An annual prize to highlight a Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate’s commitment to social justice will be donated to The Edel Quinn Shelter, a homeless support service for men in Wagga Wagga. Bachelor of Social Work graduate Mrs Michelle Knight from Wagga Wagga has been awarded the Lila Kirilik Memorial Social Justice Award  for her project, SHINE - Squalor and Hoarding Integrated Networking Enterprise, adirectory of services and their contacts in Wagga Wagga that can  help during cases of squalor  or hoarding. The project was compiled while Mrs Knight was doing her workplace learning in 2008 at The Forrest Centre, a service for the aged and disabled people in Wagga Wagga. Mrs Knight said, “I am donating the $500 prize to the Edel Quinn Shelter because of the organisation’s help in putting together the network”. The Lila Kirilik Social Action Award was established by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Wagga Wagga in 2004 in honour of the late Ms Lila Kirilik, a senior lecturer in social welfare at CSU.

The effective management of diabetes, one of Australia’s major health problems, will come through input from a range of health professionals, not just a general practitioner (GP), says Professor of Rural and Remote Pharmacy Patrick Ball of Charles Sturt University (CSU). In response to the Federal Government’s plan to keep the growing number of diabetics out of hospital, Professor Ball said one-on-one professional input from diabetes educators, dietitians, pharmacists, physiotherapists and exercise physiologists are needed to tackle the health problem. “While additional resources are welcome, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s plan seems to lack a clear appreciation of how the outcomes will best be delivered, particularly in inland Australia,” Professor Ball said. “While the GP must always be kept in the information loop, routing all the resources through already over-worked general practices is unlikely to be the best way to achieve the outcomes for which the government is aiming.” Professor Ball believes the successful control of Type 2 Diabetes requires that the diabetic takes their prescribed treatment but successful management also requires a change of diet and lifestyle.  “This has to come from the person, the family and the community.  How can one person change their diet if the rest of their household will not?  How can people walk more if we don’t have safe streets and pavements?” questioned Professor Ball.

The highest academic accolade open to a Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate will be presented to an Information Technology (IT) specialist from Wagga Wagga. Mr Greg Smythe, Operations Manager for the Riverina Media Group will be awarded the University Medal by the Chancellor Mr Lawrie Willett, AO during a ceremony at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Thursday15 April. Mr Smythe will receive the Medal as he is awarded his Bachelor of Information Technology degree. The CSU graduate manages the operations department of the Riverina Media Group in Wagga Wagga and helps maintain the IT infrastructure for locations across south-western NSW. “I found the information technology course challenging but, thanks to a passion for this area and a very understanding family, I managed to successfully complete this course by distance education,” Mr Smythe said. The University Medal grants special recognition to CSU graduates whose academic performance is ‘superlative’. “Mr Smythe has been outstanding in achieving and maintaining High Distinctions throughout his CSU studies. I am confident that he will continue his exceptional academic performance in the Honours course in which he is now enrolled,” said Courses Manager Dr Tanveer A Zia from the School of Computing and Mathematics at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

Like the mysterious grinning Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, only one aspect of the invisible ‘dark matter’ which dominates the universe is apparent: its gravitational effects. “We live in a universe that is completely dominated by invisible matter whose origin and nature are essentially unknown,” says Dr Allan Ernest, a physics lecturer with the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. In a lecture on Wednesday 28 April, Dr Ernest will examine the latest theories which attempt to answer the vexing questions: “What gravitational effects tell us dark matter exists? If it is really there, what could it possibly be? Are there alternative theories to dark matter?” The talk by Dr Ernest will also present work being conducted at CSU to address the questions surrounding the nature and origin of dark matter.

An Indigenous literary academic and leading writer will explain the vital role of literacy in Indigenous self-determination at the next annual Bob Meyenn Annual Education Lecture, to be held this Thursday 22 April at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Hosted by the University’s Murray School of Education, in Albury-Wodonga, the lecture will be presented by Indigenous Literacy Ambassador, Dr Anita Heiss, who will discuss the key ingredient missing in the education system which could easily ensure a fair and equitable life experience for her people. Dr Heiss is from the Wiradjuri nation of central NSW, born and bred in Sydney. She is an author, poet, social commentator, travel writer and satirist and has published non-fiction, historical fiction, children’s fiction and so-called ‘chicklit’. Dr Heiss will present the third Bob Meyenn Annual Education Lecture titled ‘Indigenous literacy: the key to self-determination’ at 7.30pm in the Nowik Auditorium, Guinea Street, Albury.

The secrets of combining a successful career in the Australian film industry with an academic career at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be unveiled during a seminar on Wednesday 28 April. Mr Damian Candusso is a lecturer in Multimedia and Sound Design in the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga. He has over 12 years of industry experience and is a multi-award winning sound designer in film, animation, games and music. Some of his recently released work includes Daybreakers and Baz Luhrmann’s Australia. Not satisfied with this work, the sound designer is enrolled in the Master of Arts Practice at CSU. His research and creative practice explores sound’s relationship with the image, and in particular film. Mr Candusso’s exhibition Nature Man Machine opened on Monday 19 April until Friday 30 April in the HR Gallop Gallery, building 21 near car park 2, Darnell Smith Drive, CSU in Wagga Wagga.

Students in NSW and the ACT will have the opportunity to win cash prizes and donate money their favourite charity when entries open for Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) 2010 Making a Difference competition. CSU’s Making a Difference (MaD) Social Justice Innovation Award is open to all students in NSW and ACT in Year 10, 11 or 12 at high school or a student aged 15 to 21 years at TAFE. “The competition gives young people the opportunity to have an input into the challenging issues such as homelessness, teen suicide, drugs, poverty and crime,” said competition coordinator Mr Bill Anscombe, a senior lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU. “This competition offers young people the platform to tell their story.” Students were asked to write a story, poem or script that addresses any issue of social justice for the chance to win $250 cash and to select a charity of their choice which CSU would then make a $250 donation to on their behalf.

'Tragical, Comical, Fantastical, Musical' are the catch-cries for the 2010 season of the University Theatre Ensemble (UTE). The new performance season will be launched from 7pm on Wednesday 5 May at the Riverina Playhouse in Cross Street, Wagga Wagga. Staff and students from the School of Communication and Creative Industries at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will join members of the wider community for the season launch by Director Mr John Saunders. With a strong reputation in providing quality and diverse theatre in Wagga Wagga, UTE productions draw final year students from the Bachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage), and Bachelor of Arts (Design for Theatre and Television).

In any industry freelancing is not for the faint-hearted, but a Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate has one successful year under her belt and is confident her second will be even better. Ms Gemma Thornton had experiences as varied as sailing on the eco-boat ‘Ady Gil’ and maintaining the boat’s videoblog while moored in New Zealand’s Auckland Harbour, to working on broadcasts for the ABC and SBS. Ms Thornton, who grew up in Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast, finished a Bachelor of Arts in Television Production in 2008. She says she was prepared to give freelancing a go for a year to “see if I could carve out a career”. “During the past year I found the skills and training gained at Charles Sturt University were outstanding and stand up well in professional practice. I feel well-prepared to go out on my own for another year,” she said. “The opportunity to work last November as a volunteer on the ‘Ady Gil’, one of the boats operated by the Sea Shepherd conservation group, was incredible. I really felt that we could make a difference. Of course it’s a memory cherished more fondly since the boat was sunk in the Antarctic in January.” Ms Thornton says the contacts she built in 2009 will help her find work in television studios doing camera operating and assistance work this year.