Charles Sturt University (CSU) continues to develop its Orange Campus, now opening a new cellar door to showcase the range of CSU wines. CSU Winery  marketing manager Mr Justin Byrne says the cellar door will give the community the opportunity to sample and buy the University wines. "We have the full range of wines in stock including our sparkling and fortified wines," he said. CSU’s award-winning winemaker Mr Andrew Drumm has been keen to open a cellar door in Orange since the University acquired the vineyard. "Orange is growing some great fruit and producing some excellent wines and we are a small but important player in the region so it's good to be able to show off our work," Mr Drumm said. The CSU Winery Cellar Door is open Friday to Sunday from 11am to 4pm. For more information contact Mr Byrne on 02 6365 7643.

More than 70 Years 5 and 6 students from Yeoval Central School, Trangie Central School and Bowen Public School will attend Check It Out Day at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Tuesday 26 June. “Check It Out Day is part of the Future Moves program which aims to expose students to the University at a young age and encourage them to consider university as an option when they leave school,” said Ms Tonya Graham, Pre-entry Program Coordinator, Academic Support. “The day features special workshops, run by academics, which will provide engaging interactive experiences for the primary school students so they develop confidence to seek information about courses and pathways as they progress through high school. The workshops will provide hands-on experiences in supermarket botany, extracting DNA, robotics, and nursing. The students will also tour the campus, have an introduction to Falcon Watch, and join in a mock graduation.” The CSU Check It Out Day runs from 10am to 2pm on Tuesday 26 June at CSU in Orange.

High school students from as far afield as Tasmania will gain an insight into studying animal, equine or veterinary science at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 July. The Years 11 and 12 students from almost 120 high schools in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania will visit CSU as part of the University’s MyDay, an initiative that lets high school students experience a day in the life of a university student. During the two-day My Day event, the students will participate in hands-on workshops within the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The University will also host general information sessions on accommodation and financial support. Undergraduate courses under the spotlight during the event include the Bachelor of Animal Science, the Bachelor of Equine Science, and the Bachelor of Veterinary Biology/ Bachelor of Veterinary Science. Read more here.

Carers of people with a mental illness are the focus of a new research project by a psychology student at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) Honours student Mr Gerald Haslinger is seeking participants in a confidential survey which aims to find out more about the experience of unpaid carers and mental health service providers in caring for someone with a mental illness. “I am interested in hearing from unpaid carers and service providers, and what they understand about the Recovery approach to caring for someone living with a mental illness, an approach that is widely accepted within the mental health sector.  My study seeks to find out the level of awareness of this approach amongst mental health service providers as well as unpaid carers.” Mr Haslinger, an education and training officer with a non-government agency in Sydney, has extended the survey until Friday 13 July.  He is completing his degree by distance education through the School of Psychology at CSU in Wagga Wagga. For further details about the survey, contact Mr Haslinger on his email  or take the survey here.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Regional and Remote Learning Support Team will visit towns around NSW starting on Tuesday 10 July to provide advice and assistance to its new and continuing distance education students. The CSU Regional and Remote Learning Support Team will visit Broken Hill, Parkes, Griffith, Mudgee, Narrabri, Coffs Harbour, Moree, Bega, Bourke, and Cooma. Team manager, Mr James Brann, said, “This is the third study support tour in 2012 to enhance the University’s distance education students’ experience of their courses and their prospects for successful completion. The Regional and Remote Learning Support program provides students who may never visit their campus with access to support and information that students studying on campus may take for granted. The sessions provide group presentations as well as the opportunity for students to make individual face-to-face appointments with staff for support with their studies.”

Four Charles Sturt University (CSU) teacher education students received Awards for Outstanding Professional Practice in 2011 at a special ceremony at the Faculty of Education in Bathurst on Monday 9 July. Each student completed their professional experience at small public schools in Central West NSW. Professor Jo-Anne Reid, the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education, presented the certificates to Ms Rebecca Clark (Meadow Flat Public School), Ms Erin Scouller (Sofala Public School), Ms Jessica Goodacre (Neville Public School), and Mr James Deehan (Wattle Flat Public School), in front of their peers at an orientation session for final-year Bachelor of Education (Primary) students in the School of Teacher Education before they commenced their final professional experience placement as students. “These students have demonstrated outstanding competencies during their professional experience placements in 2011, and the Faculty rightly acknowledges and applauds their achievements,” Professor Reid said.

Wine industry and media representatives have been invited to a special preview of the new Charles Sturt University (CSU) Cellar Door in Orange on Friday 13 July. Mr Justin Byrne, marketing manager at the CSU Winery, said, “The new Cellar Door gives Charles Sturt Wines a presence in the Orange wine region. Guests can sample some pre-release wines including the 2012 ‘R’ Riesling, the first from the University’s vineyard in Orange, and our new Cellar Reserve Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay. They can also speak with members of the CSU Winery team including winemaker Mr Andrew Drumm, viticulturist Mr Geoff Cook, and sales coordinator Ms Narrelle Ingold.” CSU wines have won numerous awards since the CSU Winery was established in Wagga Wagga in 1977, and the CSU School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences is a leading provider of wine making and viticulture education in Australia. The CSU Cellar Door in Orange will be officially opened at a ceremony at the end of July.

A visiting US astronomer will ask, “what if Galileo was alive today?”, when he delivers a free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 11 July. Host of the visit and lecture, Associate Professor David McKinnon from the CSU School of Teacher Education in Bathurst, said Professor Timothy Slater, a NASA-award winning educator from the University of Wyoming, will present a public lecture titled Galileo’s new universe of astronomy. Professor McKinnon said, “Professor Slater will present an entertaining talk in which he will suggest topics that Galileo, if he lived today, would most want his students to diligently observe and passionately study. Nearly 400 years ago, the Italian scientist Galileo profoundly changed Western civilisation’s worldview by pointing the newly-invented telescope to the night sky. What he saw - unexpected observations of mysterious moons, deep craters, and countless unknown stars - still motivates today’s astronomers to look deeper and deeper into our expanding cosmos.” The free public lecture starts at 5.30pm on Wednesday 11 July in room 205 in building S15, CSU in Bathurst.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students have claimed four of the 10 positions in the Australian training squad selected from a national meat judging competition held last weekend in Wagga Wagga. The competition was part of the National Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) workshop hosted by CSU last week. CSU’s 25-member meat judging team won third place overall, narrowly beaten by teams from Melbourne and Murdoch universities. The CSU team also picked up numerous team and individual awards. The overall runner-up prize was awarded to CSU’s Mr Haydn McKay while the Tom Carr Award for coaching excellence was won by Ms Katelyn Braine. Four CSU students, Ms Gabrielle Knight, Mr Issac Allen, Ms Jordan Hoban and Ms Vanessa Campbell, have been selected to attend an intensive Meat and Livestock Australia training course and may be selected in the Australian team to compete in the USA in 2013. CSU Professor of Animal Production, Peter Wynn said the team trained long hours, often starting at the abattoir at 6am. “The success in this competition certainly shows Charles Sturt University’s target of providing more innovative young graduates to service the needs of our meat industries is well and truly on track,” he said. “The generous support and sponsorship from Teys Australia, Junee Abattoir and Knight’s Meats is appreciated.”