The challenge in managing an organisation’s development alongside its environmental footprint is demonstrated in Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) 2009 Environmental Scorecard. The document is prepared by CSU Green to critically assess the University’s progress in meeting its sustainability targets for 2011 and 2015. “There was a large amount of development and construction at Charles Sturt University, with a 16 per cent increase in gross floor space since 2006, the baseline year,” said CSU Green Manager Mr William Adlong. “Despite this construction, greenhouse gas emissions from energy use increased by only 1.3 per cent between 2006 and 2009. This reflects the greater energy efficiency of new buildings, improvements in the plant and equipment in existing buildings and staff efforts to reduce energy use in their work areas,” Mr Adlong said. The 2009 Environmental Scorecard also shows mains water consumption across the University fell by more than 32 per cent since 2006, electricity consumption rose by 5.2 per cent from 2006, and emissions from travel increased 4.5 per cent from 2008. Read the full 2009 Environmental Scorecard here.

There will be a special graduation ceremony for one Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate due to his inability to attend the ceremonies in Wagga Wagga last month. Mr Simon Stanbouli is an inmate at the Wellington Correctional Centre in central west NSW. While in custody he completed a Bachelor of Business (Business Management) with Distinction. “A number of obstacles faced this student during his distance education studies including no access to the internet, the need to submit handwritten assignments and his inability to speak directly with his lecturer,” said Dr Padma Nathan from the School of Business at CSU in Wagga Wagga. “It is no mean task to score a High Distinction or a Distinction in any subject, and yet Simon managed these grades in virtually every subject at Charles Sturt University. Credit is also due to all the academic and administrative staff who have acknowledged the difficulties Simon faced and endeavoured to go out of their way to help him.”

Interest in the 7th annual Australian International Animation Festival has reached unprecedented levels with more than 2 200 submissions received from 40 countries for the event in regional NSW. Hosted by the Animation and Visual Effects program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga, the Festival will be held from Friday 14 May to Sunday 16 May at the Forum 6 Cinema in Wagga Wagga. The program includes international films, digital animation, stop motion and Australian made films. Young children are catered for in the Festival line-up as well as a ‘Late Night Bizarre’ show. There will also be free talks and workshops from local and international filmmakers. The full program can be found here.

Preparing students for life in the workplace, with suitable knowledge and skills, work readiness and understanding of occupational culture, has long been recognised as vital by higher education providers. A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic has raised the issue of what knowledge and skills university educators need to take workplace education forward in the current global era. Professor Joy Higgs AM has received one of nine Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Teaching Fellowships to examine what makes good workplace education and to encourage the widespread use of good practice in universities nationally. “The aim is to better prepare students for the complex workplaces of today,” said Professor Higgs, Director of CSU’s Education for Practice Institute. “Known as practice-based education, it’s a vital part of the education of university students, but there is much of this teaching and learning that is invisible, such as how teachers make decisions about teaching in classrooms. A key goal of this fellowship is to identify and disseminate good practices.”

TAFE students who have enrolled in or recently completed Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses at TAFE Western, the Canberra Institute of Technology and TAFE NSW Riverina Institute can now win scholarships to further their education at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at CSU, Professor Ross Chambers, says applications for the 12 scholarships, each worth $2 500, are available for 2010, with four scholarships available at each institution. “The CSU University Pathway Scholarship Program is part of the University’s ongoing commitment to create strong education pathways and collaboration from TAFE to University in our regional cities and regions,” Professor Chambers said. Acting Institute Director at TAFE Western, Ms Kate Baxter, says each year a number of TAFE Western graduates seek higher qualifications by studying at universities. “These scholarships will provide welcome support and encouragement and expand the opportunities for people in Western NSW to achieve their aspirations,” Ms Baxter said. Applications will close on Friday 27 November, with offers due to be made to successful TAFE students on Friday 11 December.

The way teachers are ‘made’ in 2010 is the subject of a free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst at 6pm Wednesday 12 May. The Head of the CSU School of Teacher Education in Bathurst, Associate Professor Ninetta Santoro, will take a historical perspective to understand the present in her lecture examining The Making of Teachers: Teacher Education for the Twenty-First Century. “I will consider what it means to be a student teacher in 2010 compared to past generations, and what effective teacher education might look like in the future,” Professor Santoro said. “The nature of teachers’ work and knowledge has undergone enormous change in recent years due to a wide range of factors including increasingly complex student demographics, developments in information technology, and the ways in which knowledge is produced and transmitted. Australian classrooms are more culturally diverse than ever before, students are more technologically savvy, and school curricula are increasingly complex and expansive.”

The potential health risk of rural drinking water was the topic of a talk Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher Dr Andrea Crampton gave to Rotarians in Wagga Wagga last month. Dr Crampton, who is a member of CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS)  found that more than 50 per cent of rural tank water drinkers were drinking water that exceeded the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. In one instance the level of E.coli was 230 times the acceptable limit. Interviews with participants in the study identified a need for more information on potential risks and how to reduce those risks, steps already known but not communicated effectively to the rural community. “Not surprisingly most were more than happy for the government to stay away from their water supplies, preferring to manage their own systems but in a more informed manner,” Dr Crampton said.

A palliative care forum at the Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo, on Saturday 29 May is being co-organised by lecturing staff in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo. Lecturer Ms Maria Bennet said, “Our aim is to raise awareness of key palliative care issues for Dubbo and the region through the various public speakers and debate. The forum will include a debate by students from Dubbo College Senior Campus (topic, Palliative care is better provided in hospital), a series of short public speeches by prominent local and visiting identities, including local general practitioners, guest speaker specialists in the field of palliative care, and an open forum discussion.” Guest speakers include Mr Warren Mundine, Ms Jenni George, Dr Frank Brennan, Mr Peter Davis, Ms Joan Ryan, Ms Lyn Sykes and the CSU Foundation Professor of Rural Pharmacy, Professor Patrick Ball.

A mental health worker from the remote Pilbara region of Australia’s far northwest has been honoured by Charles Sturt University (CSU) for her achievements in the unique Djirruwang Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Program. Ms Katie Papertalk is the first Western Australian student in the University’s Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health) degree to receive a Faculty of Science Dean’s Award. Students who have achieved consistent Distinctions or High Distinctions are nominated for the award. In a ceremony in the Marr Mooditj Foundation garden in Perth, Ms Papertalk was presented the Dean’s Award by the Djirruwang Program Director Mr Wayne Rigby. “Receiving a Dean’s Award is a proud moment for any student and for an Aboriginal student it is an honour for themselves as well as their family and community,” Mr Rigby said. Since its inception as a pilot program in southern NSW in 1994, the Djirruwang Program has graduated 111 mental health workers. “With the support of the WA Department of Health, Charles Sturt University expects a record student intake from Western Australia in 2011,” said Mr Rigby.