The lack of doctors and dentists in rural areas has often overshadowed the fact that regional hospitals also desperately need Registered Nurses. To help overcome this shortage, Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Greater Southern and Western Area Health Services have collaborated in creating workshops and outreach programs aimed at encouraging and supporting Enrolled Nurses to upgrade their skills through study to become registered nurses. Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Health Science at CSU, Heather Latham who has been involved in the workshops since they began in Dubbo in 2003, says enrolled nurses who attend the workshops come away with a greater understanding of what will be required of them to succeed at university. “Some are unsure, others are unrealistically confident and others have been out of school for a long time and need assistance to develop their literacy skills.”  Enrolled nurses who have been chosen to participate in the program by the Area Health Service do not have to travel to residential schools at Bathurst CSU because Ms Latham and her colleagues take the residential schools to them. Some of the first attendees at the workshops are now almost ready to graduate. “We are confident they will go back to their local community and get jobs. It is work we feel passionate about because we see the importance of supporting people in rural and regional areas who are educationally disadvantaged,” Ms Latham said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) last week farewelled its inaugural Dean of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, Professor Jim Pratley who was also CSU’s longest serving Dean. Professor Pratley began his career as a lecturer in Plant Science at the then Wagga Wagga Agricultural College in 1972 and later became lecturer in Agronomy at the former Riverina Murray Institute of Higher Education in 1976. He was appointed CSU’s inaugural Dean of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture in 1990 and achieved a series of milestones for the University including the introduction of Australia’s first regional Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree.  In recognition of Professor Pratley’s outstanding service to CSU and his commitment to agricultural research, he has been awarded the title Emeritus Professor, only the fifth such appointment in CSU’s history. Professor Pratley will continue his association with CSU as a part-time Professor of Agriculture, a role that will see him building links with key international agricultural universities. CSU has already established links with South China Agricultural University as well as universities in Pakistan and Malaysia and the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Professor Pratley’s secretary, May Crawford who joined the staff of Wagga Agricultural College in 1976, will continue to work with Professor Pratley in his new ‘home’ in the Farrer building at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus. As the past vice president of the International Allelopathy Society, Professor Pratley plans to continue his research into natural herbicides and weed management.

“The news that the Federal Government has provided 40 new places to the Bachelor of Clinical Sciences degree at Charles Sturt University (CSU) is a strong recognition of CSU’s role in education and recruitment of rural health practitioners,” said Professor Mark Burton, CSU’s Dean of the Faculty of Health Studies. He was responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement late last week that CSU has been successful in its bid for additional university places in health-related disciplines in 2007. The new Bachelor of Clinical Sciences degree will stream rural and regional students into guaranteed places at Sydney University’s dental and medical degrees. “CSU has a strong track record of working to solve issues in regional communities. Our pharmacy graduates have already shown their commitment to stay and work in our regions and CSU’s collaborative arrangements with health agencies including the Greater Area Health Services has improved the critical shortage of Registered Nurses in rural and regional areas,” Professor Burton said. The Federal Government also announced 10 additional Clinical Psychology places at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus. Professor Ben Bradley, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Arts, said the new places will allow CSU to extend its flexible delivery of clinical training for psychologists who prefer to study at a distance. “They are already working in rural and remote Australia where there is an urgent need for psychological expertise to deal with the nation's growing burden of mental illness” Professor Bradley added.

One of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) first graduates in wine science is the new President of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). Peter Hayes is the first Australian to head up the peak international wine body which has grown from an organisation formed in 1924 by six old world producers and now comprises 42 consumer and producer countries. “In 1975 CSU was the only place you could study wine science externally. I took on the CSU course because I wanted to broaden my options. My father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all held wine trading licenses whereas I was interested in the viticulture,” Mr Hayes said from Spain. The OIV recently resolved the issue of oak chips in wine-making and is now working towards consistent labelling. Mr Hayes says crucial issues include sustainability and the world wine surplus which currently sits around four times Australia’s total production. “That’s one of the challenges we have. How do you assist member countries to adapt their production capacity to the consumers?” Mr Hayes was previously Director of Viticulture at Rosemount Estate, National Viticulturist and Industry Relations Manager at Southcorp Wines, and President of the OIV’s Viticulture Commission from 2003 to 2006.

The strong relationship between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the city of Wagga Wagga was the subject of a recent presentation to about 20 Indonesian officials studying in Australia. CSU lecturer and deputy chairman of Wagga Wagga City Council’s Commercial Strategy Committee, Peter Adams joined Michael Jowett, from the TAFE NSW Riverina Institute to discuss what role education plays in the local economy. "The delegation was very interested in the collaborative approach CSU and TAFE NSW play in developing our region as well as the engagement of our research centres at the local level right through to our international programs,” said Peter Adams. The Indonesians are from the islands of Flores, Maluku, Sulawesi, Lombok and West Timor as well as the province of Aceh in Sumatra.  They are studying local and regional economic development for three months at the University of Canberra and visited Wagga Wagga in July as part of a regional study trip.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) diabetes expert Dr Herbert Jelinek is concerned at the rapid growth of diabetes on the Border and around Australia in recent years. “Diabetes is the fastest growing disease in Australia, a trend reflected in regional areas including Albury-Wodonga,” he said. Dr Jelinek leads a group of CSU researchers investigating low-cost methods of assessing people for diabetes at the early stages of the disease. “We aim to allow diabetes and its complications to be assessed quickly in screening units in regional and rural areas before people face the more debilitating symptoms of the disease, such as high blood pressure and blindness,” Dr Jelinek said. This week is National Diabetes Week which runs until 15 July.

One of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) leading academics Professor Gail Whiteford has been added to the latest list of top achieving women in Australia. Professor Whiteford joins over 4 000 high-profile achievers and unsung heroes across Australia in the new Who’s Who of Australian Women released on Friday 30 June. Originally educated as an occupational therapist (OT) working extensively in Australia and overseas, Professor Whiteford has over 20 years involvement in OT and holds several national professional positions. Her current research interests include research into occupational and professional and intercultural practice with research projects in the Murray Valley of southern Australia and in Vietnam. Professor Whiteford is now Head of the University’s Albury-Wodonga Campus as well as Director of the University’s Centre for Research into Professional Practical Learning and Education (RIPPLE) and a senior researcher with the centre. In her work to nurture other academics, Professor Whiteford also spearheaded a new program at CSU in 2004, the Banksia Program,  to encourage more women researchers to undertake and complete research.    

The importance of recent drought research by rural social researchers from Charles Sturt University (CSU) was on the agenda during a visit to the University’s Wagga Wagga Campus by members of the national philanthropic organisation, the Rural Education Program of the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR). Led by FRRR patron and head of the Myer Foundation, Ballieau Myer, the group met with Professor Margaret Alston and Dr Jenny Kent from the University’s Centre for Rural Social Research on Saturday 1 July. As part of the vision of Federation for Rural and Regional Renewal to support communities to respond positively to change and build social and economic wealth in rural and regional Australia, the Foundation funded research into the impact of drought on young people’s access to education. The report, entitled The impact of drought on secondary education access in Australia's rural and remote areas, was also funded by the Federal Government. “The visit to the University gave us a chance to thank the Foundation for financially supporting significant research into the impact of one of the country’s worst droughts,” said Professor Alston. Further information on the drought report, including key recommendations can be found here.

The co-discoverer of a rare genetic disorder, Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS), will attend an international workshop on the disorder in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 4 July. Dr Ann Smith, a genetic counsellor and head of the SMS Research Unit at the National Human Genome Research Institute in the US, will be a special guest at the workshop. Charles Sturt University (CSU) senior molecular biology lecturer and workshop organiser, Dr Chris Blanchard is the founder and mentor for the CSU Smith-Magenis Syndrome research group and is the father of a five year old daughter with SMS. The syndrome which is caused by a missing piece of genetic material from chromosome 17 (deletion 17p11.2), was first described by Dr Ann Smith and Dr Ellen Magenis in the early 1980s. Smith-Magenis Syndrome is a chromosomal disorder characterised by a recognisable pattern of physical, behavioural and developmental features including facial appearance; infant feeding problems; developmental delay; chronic ear infections; hearing impairment and speech delay. Although the condition is incurable and often underdiagnosed, it is estimated there are more than 1 000 people with SMS in Australia. “The workshop will provide local allied health professionals with an increased understanding of what is thought to be one of the most difficult genetic syndromes to treat and manage,” Dr Blanchard said. “The visit by three world-renowned US scientists highlights the increasing importance of research being undertaken at CSU.” Further information on SMS is available here.