It was a family affair when Winemaker and Managing Director of Casella Wines, John Casella, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Business by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in April 2008. Dr Casella received the doctorate in recognition of his contribution to the Australian wine industry, particularly through the creation of new export markets, the economic health of the Riverina region of NSW, and to wine education and research programs at CSU. Founded in 1969 by his parents, Filippo and Maria Casella, Casella Wines dramatically increased production under Dr Casella, who also oversaw the launch of the [yellow tail] brand into the United States in 2001. The [yellow tail] brand is the most successful launch of an Australian wine brand in the history of the Australian wine industry. In addition to praise of his management of the family business, Dr Casella was honoured for his commitment to developing the skills and capacity of young people in the Riverina. He attended the CSU graduation ceremony in Wagga Wagga with his parents, his wife and four children.

The review of Aboriginal education across NSW three years ago will be scrutinised in a public lecture at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dubbo Campus on Wednesday 9 April. Adjunct Professor in the CSU Faculty of Education, Alan Laughlin, will speak about the NSW Aboriginal Education Review of 2004, which was one of the widest assessments of the opinions of Aboriginal people carried out in NSW. “Three years on, many of the recommendations have been implemented. Clearly, generational change is needed, but what has been the impact to date?” Professor Laughlin asks. “The review involved over 400 meetings and more than 4 000 interviews with parents, teachers and students, and 200 oral and written submissions were received. A comprehensive set of recommendations was presented to the NSW government to improve outcomes for Aboriginal children.” Alan Laughlin was the Deputy Director General (DDG) of Education in the NSW Department of Education and Training. He has held every position from teacher through to the level of DDG in his 40 year career.

With the NSW equine industry given the all-clear following the outbreak of equine flu that threatened the national horse industry, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Equine Centre is back in business. Centre manager Ms Cheryl Gander is excited to have the Centre up and running again. “The Orange Campus Equine Centre provides the perfect location for students to be involved in all aspects of horse enterprise management, including breeding, training for different disciplines, show and sale preparation, different handling techniques and research,” Ms Gander said. The Centre, which is part of the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, has an indoor and outdoor arena, exercise track, cross country course, treadmill, horse walker, stables, veterinary laboratory and 80 hectares of horse pastures. For enquiries regarding agistment, breeding and facility hire, contact Ms Gander on 02 6365 7850.

The graduation of more than 2 000 students from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Wagga Wagga Campus will be celebrated on the city’s main street when academics don their gowns to march along the city’s main street on Tuesday 8 April. The annual Town and Gown Academic Procession will start at 4pm at the corner of Morgan and Baylis streets to the Civic Theatre, where the Head of the CSU Wagga Wagga Campus, Professor David Green will host a reception from 4.30pm. The procession will be led by  Wiradjuri Elder, Ms Gail Manderson, carrying the message stick followed by the Esquire Bedell, Mr Henry Gardiner, carrying the mace, then the Chancellor Lawrie Willett AO and Mayor Kerry Pascoe. University and Wagga Wagga City councillors, academic staff, eligible general staff and graduating students have also been invited to participate in the event. Eligible staff working at the TAFE NSW Riverina Institute, the University of NSW Rural Clinical School and Wagga Wagga City Council are also invited to the procession. Six CSU graduation ceremonies will be held on the Wagga Wagga Campus from Wednesday 9 April to Friday 11 April.

The works of a major contemporary Australian artist will be displayed in an exhibition to be opened by Charles Sturt University (CSU) Chancellor Laurie Willett, AO during the graduation of more than 2 000 students from the Wagga Wagga Campus. Entitled ELEMENTS: Dianne Fogwell, the exhibition will be opened in Joyes Hall at CSU, Wagga Wagga on Thursday 10 April from 6pm. Ms Fogwell’s practice is inextricably linked to printmaking. Recently she released her work from the confines of the etching plate mark, standard paper sizes, frames, and other technical boundaries. The artist’s wall sized glowing golden, red or blue prints on numerous sheets shimmer and flow, dazzling the eye, pushing the confined boundaries of traditional printmaking, unrestricted by scale. The exhibition will be opened throughout the graduation ceremonies from Wednesday 9 April to Friday 11 April.

Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) have raised almost $7 000 for charity during Orientation 2008. Students, representing CSU’s student body, recently presented a cheque for over $6 800 to NRMA CareFlight, a rapid response critical care service. CareFlight duty doctor, Dr Andrew Dubky, received the cheque on behalf of the organisation. “Last year students across five CSU campuses raised more than $1 200 for the Salvation Army Drought Appeal," CSU Student Services representative, Ms Jean Ryan said. "Raising such a large sum of money this year was a testament to how hard our continuing students worked during Orientation 2008 while making the first year students feel welcome.”  

The popular Connemara pony will take centre stage at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Equine Centre in Wagga Wagga this weekend when the Connemara Pony Breeders’ Society of Australia holds its general meeting on Saturday 5 April from 10am to 4pm. The Connemara ponies, which are well regarded for their compact size, good temperament and marketability, will be on show during a display in the Equine Centre’s covered arena from 11am. Attending the day’s events will be the Society’s president and former federal Treasurer, Mr John Dawkins, and the Director of Veterinary Science at CSU, Professor Kym Abbott, who will officially welcome the pony breeders to the University from 10am. The Connemara Breeder’s Society of Australia last year donated the Connemara pony, Siobhan, to CSU and agreed to establish a fund to support research and education through the Charles Sturt Foundation to aid in education of their members and to support equine student scholarships.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Professor David Kemp has taken another step to ensure agriculturalists and the Orange community are better informed about coping with climate change, especially climate variability and its effects on food security, in a public seminar to be held in Orange on Monday 31 March. “The consequences of variable and changing climates are rising energy and food costs, so much so that in the last nine months another 800 million people couldn’t afford the food they need,” said Professor Kemp. “The recent drought also highlighted the social problems of dealing with variable climates – what are the effects and what needs to be done to better help people?” CSU’s Professor Margaret Alston will be one speaker at the public seminar, entitled ‘Managing Beyond the Panic of Climate Change’. The seminar aims to discuss these interrelated trends – to inform people about likely regional, Australian and international trends, what can be done to adjust to these major trends and what people in central NSW can do to ensure their livelihoods under these changing circumstances. The seminar will be held from 10am on 31 March at the Orange Ex-Services Club, Anson Street, Orange.

Improved understanding of livestock reproductive behaviour is important for optimal animal management, economics and welfare. The theory is that livestock behavioural traits have evolved similarly to physical traits, in response to evolutionary pressures. A public lecture by Professor Peter Chenoweth, from the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, will look at whether Darwin’s Theory of Evolution can be applied to the modern management of livestock. Only about 6 percent of hoofed animals have ever been domesticated. This figure raises questions as to why are there so relatively few species domesticated, and are certain evolutionary behavioural traits more conducive to domestication than others? The public lecture will also pose the questions as to whether humans chose to domesticate certain species, or vice versa, and can evolution provide guidelines for good livestock management? The lecture will be held from 6.30pm Tuesday 11 March at the Tumbarumba Shire Council Chambers, Bridge Street, Tumbarumba.