Charles Sturt University (CSU) has already reached its 2015 target for water savings having slashed its water use by over 40 per cent in the past two years. These figures were highlighted in the 2008 CSU Environmental Scorecard recently released by the University. “This is a fantastic effort across the whole University, all the more important as most of these campuses are or have been in drought declared areas across NSW,” said William Adlong, Manager of CSU’s sustainability office, CSU Green. “Water usage at CSU in 2008 decreased by 16 per cent.” Energy use has decreased by eight per cent since 2006, with a slight increase by 1.5 percent during 2008. “However, there has been an increase in the area of buildings heated and cooled as CSU continued its extensive building program in 2007 and 2008,” said CSU Energy Manager Edward Maher. CSU is also addressing the carbon emissions caused by its staff travelling in cars and aircraft by replacing its large petrol cars with hybrid, diesel and small four cylinder cars in 2009.

Education, industrial relations and a low carbon future is the topic of a public lecture to be presented by Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) President Sharan Burrow at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury on Thursday 23 April. Ms Burrow says Australian education institutions are well placed to deepen workforce planning and frame skills development to meet the challenges facing Australia. "We must position ourselves to ensure we have the education and skills to capture a half trillion dollar share of a three trillion dollar global green industry. Our universities and colleges, businesses and unions, must drive demand for research and development and for an intensity of skills effort like never before, and government must stand ready to partner these plans.  Our workplaces must meet the industrial challenges and changes this new economy requires," Ms Burrow said. The second annual Bob Meyenn Education Lecture will commence at 7.30pm in the Nowik Auditorium, CSU Albury City site, Guinea St, Albury.

When three days of intense competition concluded in Bathurst yesterday, Charles Sturt University (CSU) was named the Australian University Sport 2009 Eastern University Games Overall Champions, for highest overall points scored by all its teams. CSU also placed third in the points-per-capita category. The Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Ian Goulter, congratulated the students and praised the organisers for the smooth management of the Games. “I am delighted that the Games have been staged here so successfully and thank everyone involved for a job well done,” Professor Goulter said. “I am particularly proud that Charles Sturt University won in the University’s 20th anniversary year, as well as winning gold medals in several individual sports. My thanks also go to Bathurst Regional Council and local businesses for their support for the Games.” CSU teams Manager, Mr Nik Granger, said “This is a great way to top off what has been a fantastic week of competition for our nearly 300 competing students who come from a number of CSU campuses. They have represented their University and participated in the right spirit, and should all be proud of their efforts. We would also like to thank the University for supporting this event, as it has been a great way to celebrate our 20th anniversary year by hosting – and winning - the games here in Bathurst.” The 2009 Australian University Games will be held on the Gold Coast from Monday 28 September.

Students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will honour the men and women of Australia’s armed services, past and present, when they lay a wreath at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Carillon War Memorial in Kings Parade, Bathurst, on Saturday 25 April. Mr Tim East, a third year student at the School of Teacher Education and the head resident of Chifley Halls at the CSU Bathurst Campus, said that today’s students want to play a part to continue and preserve the ANZAC legacy. “CSU students attended the Dawn Service last year and felt they were missing out,” Mr East said. “We wanted to unite the University’s student community with the rest of Bathurst, and to formally pay our respect on behalf of the residences at CSU. Many of us have family members who served in the armed forces, or have mates who are serving now. We want CSU students to stand proud as Australians and hold the values of determination, courage, compassion and resourcefulness throughout their lives.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has secured a national scholarship to assist her research into the development of multi-purpose health services in rural NSW. PhD student Ms Judith Anderson is the recipient of the Joan Hardy Scholarship from the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). The Joan Hardy Scholarship for postgraduate nursing research recognises the contributions the late Joan Hardy made to higher education and higher education unionism.“I was involved in a small rural health service when it became a ‘multi-purpose service’, making me intrigued by the cultural change and leading me to begin my study in 2006,” said Ms Anderson, who is studying through the School of Nursing and Midwifery at CSU at Bathurst. Her thesis examines the process of developing this new model of health care for small rural communities. “As the majority of staff and managers who work at these facilities are nurses, this study aims to give them a voice, enabling them to describe current practices and their roles within this process. I hope that recommendations and guidelines will emerge from this to enable the process to be improved in the future.”

Wiradjuri and religious leader, the late Pastor Cec Grant, will be honoured this week in a public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury. The Pastor Cec Grant (Wongamar) Lecture for 2009 will be delivered by CSU academic Yalmambirra from the University’s School of Environmental Science. CSU established the annual lecture in 2008 in collaboration with the Wiradjuri Council of Elders and the Wiradjuri Christian Development Ministries. Pastor Grant was a leading Wiradjuri elder who made important contributions to the development of Indigenous education at the University. The lecture, the second in the series, will commence at 7pm on Friday 1 May in the Nowik Lecture Theatre, on CSU’s Albury City site, Guinea St, Albury.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be well represented at a key international event for developers and IT professionals in June. The week-long Apple World-Wide Developers Conference 2009 (WWDC) will be held in San Francisco, California,from Monday 8 June,and third year Bachelor of Computer Science (Games Technology) student Mr David Winder, from Bathurst, has won a $3 200 Apple University Consortium (AUC) Competitive Student Scholarship to attend. “To be able to meet and communicate with some of the leading intellects in the industry is extremely exciting,” said Mr Winder. He’ll be joining CSU PhD student Mr James Bekkema who received a two year AUC Student Developer Scholarship in 2008 to attend the same event. “The conference is vital for those who work or study in the computer industry as the sessions provide incredibly valuable information on the current and future state of software technologies, such as OpenCL and ‘Grand Central’,” said Mr Bekkema, who is also based in Bathurst. “However one of the most important aspects of WWDC is the networking. I have met extremely talented developers and have made valuable contacts within the industry.”

Residents of Albury-Wodonga are urged to think about their health and take advantage of free blood pressure checks being offered by Charles Sturt University (CSU) nursing students as part of Wodonga Library’s Health Week promotion from Monday 27 April to Saturday 2 May. A group of CSU nursing students, under the supervision of lecturer Ms Sharon Laver, have volunteered their time during the University’s mid-semester break to take blood pressure of residents, while allied health students including speech therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists will talk about promoting good health. The students and academics will also provide course information to people interested in a career in health through the CSU Faculty of Science.

The advertising course at Charles Sturt University (CSU) is now fully accredited by the national industry body, the Media Federation of Australia (MFA). Associate Professor Rod McCulloch, Head of the CSU School of Communication and advertising course coordinator, said “This is great news for the University and our students, and is a tribute to the hard work of Mr David Maxwell, lecturer in advertising at CSU, who made it happen. It means that the overarching national body of advertising media professionals in Australia recognises and endorses the course, and this ensures that CSU is a leading provider of job-ready professionals who can work anywhere in Australia or the world. In line with the speed of change media is experiencing, our advertising course is going from strength to strength, and our students are prepared for exciting roles in a dynamic and challenging economic climate where advertisers increasingly seek more bang for their bucks. The accreditation of the course adds a level of certainty to our students’ and graduates’ prospects.”