Television production students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga have broken new ground in their on-going development of links with industry. The Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has agreed to the establishment of a CSU student chapter of the Society. The Society's Board of Governors approved the move during a meeting in Atlanta in the United States on Thursday 4 June. The move is the inaugural student chapter in Australia. Formed in 1916, the SMPTE is regarded as the leading technical society for the motion imaging industry. "This new relationship will give CSU students access to conferences, papers, scholarships, guest lectures and of course international industry contacts," said television production course co-ordinator Mr Patrick Sproule. "I believe the approval to form the CSU student chapter shows an enormous respect for the course at Charles Sturt University as well as the Society's recognition of the importance of investment in education in the TV and film industries. A special thanks to past chairman of SMPTE Australian Section, Mr John Maizels, for recommending the formation of the student chapter and shepherding us through due process." Meanwhile, the SMPTE Australian Section has donated $6 000 so 85 Bachelor of Arts (Television Production) students at CSU at Wagga Wagga can attend the SMPTE09 conference in Sydney in July.

Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from Wagga Wagga have been recently honoured with excellence awards from TAFE NSW Riverina Institute. Mr Haydon Churchill received a Riverina Institute Faculty Award for Excellence in IT on Friday 22 May after he completed his Diploma of Information Technology (Networking) in 2008. He is now completing a Bachelor of Information Technology at CSU as well as working in the University’s Division of Information Technology. “I am hoping my load is a little lighter this year and I can now concentrate just on my university studies,” said Mr Churchill. Meanwhile, Ms Judy Allen has received a TAFE NSW Riverina Institute Faculty Award for Excellence in General Education after she excelled in her Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation in 2008. During her studies at TAFE NSW Riverina Institute, Ms Allen achieved a tertiary entrance score of 283 out of 300. The mother of five was the highest ranked student in her course at the Riverina Institute and the 29th highest in NSW. Now enrolled in her first year of a Bachelor of Arts at CSU, Ms Allen’s education path began 10 years ago when she enrolled at the Riverina Institute in an entry level course for women. She went on to complete a number of courses at the Riverina Institute. CSU and TAFE NSW work closely to ensure all students have the opportunity for further study. Read more here.

The Charles Sturt University Equine Centre is pitching in to help the fundraising efforts on Saturday 13 June for injured horse rider Ms Annie Woodhouse. Ms Woodhouse, from Numerella near Cooma, is recovering from a road accident in March. Ms Woodhouse is the joint secretary and treasurer of the Capital Area Reining Horse Association (CARHA) which has regular competition days in Canberra and Wagga Wagga. The Association is organising the charity day at the CSU Equine Centre at Wagga Wagga to raise money for Ms Woodhouse’s living and rehabilitation expenses. CSU has waived the regular hire fees for its Equine Centre. Horse reining professionals Mr Warwick Schiller and Mrs Robyn Schiller will run a morning training clinic which will be followed by a barbecue lunch. In the afternoon, reining patterns will be run with commentary from clinicians and judges.  

A man with a long history in the Wagga Wagga region and with Charles Sturt University (CSU) has been selected as the new Head of Campus in Wagga Wagga. Mr Adrian Lindner has followed in the footsteps of his great grand-father, who settled on a property near Coolamon in 1895, now living and operating the same farm. With a background in accountancy and health administration, Mr Lindner joined CSU 18 years ago this month as the University’s Director of Finance. His roles across the University include as a Board Director of the University’s Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACC&C) in Canberra and Chairman of the CSU Sustainability Program Committee. His first degree was completed at CSU’s predecessor institution, the Riverina College of Advanced Education in 1982. Before joining CSU, Mr Lindner worked in Balranald, Cootamundra and Junee. “I hope to emulate my predecessor Professor David Green in his strong and active commitment to Charles Sturt University and the local communities. The University is a tremendous asset to the Wagga Wagga community – educationally, culturally, economically and in the creation of new knowledge through research,” said Mr Lindner. Mr Lindner’s extensive involvement in the region includes in environmental activism, at a local private school and as an active participant in various churches.

Commissioner of the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) in NSW, Mr John Pritchard and former Senator and Australian Democrats leader, Ms Lyn Allison will headline a national conference focusing on ethics in the community next week. The 16th annual Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics (AAPAE) Conference will be hosted by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Policing Studies in Goulburn, NSW from Tuesday 9 June to Thursday 11 June. Conference convenor and CSU lecturer in Policing Studies Dr Anna Corbo Crehan says around 50 delegates from universities and the professions are expected to attend to participate in discussion of issues in applied and professional ethics. Dr Corbo Crehan will present a paper entitled ’Appropriate police discretion and Indigenous over-representation in the Criminal Justice System’. Other presentations will focus on ethics in policing; the socio-legal ethics of vulnerable people; and ethics and money in sport.

Water scarcity, climate change and population growth are just some of the complex factors combining to pose a threat to food security in developing countries such as Pakistan. Professor Iqrar A. Khan, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad, Pakistan will speak at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga on Friday, 5 June about precision agriculture, a way of preserving land and conserving water while enhancing food security. “Poverty and malnutrition are on the rise in water scarce areas,” Professor Khan said. “High dependence on agriculture and extremely low production forces smallholders to overuse limited land and water resources, causing degradation of these assets.” He says precision agriculture will require investment in new technology, capacity building and knowledge sharing. The International Centre of Water for Food Security at CSU holds monthly seminars with national and international water experts invited to discuss the emerging issues and policies dealing with sustainable management of water resources for food security.  

A catalogue for an art exhibition at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in 2008 has been named a joint winner in the national Museums Australia Multimedia and Publication Design Award 2009. The catalogue for the exhibition, ELEMENTS: Dianne Fogwell was produced by the CSU Art Collection and designed by Eunice Song, the Creative Director of E-Com Consulting & Design. The judges comments included “‘being a book about a book’, it has a sensibility to the artist’s medium – the designer really understands typography”.The catalogue was produced to coincide with the exhibition held during graduation ceremonies at CSU at Wagga Wagga in April 2008. A total of 406 entries were received for the awards from over 100 Australian and international organisations. The CSU Art Collection is one of 17 collections short-listed in its group, Level A Exhibition Catalogue – Small (Under 64 pages). The entries were judged on their relevance, communication clarity and degree of usability. The winners were announced on Monday 19 May as part of Museums Australia’s National Conference in Newcastle.

Two new wines will be released this week to add to the multi-award winning range of premium sparkling, table and fortified wines produced at the commercially run Charles Sturt University (CSU) Winery. A 2009 Cellar Reserve Pinot Noir Rosé made from premium pinot noir grapes from the cool-climate Tumbarumba region is the first Rosé made at the winery in 10 years. Mr Richard Lawson from CSU Winery described the wine as an elegant rosé with a beautiful rose petal colour with classic cherry and forest berry characters on the nose and a clean dry finish. “The second release is the 2009 Alfresco Bianco following in the footsteps of last year’s popular vintage, but the alcohol content has been dropped to six per cent which is similar to the many moscato-style wines from Italy,” he said. CSU’s Winery at Wagga Wagga is an integral part of the School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences and at the forefront of viticultural practices and winemaking techniques in Australia.

Existing and future energy and water conservation and an organics recycling pilot program will all be on show at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga on Thursday 4 June to celebrate World Environment Day on Friday 5 June. In conjunction with the Riverina Eastern Regional Organisations of Councils (REROC), the CSU Division of Facilities Management (DFM) and CSU Green  will host an information session on environmental initiatives at the University from 10am to 11.30am. The 2008 CSU Environmental Scorecard was released in April 2009 by the University. Read more here. CSU Green was established in 2008 as part of the University’s commitment to sustainability. In addition to these activities for World Environment Day, a student and staff organisation known as Eco Active will hold activities throughout the week until Friday 5 June. Further information about the Eco Active events is available here.