her commitment to her students, staff and colleagues has been generous and exemplary. We wish her all the very best in her retirement, and look forward to maintaining Charles Sturt University's association with her in her role as mentor on a number of significant projects in the future,” Professor Cahalan said. Professor Ritter will be farewelled by colleagues at an afternoon tea on Thursday 25 June.

The idea that employment automatically leads to personal well-being and social inclusion is being questioned by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher. In an address to the 2009 Social Inclusion Forum in Melbourne on Thursday 25 June, Dr Helen Masterman-Smith will question what, if anything, the Federal Government’s Social Inclusion Agenda (SIA) has done to address the kinds of barriers that low paid workers encounter. “Labour market participation is a cornerstone of the whole-of-government approach that the Commonwealth is developing to improve social inclusion. However, its SIA recognises that low pay and poor job quality often derail this key objective.” A sociology lecturer and co-author of the book Living Low Paid, Dr Masterman-Smith says the difficulties of ‘making work pay’ at the bottom end of the labour market is a social inclusion challenge that has yet to receive the policy or public attention it warrants. She will also comment on whether the Australian labour market and economy can actually deliver a ‘just transition’ to a low-carbon economy, through the Emissions Trading Scheme, or whether such a transition will simply reproduce current labour market inequalities.  

The extensive research work of Charles Sturt University (CSU) ecologist, Associate Professor Gary Luck in the area of biodiversity conservation has been publicly acknowledged in the 2009 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence. The Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU Professor Ian Goulter announced on Monday 22 June the recipients of this year’s awards to academic and general staff. The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence has gone to Associate Professor Luck from the School of Environmental Sciences  at CSU at Albury-Wodonga and a member of the University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society. His internationally recognised work focuses on two key areas in ecosystem services and conservation near human settlements. Ms Kristy Robson from the School of Community Health at CSU at Albury-Wodonga has been named winner of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Professional Excellence for her work the University’s Allied Health Clinic where podiatry and other students obtain clinical experience. There are two recipients of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in lecturer Ms Amanda Davies from the School of Policing Studies at CSU at Goulburn and lecturer Dr Jennifer Sappey from the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies at CSU at Bathurst. Awards for excellence in leadership, performance and programs that enhance learning have also been announced. Professor Goulter will present the awards during ceremonies at Bathurst on Tuesday 30 June and at Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 1 July.

A pharmacy student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has been named the NSW Pharmacy Student of Year by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA). Mr Lloyd Smith was named the winner in Sydney on Saturday 13 June during a pharmacy expo hosted by the PSA. Sponsored by the company Alphapharm, the competition tests the communication and counselling skills of final year pharmacy students. Mr Smith will now compete for the national title of Pharmacy Student of the Year during the PSA’s annual Pharmacy Australia Congress in Sydney from Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 October. Mr Smith, from Broken Hill, is in his fourth year of Bachelor Pharmacy at CSU at Wagga Wagga. He is also the Head Resident of the Halls of Residence at the University’s South Campus in Wagga Wagga and involved in a number of student organisations including the Pharmers’ Society and rural health club, WARRIAHS. “Lloyd represents all that is great about pharmacy students at CSU beyond their academic achievements. Lloyd has good communication and leadership skills, a commitment to the community in which he lives and a burning desire to serve the profession well in regional NSW,” said Associate Professor Lyn Angel, Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences.

Lecturers and PhD students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will judge the 2009 RoboCup Junior Central West competition at Dubbo Christian School on Thursday 25 June. They will also offer technical advice to school students and their teachers at the event. Associate lecturer and PhD student Mr Allen Benter, from the School of Accounting and Computer Science  at CSU at Bathurst, said RoboCup Junior is aimed at primary to secondary school children and introduces students to the international RoboCup World Championship. “RoboCup Junior focuses not only on engineering and computing skills, but also emphasises sportsmanship, teamwork, cooperation and organisational skills. The participants must construct and program a robot to compete in one of three events; Dance, Rescue or Soccer. The winners of the regional competition then advance to the state competition,” said Mr Benter, who is a PhD student with the Newcrest Mining Research Laboratory at the Universty’s Centre for Research in Complex Systems (CRiCS).

Anyone living in the Dubbo area who is interested in a career in nursing is invited to an information evening at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Dubbo on Wednesday 24 June. Ms Cathy Maginnis, Academic Adviser at Dubbo for the Bachelor of Nursing degree at the CSU School of Nursing and Midwifery, said “The evening is for Years 9-12 students, parents, teachers, mature-aged students, and anyone who already has some qualifications in nursing. It is open to those interested in becoming a registered nurse, and will explain what we have to offer them at the CSU Dubbo campus. There will be speakers from the School of Nursing and Midwifery, as well as the Director of Nursing at Dubbo Base Hospital, the Manager of Primary and Community Health Services, and current CSU nursing students and graduates,” Ms Maginnis said. The evening will conclude with a light supper.

High school students from Dubbo and surrounding towns will experience university life when they attend the two-day MyDay event at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Dubbo on 23 and 24 June. CSU Prospective Student Adviser, Ms Katy O’Brien, said, “MyDay is designed to give students a taste of university life so they know they can gain first-rate qualifications and start a career without having to leave the region. This is an important consideration in the present economic climate. MyDay will involve approximately 81 Years 10, 11 and 12 students over the two days, with students from outlying schools attending on Tuesday 23 June, and Dubbo students attending on Wednesday 24 June.” The participating schools include Dubbo Christian School, Dubbo College Senior Campus, Wellington High School, Gulgong High School, Molong Central School, Coolah Central School, Trundle Central School, Forbes High School, Mudgee High School, Coonamble High School, and Parkes High School.