Dentistry students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange have started  the academic year by raising $1 000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service TOOTH (The Outback Oral Treatment and Health) program. More than 150 students attended a Commencement Dinner at Wentworth Golf Club in Orange on Saturday 29 March and raised the funds with a charity auction. The donation follows the donation of $1 500 to the program by CSU's Student Dental Association (SDA) in December. Association Vice-President, Ms Jessica Zachar, said the SDA was a strong supporter of the TOOTH Program and the benefits it provides the community. "We hope that these donations will help in allowing the program to continue the great work and look forward to supporting it in the future," she said. CSU dentistry students have the opportunity to undertake placements in the TOOTH program from CSU in Dubbo during their fourth and fifth years of study.

Australia's pre-eminent astrophysicist, Distinguished Professor Brian Schmidt, will give a free public lecture at CSU in Orange as part of the University's Explorations Series. Professor Schmidt is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and astrophysicist at The Australian National University Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (formerly Mt Stromlo Observatory, near Canberra) and is known for his research in using supernovae as cosmological probes. He shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics with Professor Saul Perlmutter and Professor Adam Riess for providing evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Professor Schmidt leads Mt Stromlo's effort to build the SkyMapper telescope, a new facility that will provide a comprehensive digital map of the southern sky from ultraviolet and new infrared wavelengths. He will give a public lecture at CSU in Orange, Lecture Theatre 3, on Friday 4 April at 6pm. To RSVP email kmadden@csu.edu.au

Health researchers from around the NSW Central West have been invited to join forces as part of the Western NSW Health Research Network. The network includes universities, government agencies and peak bodies with interests in rural health, and is committed to reducing the health inequalities of people living, studying and working in western NSW. A social networking event is scheduled for the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Winery Cellar Door in Orange on Wednesday 12 March. Dr Heather Robinson, Head of Campus at CSU in Orange, said anyone with an interest in the field was welcome. "The challenge in rural health research can be getting a critical mass," she said. "There are a lot of groups working in the area, but by joining forces we can more effectively compete for research funding, take on larger projects, and make better use of everyone's skills." The event will be held at the Charles Sturt University Cellar Door, Leeds Parade Orange, Wednesday 12 March, from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Call Ms Kerry Madden on (02) 6365 7500 to RSVP or email kmadden@csu.edu.au .

The 2014 grape harvest at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) vineyard in Orange will begin next week. Despite the recent hot weather, CSU winemaker Mr Andrew Drumm expects a quality vintage. Mr Drumm said the harvest had been brought forward due to the hot weather but this hadn't hurt the quality of the fruit. "We'll pick Chardonnay first, but we also grow Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet, Pinot Gris, and Riesling in Orange," he said. "We expect slightly lower volumes than the previous three or four years, which have been challenging because of late rain. Consequently, we had to carefully select the fruit we used to make the wine. This year, it looks like we'll be able to use almost all the fruit we pick." CSU Winery produces about 100 tons of fruit a year in its vineyards at Wagga Wagga and Orange. Last year produced about 10 000 cases of wine, marketed as Charles Sturt Wines.

Health researchers from around the NSW Central West have been invited to join forces as part of the Western NSW Health Research Network. The network includes universities, government agencies and peak bodies with interests in rural health, and is committed to reducing the health inequalities of people living, studying and working in western NSW. A social networking event is scheduled for the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Winery Cellar Door in Orange on Wednesday 12 March. Dr Heather Robinson, Head of Campus at CSU in Orange, said anyone with an interest in the field was welcome. "The challenge in rural health research can be getting a critical mass," she said. "There are a lot of groups working in the area, but by joining forces we can more effectively compete for research funding, take on larger projects, and make better use of everyone's skills." The event will be held at the Charles Sturt University Cellar Door, Leeds Parade Orange, Wednesday 12 March, from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Call Ms Kerry Madden on (02) 6365 7500 to RSVP or email kmadden@csu.edu.au .

More than 130 graduates, including about 30 graduating dentists, and 450 guests are expected to celebrate the end of the university year at a graduation ceremony for Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Tuesday, 17 December. The ceremony will see students graduate from courses in agricultural business management, clinical science, dental science,pharmacy and physiotherapy. The new graduates will join almost 3 400 other successful students to graduate from CSU inAlbury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Canberra, Orange and Wagga Wagga over the next week. They will include the first dentists to graduate from the Bachelor of Dental Science, which began in 2009. The first Bachelor Physiotherapy graduates from CSU in Orange are concluding their final placements and will graduate early next year. Head of Campus Dr Heather Robinson said this year's graduation was especially significant for the University's efforts to redress rural health workforce shortages. "Charles Sturt University has shown in the past that by training rural students close to home, and by creating a curriculum specifically suited to rural practice, we can make a difference to the accessibility of rural health services," she said. "It's why rural students make up about half our paramedic, psychology and pharmacy enrolments, but more than three quarters of those graduates go on to rural careers. We look forward to following the careers of our class of 2013 with interest, and in working with them to ensure our communities continue to prosper into the future.Media note: Media are welcome to attend the CSU graduation ceremony at Kinross Wolaroi School, 59-67 Bathurst Road in Orange from 3pm, Tuesday, 17 December. Contact CSU Media for further details.

Charles Sturt University's (CSU) sustainability unit, CSU Green, will work with a new centre for excellence in environmental education to promote sustainability and environmental issues. CSU Green will work with the Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development for the Murray Darling Basin (RCE-MD) to generate awareness of the Centre within CSU and in the broader community. CSU Green manager, Mr Ed Maher, says he is looking forward to working with RCE-MD to help achieve positive sustainability outcomes. "The Centre will be a 'think tank' of expertise that will inform and educate on sustainability, share resources and ideas, and link up educational providers, employers, industries and the wider community," Mr Maher said. "For CSU Green, this means that Charles Sturt University will be making a big step towards meeting its potential to influence sustainability outcomes beyond its own boundaries." CSU is one of three lead institutions involved in the Centre along with Wodonga TAFE and La Trobe University. You can read more about the RCE-MD here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann will meet with community leaders from the Orange region to discuss how CSU can deliver more benefits for the town and community. Professor Vann will host the Vice-Chancellor’s Regional Leaders Luncheon at CSU in Orange on 4 November for community leaders and partners, with a view to strengthening partnerships in the region. Professor Vann said the luncheon was an opportunity to discuss how the University could work more closely with community and business groups. “The luncheon will bring together community leaders and partners to discuss the contribution of Charles Sturt University,” he said. “More importantly, it will provide an opportunity for the community to tell us about the opportunities they see for the University to contribute and identify the challenges we can work together to overcome.” Guests will be invited to contribute thoughts and suggestions during the luncheon, which will be held at CSU in Orange, from noon-2pm.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher believes effective biosecurity is the most humane and affordable way of preventing the spread of Avian Influenza from wild waterfowl to poultry operations. Birds on a second egg farm near Young in NSW have been confirmed to have the H7 strain of Avian Influenza, different to the H5N1 strain which can affect humans. Dr Andrew Peters, lecturer in Veterinary Pathology with the  School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga has an interest in the spread of parasites and disease in wild bird populations.  He said various strains of Avian Influenza circulate naturally in populations of waterfowl but rarely causes disease in these wild birds. “Different species of waterfowl play different roles in the transmission and maintenance of Avian Influenza in the natural environment,” said Dr Peters. “There is a need to better characterise this in Australia, as well as the ecology of these species, and by doing so develop cost-effective biosecurity measures to protect free-range poultry operations.”