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.

The Evocities campaign has been described as a useful tool for recruitment by Charles Sturt University (CSU) Director of Human Resources Partnerships, Ms Jennie Anderson. Launched in September 2010, the promotion of Evocities - centres of Energy, Vision and Opportunity (EVO) - encourages capital city residents to make the move to an Evocity and invest in the opportunities the cities offer. The Evocities include Albury, Armidale, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga. “Charles Sturt University has campuses in five of the seven Evocities so it made sense for the University to become a supporter of this campaign,” Ms Anderson said. “The Evocities campaign includes a website where interested parties can find out more about each city and look for jobs in that area. It’s a great recruitment tool but also a useful link for those who haven’t lived in the area before and want to find out more about each city.”

Academics from Charles Sturt University (CSU) have raised a record amount at the Orange Relay For Life, an overnight community event where teams participate in a relay-style walk or run on Saturday 13 March to raise funds for the NSW Cancer Council. Aiming to raise $2 000 for cancer research, the CSU team finished with over $6 000, the highest amount of the 74 participating teams. “Charles Sturt University has supported Relay For Life since its first event in Orange,” team captain and CSU lecturer in the School of Biomedical Science, Dr James Wickham said, “but this is the most we have ever raised, partly thanks to an anonymous donor who donated $2 000.” With 14 staff members in the team, CSU was recognisable on the track with CSU caps and ties to complement their tracksuits. “Everyone did a great job walking or running for their allotted time but we were all a bit sore the next day, ” Dr Wickham said.

Having raised more than $6 000 at last year’s Relay for Life, staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange with help from friends and family hope to donate another large sum to the NSW Cancer Council following this year’s event on Saturday 19 March. Relay for Life is an overnight community event where teams participate in a relay-style walk or run to raise funds for the NSW Cancer Council. Team coordinator and lecturer in anatomy and physiology in the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU, Dr James Wickham, believes CSU staff’s commitment to the community plays a big part in their past success. “We had 15 people in our team last year and 14 will take part this year,” Dr Wickham said. “Charles Sturt University staff enjoy taking part in community events and being for a good cause we can always rely on our family and friends to help us donate money for cancer research, accommodation for patients, and to support the Cancer Council Helpline. Last year, we initially wanted to raise $2 000, so to raise such a large sum was fantastic. We will be thrilled if we can raise $5 000 this year.”

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.”

In time for the beginning of the 2011 school year, Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Information Studies lecturer Dr James Herring has published his new book, Improving Students' Web Use and Information Literacy: A guide for teachers and teacher librarians. The book is a practical resource about using the web effectively in order to enhance learning and teaching in schools. It covers topics such as learning and teaching in today’s schools, finding and using information on the web, evaluating websites, improving student use of the web, and developing learning websites for student use.

Year 10 and 11 students from Orange and the central west region in NSW will explore course options and university life when they attend the Allied Health and Dentistry MyDay at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Friday 25 February. CSU Prospective Student Advisor, Ms Katy Fardell, said, “MyDay provides high school students with a taste of the courses offered at Charles Sturt University in Orange. They will also learn about the pathways to the career of their choice and opportunities such as gaining an international experience through CSU Global  or financial assistance through a Charles Sturt University Foundation scholarship. The courses on show include the Bachelor of Clinical Science, Bachelor of Pharmacy, Bachelor of Physiotherapy, and Bachelor of Dental Science. MyDay Orange also provides an opportunity for students to get an understanding of the career paths available to them after they complete a university degree.”