Psychologist, social researcher and novelist Mr Hugh Mackay has spent his working life asking Australians about their values, motivations, ambitions, hopes and fears. He’ll share his thoughts about ‘What makes a life worth living?’ in a free Charles Sturt University (CSU) Explorations public lecture in Wagga Wagga from 6pm on Wednesday 31 July. “The good life is not the sum of our security, wealth, and levels of happiness,” said Mr Mackay. “It is one defined by our capacity for selflessness, the quality of our relationships, and our willingness to connect with others in a useful way.” In the public lecture, Mr Mackay will explore our pursuit of pleasure, our attempts to perfect ourselves and our children, and our conviction that we can have our lives under control. The public lecture is booked out.

For those with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background who are interested in attending university, Charles Sturt University (CSU) has launched a new program which will make the university experience more attainable. CSU’s Indigenous Student Services has introduced a new skills assessment program called Darrambal. “Darrambal means ’footmarks’ or ’roadway’ and is used here to represent the lifelong journey of learning we all travel,” explains CSU’s Indigenous Student Services manager, Mr Ray Eldridge. “The program assesses each person’s skills, abilities and potential to succeed in their preferred course of study. Students who successfully the complete Darrambal program may be offered a place at Charles Sturt University to study their chosen course.” Any person who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may attend. “This is the perfect program for anyone who would like to study at university but are not sure if they satisfy the usual entry requirements.”

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Emeritus Professor Ted Wolfe will receive a national medal for his outstanding contributions to agricultural education and research at a ceremony in Canberra this evening, Tuesday 9 November. Awarded by the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, the Australian Medal of Agricultural Science for 2010 will be presented to Professor Wolfe who continues to actively support agricultural research, extension, professional activities and rural communities in the Riverina, and in Eritrea, North East Africa. In 1990, Professor Wolfe was appointed head of the then-School of Agriculture at CSU in Wagga Wagga and coordinated the agriculture degree at CSU until his retirement from the University in 2001.He is a member of the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, a collaborative alliance between CSU and Industry & Investment NSW. Professor Wolfe has experienced another busy period in 2009/10, completing two book chapters, writing a Pasture Profile of Australia for the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, and supporting an Australian-funded agricultural project in Eritrea.  Read more about Professor Wolfe’s Australian Medal of Agricultural Science for 2010 here.

The generosity of an Australian non-profit organisation has guaranteed four Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dentistry students receive more than $50,000 each towards their studies. At a recent scholarship and award function at CSU in Orange, the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) awarded four first-year students annual scholarships of $10,000 during their five years of study. Since 1962 the VFFF has distributed in excess of $70 million to non-profit organisations in Australia. The future of young people is of particular interest to the VFFF, as are the special needs of Australians living beyond the major metropolitan centres, particularly in rural and outback Australia. “With graduates from the School Dentistry and Health Sciences encouraged to practice in regional Australia, these scholarships are not only helping four students each year, they stand to benefit regional Australia as a whole,” said Head of School, Professor David Wilson.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann will meet with community leaders around Wagga Wagga to discuss how CSU can deliver more benefits for the city and community. Professor Vann will host the Vice-Chancellor’s Regional Leaders Luncheon at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Friday 4 October for community leaders and partners to strengthen 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 Wagga Wagga, from noon to 2pm.

The talents of the final year photography students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be on show at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery from Friday 25 October during the annual graduation exhibition. Thirteen students from the School of Communication and Creative Arts at CSU in Wagga Wagga will display their many styles and techniques during Envisage. The exhibition runs until Sunday 15 December. Envisage will be launched by Associate Professor Helen Ennis from the School of Art at the Australian National University from 6pm to 8pm on Saturday 26 October. Associate Professor Ennis is one of Australia’s leading photography curators, historians and writers. She was formerly Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Australia. As part of the exhibition, six of the exhibiting students will each speak about their practice and what the CSU degree has given them during a free forum at the Gallery from midday to 1.30pm on Friday 25 October. The students are due to graduate from CSU in Wagga Wagga during a ceremony on December.  

The latest debate on climate change and bushfires is “the discussion the Australian community has to have”, a senior CSU ecologist says. Associate Professor David Watson with the University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society said the latest debate is a timely reminder of the importance of extreme weather events in Australia. “Recent reports have shown climate change is real and is linked to increasing extremes in weather such as droughts and dry periods, which will increase the chance of bushfires,” said Professor Watson. “Increasing incidences of floods and cyclones are also more likely with climate change, so we as a nation need to consider how we are going to address this. We need to plan for both short-term responses and longer term planning of our cities and settlements across Australia and the various landscapes that will be affected. This is not a political issue — in 2006, then Prime Minister John Howard linked human-induced climate change with increased bushfire risk.  Insurers, agronomists and many other industries are already planning for increases in bushfires, severe storms and other extreme events, so it seems incongruous that the federal government is not being more pro-active.  We cannot afford to sit back and just let climate change happen with doing something about it,” he said.