Olympic gold medallist Mr Russell Mark will be guest speaker at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga when administrative staff from across CSU meet in the city for a biennial conference. The champion clay target shooter is a special guest at the Admin Future Focus 2012 conference dinner from 6.30pm on Tuesday 20 November.  With a theme of sustainability at CSU, the conference has attracted more than 160 administrative staff from across the University, including Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Canberra, Dubbo, Goulburn, Orange, Sydney and Wagga Wagga. The event is being held to ‘foster networking and a sense of community among administrative staff from all University campuses, faculties, schools, divisions and units’. Hailed as one of Australia’s best ever shooters, Mr Mark has competed in six Olympic Games. He won gold in Atlanta in 1996 and silver in Sydney in 2000 in the double trap events. Admin Future Focus 2012 will be held from 1pm on Tuesday 20 November to 3pm on Wednesday 21 November. Read the full program here.

A new venue at which to taste and purchase Charles Sturt University (CSU) wines in Wagga Wagga has opened its doors. Overlooking the University’s vineyard and commercial winery, the new $500 000 Cellar Door is part of a larger project in the precinct which will be completed in the new year. On Thursday 15 November, members of the CSU Wine Club will gather at the new Cellar Door from 5pm to 7.30pm to celebrate its opening. CSU Winemaker, Mr Andrew Drumm, said, “The enlarged space in the new Cellar Door allows us to cater for tours and events. There is also a smaller area that we can use for small groups. It is a great place to showcase not only the wines that locals are used to, but also a few new ones that we have recently introduced, especially, the NV Sparkling, the first to be produced from our vineyard in Orange.” On the 2012 Vintage, Mr Drumm said, “The last season was overshadowed by the rain and the floods, but we’re optimistic about this year.” The Cellar Door is open from 11am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 11am to 4pm on weekends. To place a wine order, telephone 02 6933 2435 or send an email.

"One of the greatest challenges of modern neuroscience is understanding what happens to the brain as we age and why it becomes vulnerable to diseases such as Alzheimer’s,” said Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher Dr Adam Hamlin. Dr Hamlin, from CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences, will talk about our Amazing Brain in a free, public lecture in Tumbarumba on Wednesday 28 November. Almost 280 000 Australians suffer from dementia and that figure is expected to rise as the population ages. Dr Hamlin will outline current breakthroughs in our understanding of the processes that occur in neurodegenerative diseases and what scientists are doing to find potential treatments for these conditions. A national Health and Medical Research Council Fellow, Dr Hamlin is carrying out research to discover more about brain cell death in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Read more about Dr Hamlin’s research on CSU News here.

In a first for Australia, a new research network will be launched at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Thursday 8 November to focus on environmental justice and governance in Australia. The new group is part of CSU’s Institute for Land Water and Society (ILWS)  and will be known as the Environmental Justice and Governance for Social Change Strategic Research Area. Co-leaders of the new group, Dr Helen Masterman-Smith, an environmental sociologist, and Associate Professor Vaughan Higgins, a rural sociologist, said, “This new Strategic Research Area is one of the first research concentrations or networks in Australia that focuses on the fields of justice and governance in environmental issues, including climate change.” To launch the new group, a public workshop, Environmental Justice and Governance: Strategies for building environmentally sustainable and socially just communities will be held from 10 to 4pm on Thursday 8 November at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Pre-eminent Australian environmental sociologist, Professor Stewart Lockie from The Australian National University, will give the keynote address from 10.30am to 12noon. . To RSVP, contact Dr John Rafferty on 02 6051 9406 or email. A full workshop program is available from the ILWS here.

There will be plenty of flappers and feathers on show at this year’s 2012 Vintage Dinner at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga, with the evening showcasing a 1920s theme. The Head of CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr Adrian Lindner is hosting the popular event on Friday 9 November, now in its 35th year. Pre-dinner drinks will be held under the lemon-scented gum trees from 7pm with a three course dinner served at 7.45pm at the Convention Centre, CSU in Wagga Wagga. Guests will be entertained by renowned Sydney jazz band, The 1920s Jazz Gang. Tickets for the annual event have been sold out.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) ecologist will present his ideas on how looking into history can help conserve and manage freshwater resources, including the Murray Darling Basin. Dr Paul Humphries, a researcher with CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS), will present a public lecture on the use of historical approaches to understand past environmental conditions. “This will tell us how the Murray Darling Basin has got to the state it is in today, and how this knowledge can be used to set more realistic environmental targets and so help improve river management,” Dr Humphries said. The lecture will start at 4pm on Thursday 1 November in Room 202, CD Blake Lecture building (751), CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga have presented the organisation Country Hope with more than $5 500, the rewards of their on campus fundraising events throughout 2012. Regional Manager of Country Hope, Mr Chris Blake recently accepted a cheque for $5 525.95 from medical science and biotechnology student and Residential Advisor, Mr Bobby Porykali and pharmacy student and Head Resident Mr Chris Hill. “One of our activities which raised a hefty $2 200 involved Bobby shaving off his dreadlocks,” Mr Hill said. “We decided to collect money for Country Hope because it is a local charity and we felt strongly that we should give back to an organisation that supports people in regional areas.” Donations were also collected throughout the year at on campus activities during the London 2012 Olympics and regular social evenings at The Crowbar. The fundraising efforts were spearheaded by the four Head Residents of the Halls of Residences at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

Shiftwork impacts on many women employed in Australia today and a Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher seeks Registered Nurses in the NSW central west to participate in interviews to learn about how it affects them and their families. Ms Annabel Matheson, a lecturer and PhD researcher at the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health in Bathurst, says her research aims to understand the shiftwork experience of Registered Nurses who have care responsibilities for children. “My research will explore the personal, social, health and financial impacts for women who work shiftwork while caring for children,” Ms Matheson said. “The research is a qualitative study and the data will be collected by me during individual confidential face-to-face interviews.” Registered Nurses who are interested in participating in the research can contact Ms Matheson on (02) 6338 4086 or email.

The risks of the sexualisation of girls and tips on how to help girls grow up with healthy attitudes towards body image and sexuality will be discussed at a public lecture in Braidwood on Wednesday 7 November 2012. Lecturer in philosophy and ethics at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Dr Emma Rush, will give an overview of what researchers and experts have to say about the risks associated with the sexualisation of girls and explain the government’s response. “A generation ago we didn’t see fashion and gossip magazines, padded bras and cosmetics pitched specifically at the primary school market,” she said. “While sex appeal has been used to sell products for a long time, in the last decade or so imagery directly inspired by pornography has also become much more prevalent in fashion and advertising. The increasing pressure on girls to meet very narrow appearance ideals at younger and younger ages is of significant concern to experts in child health and welfare.”  The free lecture, Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls, will also identify resources for parents and professionals who work with girls.