Funding has been provided by Charles Sturt University (CSU) to support the full-time release from teaching commitments of 14 key researchers from the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation – an alliance between CSU and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. The 14 Graham Centre 2011 Research Centre Fellows were honoured at a special lunch on Monday 16 May. “The 14 Fellows for 2011 will focus on a broad range of research including plant and animal diseases, animal physiology and production, animal reproduction, food security, sustainable pasture systems, weeds, canola, bio-security and environmental health, water, stubble and conservation cropping,” said Graham Centre director Professor Deirdre Lemerle.“The 2011 Research Centre Fellows have been provided $40 000 each for 12 months so they can focus on their research. We are extremely impressed with the high quality of the 29 applications for the 14 Research Centre Fellowships.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from the School of Communication and Creative Industries  will be putting their skills on show in the University Theatre Ensemble’s (UTE) production of Jesus Christ Superstar. This rock musical features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice with memorable songs including ‘Everything’s Alright’, ‘I don’t know how to love him’ and ‘Superstar’. It tells the story of the last seven days of the life of Christ seen through the eyes of his betrayer, Judas Iscariot. The UTE production opens on Thursday 2 June at 8pm and runs until Saturday 11 June at the Civic Theatre in Wagga Wagga. It is directed by Mr John Saunders and is cast from second year Bachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage) students, and designed and stage managed by third year students from the Bachelor of Arts (Design for Theatre and Television). Tickets can be booked at the Civic Theatre Booking Office on telephone 02 6926 9688, online here and are available at the door. Tickets are $29, $15 concession and $12.50 for students.

American philosophy scholar Professor Theodore Schatzki will be a special guest at Charles Sturt University (CSU) later this month during a three-week visit to Wagga Wagga. “Professor Schatzki’s visit is significant for Charles Sturt University because he is a world-leading philosopher of practice, helping to develop new ways to understand the way the social world is organised,” said Professor of Education at CSU Stephen Kemmis. The Professor of Philosophy from the University of Kentucky is a guest of CSU’s Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE).  Professor Schatzki will address the Institute’s annual research conference to be held on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 June. The conference involves some of RIPPLE’s 35 academics involved in research to support a range of professions including family day care, childcare, preschools, schools, the vocational education and training sector, business and management, nursing and allied health professions. Professor Schatzki will give a free public lecture at the annual RIPPLE conference in the Convention Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga from 3.30pm to 4.45pm on Thursday 16 June. He will also meet academics from the School of Education at CSU in Wagga Wagga from 9am to 12midday on Friday 17 June.

Ms Maria Williams, the daughter of the late Wiradjuri Elder, Wongamar, also known as Pastor Cec Grant, will honour her father’s legacy at a public lecture in Canberra on Friday 23 March. The 2012 Pastor Cec Grant Memorial Lecture  focuses on the interactions between Australian Indigenous cultures and Christianity, and the history of Indigenous Christian movements. In 2008, Charles Sturt University (CSU) established the annual Pastor Cec Grant Memorial Lecture to recognise and celebrate the work of Pastor Grant, OAM. Ms Williams will present her lecture from 7pm at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACC&C) in Canberra. The annual Pastor Cec Grant Memorial Lecture is supported by CSU, the Wiradjuri Council of Elders, and the Wiradjuri Christian Development Ministries.

Students from the ACT, NSW and Victoria will be recognised during the annual scholarship ceremony at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 16 May. Eighty scholarships, valued at almost $220 000 dollars and donated by a variety of individuals and organisations, will be presented to students during a ceremony from 4pm to approximately 5.15pm in Joyes Hall, Pine Gully Road, CSU in Wagga Wagga. The University’s Deputy Chancellor, Ms Kathryn Pitkin, will attend the annual event along with the mayors of Junee, Temora and Tumut local councils as well as Wagga Wagga’s deputy mayor. The scholarships are distributed through the Charles Sturt University Foundation Trust. Read more about CSU scholarships here.

The nature of human emotions and their relationship with pain will be the focus of a public lecture by Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Dr Andrew Delaney in Griffith on Wednesday 15 June. Dr Delaney is a neuroscientist who recently joined CSU as senior lecturer at the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences to start a new electrophysiological research laboratory in Orange. His presentation, ‘The Emotional Brain’, will examine questions that have fascinated psychologists and neuroscientists for more than 100 years; ‘what are emotions?’ and ‘how does the brain generate an emotion?’ He will also talk about advances in tracing the neuronal pathways that are involved in generating an emotional response to pain. “I will highlight the neuroscience research that my colleagues and I will be conducting to address how the emotional circuits of the brain are activated during a painful experience,” he said. “We are also examining how changes in these circuits might contribute to the high rate of depression and anxiety in sufferers of chronic pain, a relationship that has particular relevance to those living with pain in rural communities.”

High school students from across the Riverina will gain an insight into the work of agricultural and veterinary scientists when they visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Friday 10 June. The annual EH Graham Centre Ag-Enrichment Day gives primary industries students the opportunity to observe some of the work done by scientists while learning about university courses and career opportunities. Students also gain some hands-on experience with sessions on beneficial insect identification, the importance of fungi, salinity and sheep reproduction. This year, 70 students from schools in Wagga, Albury, Coolamon, Barham, Finley and Lake Cargelligo will take part in the event.

Students from 13 Riverina high schools are expected at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Friday 16 June for the latest MyDay event. Aimed at giving Year 11 and 12 students a taste of university life, the day will focus on courses in the fields of accounting, management, marketing, business studies, IT and computing studies. Approximately 24 students will meet with CSU academics, attend information sessions about the various pathways to get into CSU, opportunities for international study experiences,  and advice on financial matters. A full list of upcoming MyDay events at CSU can be found here. 

The push for a medical school in Orange continues to gather momentum with Charles Sturt University (CSU) launching the Doctors 4 the Bush  website this Thursday 16 June. CSU recently submitted a detailed proposal to the Federal government to gain support for the establishment of an Integrated Health and Medical Education Precinct. This proposal aims to provide medical and health training for students and boost the number of health professionals for regional Australia to redress the shortage of doctors in the bush. The website has been established to allow supporters of this initiative to keep up-to-date with the latest information on rural doctor shortages and will feature updated information on CSU’s proposal and the opportunity to register support for ‘a fair go for the health of rural Australia’. The website will be officially launched by Medical Program Development Community Consultative Committee member Ms Audrey Hardman, OAM, at CSU in Orange on Thursday.