Health and education courses are a popular choice for commencing Charles Sturt University (CSU) students in 2006, according to the latest figures from the NSW Universities Admissions Centre.  “CSU continues to take large numbers of students into education courses. Intakes into health courses are up about a hundred up on last year – graduates in both areas provide direct benefit to rural and regional NSW,” said Director of CSU’s Office of Planning and Audit, Col Sharp.  High profile courses in which entry was particularly competitive include veterinary science and pharmacy at Wagga Wagga Campus.  “The health courses proved particularly strong at Wagga Wagga medical imaging, nursing and pharmacy are real strengths, but the primary education, agriculture and medical science areas also enrolled large numbers of students,” Mr Sharp said.

An outreach program run by Charles Sturt University (CSU) for Indigenous recruits will be proposed by NSW Police. This follows a recommendation from the NSW Ombudsman’s report into Aboriginal policing throughout rural NSW. The proposal has enthusiastic support from the Goulburn Police College as well as significant support from within the Aboriginal community. Regional Commander for the Western Region based at Dubbo, Steve Bradshaw, says Indigenous recruits often find it difficult training at Goulburn because they are so far away from their homes in western NSW. “The recommendation by the Ombudsman suggests that we do some of the police training in an institute close to where the Aboriginal communities are. CSU currently has the contract to conduct police training, and has a campus at Dubbo in the NSW central west, so it seems obvious to approach CSU to develop an outreach program. It has my total support,” he said. CSU Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers says the University welcomes the proposal. “We look forward to working with NSW Police to strengthen Indigenous recruitment,” he said.

The story of two women living on "a knife's edge" in the Villawood Detention Centre has won an inaugural international broadcasting award for former Charles Sturt University (CSU) student Kirsti Melville. The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) Amnesty International Award for Human Rights Programme was presented to Ms Melville by Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International at a ceremony in New Delhi. The Radio National documentary is described as "the human story behind the federal government's stance on deporting long-term visa overstayers". Ms Melville, a 1994 graduate with a BA Communication (Broadcast Journalism), says it was a compelling program "because their stories were equally moving and powerful as those of refugees, but they are voices you don't hear very often. I think it was one of the first times I felt like I had had a little bit of an impact. You become very aware of your responsibilities as a journalist and to the people involved." The news that she won came as a surprise, "I was completely gob smacked, and on top of that to find out I was going to India in two weeks to accept the Award was mind-blowing." Kirsti's next documentary is about ageing Holocaust survivors in nursing homes in Sydney.

Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) students have been awarded NSW Farmers scholarships and have been described as “outstanding young achievers set to make their mark on country NSW”. Megan McGrice, a Bachelor of Veterinary Science student, and James Christie who is currently completing honours in a Bachelor of Applied Science (Agriculture) both study at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus. James says the scholarship money is a bonus, “especially when you are on a University student budget. Mum and Dad are stoked.” James and Megan each received $5 000 at the Association's Annual Conference on Wednesday 19 July. Chair of the Association's Rural Affairs Committee, Alan Brown, said the high calibre of entries this year was very inspiring and shows that that the future of rural NSW is in good hands, with all the winners planning to use their talents and skills back in regional areas. Megan says the Veterinary Science course “is all about trying to give something back to rural areas. I grew up on the land and I know what it is like to not have a vet around. I want to help farmers and help out in rural areas.”

“Accept our differences, celebrate our similarities” is the theme for Harmony Day to be celebrated next Tuesday 21 March on Bathurst and Wagga Wagga campuses. Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) students and staff will celebrate the national event, which coincides with the United Nations Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. “It’s an opportunity for all Australians to get to know each other better, share our culture and say ‘no’ to racism,” said CSU Student Community Coordinator Monique Cummins. Special activities will be accompanied by free ribbons, stickers and postcards that celebrate the cultural diversity of students and staff at CSU.

Australian actor Bill Kerr is in Wagga Wagga for two weeks under Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Visiting Artists’ Program. The star of film, stage, television and radio will give two guest lectures at CSU Wagga Wagga Campus from 3pm on Wednesday 22 March and Wednesday 29 March. The first lecture will reflect on his life as a child actor in Wagga Wagga from 1933 and his work in British films until 1967. The second lecture will cover his work in Australian films from 1981, including Gallipolli and The Year of Living Dangerously. The lectures will be held in the Performing Arts complex, on CSU Wagga Wagga Campus.

The Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACCC) and the Friends of Ireland will hold their third annual ecumenical service on Friday March 17 to remember the legend and history of St Patrick and its continuing significance for Australians today. “For better or worse, Irish identity has always been related to religious expression,” said CSU Professor of Theology, Reverend James Haire. He will conduct the ecumenical service at the ACCC chapel on the corner of Kings Avenue and Blackall Street in Barton, ACT at 12.30pm. Federal Labor Senator Ursula Stephens, a Catholic and one of two Irish-born Australian senators, will speak on the place of the Irish in contemporary Australia and how Australians might celebrate St Patrick’s Day and their Irish heritage while acknowledging the pain of the past for Irish people

Is it fair that educational achievement can depend on where you live? Anecdotally, it is known that young, inexperienced teachers fresh out of university are usually sent to unpopular destinations such as western NSW. Another assumption is that school students in these areas have uneven educational outcomes. Now these "hunches" have been verified by the Rural (Teacher) Education Project, and the search is on for some solutions. "It’s all about attracting, preparing, retaining and renewing teachers for the bush," said project leader Professor Bill Green from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Faculty of Education. "One key issue was that location matters. You’re getting young teachers working with often the most disadvantaged groups. They have energy and enthusiasm and embrace innovation, but the downside is they don’t have experience." Some of the early recommendations to emerge include nominating certain isolated schools as professional development centres, better preparation of student teachers, changing staffing patterns so that groups of teachers are appointed to a region, and involving local communities and government agencies so that young professionals are connecting socially. More complete findings are due next month.

Diabetes is the fastest growing disease in Australia and a Charles Sturt University (CSU) research project that has run for the past four years aims to develop a cost-effective early warning system to detect diabetes in people living in regional Australia. CSU researchers are using simple blood and heart monitoring tests and eye and foot observations to compare known people with diabetes with "normal" people aged over 40 years to develop this system. "Rural Australians have poorer access to health services that could detect early symptoms of diabetes that affect their eyes, feet and hearts," said research team leader Dr Herbert Jelinek, based on CSU’s Albury-Wodonga Campus. The researchers will make their next round of observations of people in Albury-Wodonga starting next Monday 24 April for two weeks.