The Australian Red Cross Blood Service has named Charles Sturt University (CSU) as the winner of its Club Red Corporate Challenge in Wagga Wagga for the second successive year. The University made the highest number of blood donations of businesses in Wagga Wagga in 2008. During a visit to CSU at Wagga Wagga by the Red Cross donor mobile unit, the Club Red Corporate Challenge trophy was presented to the University, with donations by CSU staff and students totalling 233 in 2008. The University’s blood donation efforts continue in 2009 as part of CSU’s 20th anniversary celebrations. The University has issued a ‘North-South’ challenge in March where the total staff and student blood donations at CSU at Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst (North) will be tallied against donations at Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga (South). Read more here.

While 2009 provides Charles Sturt University (CSU) with an opportunity to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the year is also a time to honour the 114-year tradition of excellence and innovation in teaching, learning and research. The University was established when the Charles Sturt University Act was passed by the NSW Parliament in July 1989, however the institution’s history can be traced back to the Bathurst Experimental Farm, established in 1895.The official opening ceremony for the University’s 20th anniversary will be held from 11am, Thursday 12 March, in Joyes Hall at CSU at Wagga Wagga. Read more here.

Almost $1 500 has been raised for the Leukaemia Foundation World’s Greatest Shave by a staff member at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga. Multimedia Officer Mr Ian Hamilton, from the CSU Division of Learning and Teaching Services, said farewell to his locks and his beard on Friday 12 March. Ably supported by his CSU workmates and with sponsorship from local businesses, Mr Hamilton declared his hair loss a resounding success. Local hairdresser, Ms Bree Harrison from Mayhem Hair, gave her skills to the fundraiser free of charge. In thanking everyone for their support Ian said, “I have known people who have battled leukaemia so any money I could raise goes to a great cause”. The World’s Greatest Shave ran from Thursday 12 March until Saturday 14 March to support patients with blood cancers and to fund vital research.

The search for treatments to beat such modern day diseases as cancer and diabetes is prompting scientists to examine traditional medicines used by Indigenous Australians. Native plants including Prickly Fanflower were used by Indigenous Australians and Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher Dr Philip Kerr is investigating their potential as anti-cancer and anti-diabetic medicine. “Australian and other naturalised flora represent a vast, untapped reserve of potential eco-friendly medicinal agents,” he said. Other plants under investigation include Desert Poplar, Sticky Goodenia, Stiff-leaved Bottlebrush and the well known weed Bathurst Burr which may have the potential to combat cancer. Dr Kerr says his interest was triggered while studying in Western Australia where a controversial ‘cancer treatment’ derived from an Australian native plant was being dispensed to terminal cancer patients. "For many years, natural products from Australian flora had been studied but with no apparent connection to their medicinal potential, but with the renewed interest in medicinal plants worldwide, that interest has burgeoned," he said. 

The Vice-Chancellor of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Ian Goulter, announced the appointment today of Mr Ian Macintosh, AM, as the first Pro-Chancellor of the University. The Pro-Chancellor is a newly created position that will act as an ambassador for the University in the Bathurst and central western communities, including deputising for the Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor at ceremonies. Mr Macintosh is a former Mayor of Bathurst Regional Council and Deputy Chancellor of CSU. He served as a member of the University Council for eight years, including four years as Deputy Chancellor. “Ian is a wonderful servant of the community and a great advocate of Charles Sturt University, and the unanimous endorsement of his appointment by the University Council to this important position reflects the esteem in which he is held within the University,” Professor Goulter said. “It is a great opportunity to continue my connection with one of Australia’s most progressive Universities and to support its development as the national University of inland Australia,” Mr Macintosh said. Mr Macintosh will hold the position for a period of 2 years until December 2010.

A new charter has been designed by Charles Sturt University (CSU) to articulate what it means for students to be members of the wider CSU community. The Student Charter has been publicly released after being endorsed by the University’s Academic Senate on Wednesday 3 December. The document outlines the University’s values, ranging from intellectual independence, to the dissemination of knowledge, social justice and economic, social and environmental sustainability. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect of CSU and the University’s expectations of its student body. These expectations include respect and tolerance, honesty and integrity and positive participation in teaching, learning, professional and research activities. “The purpose of the charter is to promote engagement between students and the broader CSU community, and to help students and staff of the University understand the expectations they may have of each other,” said CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Professor Lyn Gorman. “The introduction of the charter is a welcome move as it clearly outlines how the University and students can work together productively to benefit all,” said Mr David Atkinson, President of the Student Senate. Read the CSU Student Charter here.

Following previous successful exhibitions, staff at the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will present recent works in a show titled text/object. The exhibition will be opened by Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administrative), Professor Lyn Gorman, on Friday 7 November at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. Show curator Dr Johannes Klabbers says this is a unique opportunity for the community to experience the wide-ranging practices and research of creative practitioners teaching at CSU. “All works in this exhibition are collaborative, Some participants have worked with family members or colleagues within the school, while others collaborated with national and international artists. The result is a very eclectic exhibition featuring the work of 28 participants.”

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) 2007 Shiraz was one of only four wines to be awarded a Gold Medal in the 2007 Shiraz class at the 2008 Royal Melbourne Wine Show on Thursday 13 November and has now been released through the Cellar Door. The CSU 2007 Shiraz was produced with grapes from the University’s vineyard in Orange and was the only NSW wine to be nominated for this year’s Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show. The wine had already been awarded bronze medals at the Orange Wine Show in October and the Riverina Wine Show in September. “The University is delighted with the gold medal in recognition of the quality of our 2007 Shiraz,” said winemaker, Mr Andrew Drumm. “It was also a great achievement to be among the small number of red wines nominated from 660 other Australian one year old red wines for the Jimmy Watson Trophy.”

Medical imaging students and staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will commemorate International Radiographers and Radiation Therapists Week from 3–9 November at CSU Wagga Wagga Campus. Undergraduate courses in Medical Imaging have been taught at CSU for over 30 years. This year more than 200 students are studying on campus in preparation for a career as a radiographer, a health professional who takes medical images including CT and MRI scans, ultrasounds, mammograms and x-rays for diagnosis. Lecturer in medical imaging, Mrs Kelly Spuur said, the University also has post-graduate students enrolled in courses including ultrasound and image interpretation and offers a professional advancement program for overseas radiographers. “The world’s first X-ray taken was in 1895 and Saturday 8 November is recognised as World Radiography Day,” she said.