Coming to the end of 2005 Charles Sturt University (CSU) is celebrating its 30th anniversary as a lead educator for librarians across Australia and internationally. In a climate of rapidly changing technology and workplace demands, CSU and its predecessor institutions have led the way in the development and delivery of library and information management and teacher librarianship programs. Now the only courses of their kind offered by a regional Australian university, CSU’s success in this field has been attributed to teaching traditional librarianship principles in combination with contemporary information management techniques. "Our position as a leader in library and information management education is demonstrated by the fact more than 50 per cent of Australian librarians and teacher librarians who graduate from University do so from CSU," said Head of the CSU School of Information Studies Associate Professor Ken Dillon based in Wagga Wagga. "We teach students in a number of countries with formal programs in places as diverse as Mauritius and Hong Kong”.

Professor of Social Work at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Margaret Alston has this week been hearing submissions on Australia’s mandatory detention policy of illegal immigrants as part of a four-member panel on the People’s Inquiry into Detention at the University of NSW in Sydney. The Inquiry has completed public hearings in Port Augusta, Melbourne, Perth, Launceston and regional Victoria and is headed by Inquiry president Marcus Enfield. Professor Alston, who is also Director of the University’s Centre for Rural Social Research, is one of several Professors of Social Work from around Australia to sit on the Inquiry. Established to examine the effects of mandatory detention, the Inquiry has heard from a range of refugee advocates and detainees. “This Inquiry is an opportunity for those who would like to place on the public record their experiences of the mandatory detention policy,” said Professor Alston. “It is important that these experiences be documented and that emotions and feelings being experienced by those with first hand experience of the centres is acknowledged,” added Professor Alston.

One of the inaugural veterinary science students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga, Erin Davis, has been named this year’s recipient of the Frank Mansell Award for Agriculture by the Big Brother Movement (BBM). Receiving the award at a recent ceremony at State Parliament in Sydney, Ms Davis was honoured for her academic achievements and work in her chosen field. The CSU student, from Orange, will use the $7 000 scholarship to fund a trip to the United Kingdom next year to work with veterinarians and on sheep and cattle studs. The BBM provides annual scholarships to young Australians to fund travel to the UK. “Erin’s award is a tribute to her hard work and strong interest in animal production and her well-deserved success is a demonstration of the attributes we value so highly in our veterinary students at this University,” said Professor Kym Abbott, Director of Veterinary Science at CSU.

Australian artist Euan Heng has made a generous gift to the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Art Collection with the donation of 20 of his prints valued at more than $10 000. A former lecturer in drawing and printmaking at one of CSU’s predecessors, the Riverina College of Advanced Education, Euan Heng has exhibited his distinctive work across Australia and internationally. His art also features in the public collections of the National Gallery of Australia and the state galleries in Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland as well as many regional galleries. “This represents a substantial and very generous gift and a donation which will further enhance the University’s Art Collection,” said CSU Art Curator Thomas Middlemost. Boasting 1 700 pieces, the CSU Art Collection has a focus on print-making. The works are hung in public spaces throughout the University.

A competition to design the Learning Commons building on Charles Sturt University’s Thurgoona campus has attracted entries from five of Australia’s major architectural firms that specialise in environmentally sensitive buildings. The winning design and concept diagrams for the proposed $10 million project will receive around $30 000 first prize. The competition, which includes entries from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Albury, is endorsed by the Royal Australia Institute of Architects. The Learning Commons will complement the existing award winning buildings already on the University’s "greenfields" site. It will combine a new library and computer facilties with group and individual learning areas as well as recreational facilities that embody the latest concepts for tertiary education in Australia. The winning entry is due to be announced in late November.

As political and economic forces continue to impact upon and shape rural Australia it’s becoming increasingly important for people to develop the capacity to influence the direction of change in local businesses and communities. Recognising this, Charles Sturt University (CSU) has designed a new course, the Bachelor of Rural Studies, to fill a demand in rural communities where understanding of rural society leads to more effectively managed businesses and organisations. The course will be launched at the Australian National Field Days, Orange, by The Hon. Ian McDonald, NSW Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries. Beginning at 10.40am, on Tuesday 18 October, the Minister will be joined by Federal Member for Calare, Mr Peter Andren at the CSU Exhibition Site (site 5), located on the corner of Central Avenue and J Streets, between the Information and Function Centres at the Australian National Field Days, Orange.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Communication (Theatre/Media) graduate, Brendan Cowell has won The 2005 Philip Parsons Young Playwright's Award. Announced in Sydney on Sunday 9 October, Mr Cowell, 28, received a $10,000 mentoring commission from Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre Company B. He won the award for his treatment for Ruben Guthrie, a tale of male depression, addiction and the pressures of success. In order to qualify for the award, playwrights under 35 must submit a play that has already been performed in Australia by a professional theatre company. But the award is unlike other Australian playwright awards as it is given on the basis of a treatment for a potential new work and to the playwright rather than for the play. This recent success for Mr Cowell follows other awards including the 2003 Griffin Award for Rabbit, the 2002 Patrick White Award for Bed and the Gloria Payten-Gloria Dawn Foundation Young Artist Award for his work as an individual.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is taking the next step in a strategic plan to dispose of its South Campus in Wagga Wagga. A development application for the demolition of 12 redundant buildings on site will be lodged with Wagga Wagga City Council this week. CSU Executive Director of the Division of Facilities Management, Mr Stephen Butt, said the decision to demolish the 50-year old buildings was made after extensive investigation of the site. "Reports have found the buildings have served their purpose and are now past the point of preservation, particularly as they are no longer used," Mr Butt said. "The buildings are in very poor condition and present a risk to safety. We are taking the necessary steps to remove this hazard." Student lodging at South Campus stopped last year and a $16 million student accommodation on the Boorooma Campus will open in late February. The University offers a range of housing options for students and assists students to find on and off campus accommodation. CSU plans to dispose of the majority of the South Campus site before the end of 2015, as it is now surplus to the needs of the University. The CSU Regional Archives, Riverina Conservatorium of Music and CSU Kay Hull Veterinary Teaching Hospital located on the South Campus site will be retained.

There is nothing worse than ending up in the emergency room with food poisoning on Christmas day and it is just as bad being the host who provides the food. To ensure it doesn’t happen to you this Christmas Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences food microbiology lecturer, Dr Ester Mpandi Khosa has some food safety suggestions. “From a microbiological point of view, food poisoning is a very serious illness,” Dr Khosa says. “Micro-organisms growing on food can cause food-borne illness, which in some reported cases, has resulted in death of the victim.” This is the time of year when a large quantity of food is processed, purchased and consumed, creating a huge potential for food poisoning, if the food is not handled properly. “Every food handler, from farm to table, has a responsibility to make sure food is kept safe from contamination that can lead to food poisoning. The food that one handles is going to be consumed by someone else so it is important to make sure that hands are washed thoroughly, surfaces and utensils are clean and foods are stored at the correct temperature.”