The stories of two Labor icons are currently playing on Sydney stages: Keating! The Musical at Belvior Street, and A Local Man, the Ben Chifley one-man show at the Ensemble in Kirribilli. Co-written by historian and CSU adjunct senior lecturer Dr Rob McLachlan with Bob Ellis, A Local Man is described by the Ensemble as “a poignant portrayal of a flawed hero”. Tony Barry is reprising the role he played in the original Bathurst CSU production in 2004, which was directed by Bill Blaikie. Dr McLachlan says this new production is a “bonus all around. The Ensemble is one of the hallmark theatres in Sydney for Australian drama. It has a very sympathetic artistic director, Sandra Bates, and there is an impressive CSU ex-theatre media presence there”. A 2007 tour of Canberra and regional NSW and Victoria will be produced by Jennifer Barry, a CSU theatre media graduate.

Vice-Chancellor Ian Goulter last week announced the academic promotions round for 2006. Professor Goulter singled out Associate Professor Geoffrey Gurr from the School of Rural Management and Dr Lexin Wang from the School of Biomedical Sciences who have both been promoted to Professor Level E. “I congratulate these academic staff members on their achievements and contribution to the success of Charles Sturt University,” he said. CSU researcher and academic cardiologist Dr Wang is also an Honorary Professor of Cardiology at Taishan Medical College in China. “I’m really pleased, but there are more challenges ahead. We are still conducting a number of very high-profile studies on heart disease and my research group has had some major impact in the field of cardiovascular medicine. At CSU we are running a very strong pharmacology discipline which has been expanded quite substantially in the last eight years or so, and I think that is another major achievement.”

One of Australia’s largest banks Westpac will announce an agreement with Charles Sturt University (CSU) to produce regular agribusinesses reports for all Australia’s regions. CSU’s Western Research Institute will produce quarterly reports for Westpac on the health of farming and related businesses in all Australia’s States and territories, starting in 2007. This will be the first such report on each and all regions of the nation.The official announcement will be made during a Business and Community Reception to be hosted by CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter. The reception will start at 5pm on Thursday 7 December on the University’s Albury-Wodonga Campus at Thurgoona.

Three Charles Sturt University (CSU) students have topped the University’s sparkling wine production course in 2006. The wine science students - Sophie Houghton, Graeme Scott and Steve Balog - each received 12 bottles of wine from Domaine Chandon, Australia’s leading producer of sparkling wine. Subject Coordinator, Professor Geoff Scollary, said that the contribution of Domaine Chandon to the teaching program was a major factor in the success of the final year Sparkling Wine Production subject. “Students get the opportunity to taste wines, to blend wines ready for commercial release, and to hear from leading sparkling wine makers,” he said. The School of Wine and Food Sciences has a long history of collaboration with Domaine Chandon, with the company’s CEO, Dr Tony Jordan as the first wine science lecturer at CSU in the late 1970s.

CSU Media wishes you all a happy and safe festive season and looks forward to working with you in 2007.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will soon return to the Campus towns of Albury, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst, and some will be seeking off campus accommodation, according to CSU Student Services Officer Jane Battersby. “We have VTAC and UAC rounds coming out next week, so the student demand will soon be there. We have a database of off-campus accommodation providers, from vacant rental to shared rental and board.” Colleen Poy says providing accommodation to CSU students can be very rewarding. “I started off with one house, then two and now I have five houses. I really missed my children when they left home. There’s nothing like being around young people, they never lose their enthusiasm. Every morning is a whole new day and they are up and at it. I think it’s wonderful.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has made his mark on one of Australia’s premier cycle races. Dean Windsor, who is currently studying Primary Education, won the fourth stage and came fourth overall in points in the five-day Jayco Bay Cycling Classic. The Classic is the world’s fastest criterium series according to organisers. Dean says he is delighted to have done so well. “All the professionals race this, and it is important to get a win early in the season. It is quite a top quality field and a top class event.” Next up is the Road National, a 150 kilometre race around Ballarat, and Dean says he is looking forward to a trip to Europe later this year, as well as “a few tours in Asia. My CSU lecturers are very supportive, so it is possible to combine my studies with the cycling,” he said.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) National Radio News (NRN) was Highly Commended in the ‘Excellence in the Spoken Word’ category by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) at its annual conference in November 2006. NRN manager, Mr Peter Hetherington, said “The highly commended award is a well deserved result for the whole NRN team which consists of only three full-time journalists and six casual cadets who are CSU communications students.” Mr Hetherington said this was the first time in several years NRN has entered in any awards. “It lifted the morale of the staff to be competing on a national level, with the standard of the NRN entries very high. It also showcased the ability of cadet staff to a broader audience, and demonstrates the unique news experience NRN offers to students who are selected for cadetships.”

Former US vice-president Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth, which details the affects of global warming, has become the third-highest grossing documentary in the United States to date. It seems the film’s message is not lost on Australian audiences either, according to Dr Mark Morrison from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Marketing and Management, Bathurst Campus. He is working on a CSIRO project looking at the value the community has for reducing global warming.”We are measuring the community’s willingness to sacrifice future income to mitigate the affects of global warming. It is very interesting - we are finding that although about ten per cent of people don’t want to sacrifice any income, there is a very large proportion who don‘t care about the cost, they just want it fixed.” He says the preliminary findings were presented at a conference in New Delhi recently.