Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) reputation for training professionals for inland Australia is attracting some of the nation’s most prestigious employers. In coming weeks, graduate recruitment sessions at the University’s Waaga Wagga Campus will see organisations, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA), Commonwealth Bank, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Westpac Banking Corporation, ComSuper, Smart Teachers and Select Education, outline employment opportunities for 2008 to final year CSU students. CSU Manager for Student Access and Work, Paul Worsfold says interest among graduate employers is high and to facilitate this, the University’s Careers Service has introduced an employer “portal” on its CareerHub website.  Graduate employers can now post jobs and employment information onto a database accessible to all CSU students.   

Continuing the Charles Sturt University ( CSU ) tradition of bringing plays by renowned Russian playwrights to audiences of the NSW Riverina, Stars In The Morning Sky is the first University Theatre Ensemble production for 2007. Directed by Russian, Leonid Verzub, Stars in the Morning Sky, traces part of the lives of four feisty Russian prostitutes, banished from Moscow during the 1980 Olympics, who find themselves in a derelict asylum. In 1979 Verzub was awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Russia and Theatre Director of the Highest Category. He was invited to Wagga by former student Dr Ashley Wain who is now an acting lecturer with CSU ’s School of Visual and Performing Arts. Dr Wain says it’s a rare opportunity for the Wagga theatre community “to see a fantastic play brought to life by such a brilliant director”. Stars In The Morning Sky plays at the Riverina Playhouse from Saturday 23 to Sunday 31 March, Thursdays to Saturdays, at 8pm, with a matinee performance on 31 March at 2pm. Tickets can be booked at the Civic Theatre Booking Office or are available at the door.

Do you consider your health when making decisions about your diet? Do your children or other family members influence how you shop and prepare meals? Women aged eighteen and over are invited to take part in an international research study looking at these issues. Barbara Parker, a PhD student at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Wagga Wagga Campus, is researching women's perceptions of 'healthy' and 'risky' eating in the Riverina region of NSW and in Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Women can contribute to this research by participating in a one hour interview with Ms Parker, who is available on (02) 6933 2563. The study aims to explore how women living in rural and regional communities understand, experience and make decisions about their food choices.

Imagine looking at a typical wall of wines in a shop. There might be 15 varieties, one hundred different brands and infinite taste variations. For the wine connoisseur this may be appealing, but it could be enough to deter the average wine consumer from purchasing any wine at all. Charles Sturt University (CSU) sensory scientist Anthony Saliba from the School of Food and Wine Science will give the first public lecture for 2007 about logical approaches to selecting an enjoyable wine at the Temora Town Hall on Wednesday 21 March. Dr Saliba works with wine consumers to determine their tastes and then takes those preferences to winemakers so they can create wines that truly appeal to buyers, thus encouraging the wine industry to become more customer focused.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is encouraging students to ‘internationalise’ their CSU degrees through overseas scholarships and student exchange programs. Nuala Grundy from the CSU Office of International Relations says international study gives students insights into other cultures and societies, helps them develop career skills, enhances their employment opportunities and helps them become more maturity, independent and confident. Global study opportunities and study grants will be on show to CSU and local high school students at the CSU International Fair to be held on Wednesday 21 March at the Rivcoll Union, Wagga Wagga Campus. Representatives from the North Dakota State University and the University of North Carolina will outline study opportunities in the US. Representatives from the Embassy of France and the US Educational Advising Centre will also be present.

No doubt it is a very nice accolade when a national newspaper describes your latest film as “shaping up as the year's top Australian comedy”. However, director and Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate Darren Ashton says, “Although we are really chuffed at the response, at the end of the day the most important thing is that people go and see it”. The idea for Razzle Dazzle grew out of a short story written by Darren’s partner, and fellow CSU graduate, Carolyn Wilson. Described as “a fly-on-the-wall look at the tears, tantrums and tiaras in the world of competitive dance eisteddfods”, it was filmed in the “mockumentary” style because, “The dance world is really heightened, and I wanted to balance that with being observational and understated,” said Darren, whose debut feature film was Thunderstruck. His next project is a wrestling film set in the 1970s.

New South Wales has eight incumbent Independent members of parliament – will that change after the State election on March 24? Charles Sturt University (CSU) politics lecturer Dr Troy Whitford predicts that the number of Independents has plateaued. “But they will always be a main feature of rural elections. Why? Because Independents aim at appealing to a rural and regional mindset called 'countrymindedness'", Dr Whitford explains. “It tends to emphasis the importance of rural Australia and that people in the country have a greater moral compass and a better work ethic than the city, and that politics is always city-centric. ‘Countrymindedness’ suggests rural people are the backbone to the economy, and they should be given special consideration. Old-fashioned ‘countrymindedness’ is apparent in the rhetoric of the Independents representing rural seats.” Dr Whitford predicts Labor will be returned, and says, “I will be very surprised if we see an increase in Independents. I think the Coalition will pick up a couple of seats, but Labor will hang on."

Five outstanding Riverina high school students will embark on a multicultural experience of a lifetime when they represent the Charles Sturt University (CSU) at the World Youth Leadership Conference at Burlington, Canada from 27 April until 6 May. Vanessa McCormick, Amanda Dacey, Murray Le Lievre and Ryan Smith from Mount Austin High School and Kooringal High School’s Tara Bryan will meet with Head of CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus Professor David Green on Friday March 23 at 10am. The theme of the 2007 conference is “Youth Leading Communities - Making a Difference”. Over one thousand young people from around the globe will explore issues surrounding culture, social planning, economics, government and the environment. The Riverina students will be accompanied to the conference by former Mount Austin High School Principal Dennis Bishop.

Tomorrow, Wednesday 28 March, marks 68 years since the fall of Madrid in the Spanish Civil War. It is thought about sixty Australians travelled to Spain to fight the fascists who eventually succeeded in overturning the democratically elected government. Mr Kevin Poynter from Charles Sturt University’s Visual and Performing Arts School is currently working on a play about what motivated these men to fight. He describes them as “passionate” and “romantic”. Mr Poynter says most Australians tended to join the British Brigade. “The war was particularly horrific. There are some very gruesome stories of those international brigades when they were flung into some desperate battles and lost half the brigade in 24 hours.” About 500 000 people lost their lives in the Spanish Civil War, and the war's end brought a period of dictatorship that lasted until the mid-1970s.