Seven sports teams comprised of 70 students from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga and Bathurst campuses have performed well at the East Coast Challenge (ECC) - University Games staged in Sydney from Sunday 6 to Wednesday 9 July. CSU entered men’s and women’s hockey teams, two men’s and a women’s water polo teams, a women’s netball team, and a rugby league seven-a-side team. Mr Nik Granger, a CSU student support officer and the Team Manager, said all the CSU teams performed strongly in the eleven-sport one thousand-competitor Games. “The women’s netball team, made up of Bathurst and Albury-Wodonga students who had never played together before, convincingly beat all opposition to win the ECC championship. The hockey teams continued their dominance of the University Games with the CSU women’s hockey team becoming the ECC champions for the third year in a row, while the men’s team won the bronze medal. The men’s number 1 water polo team dominated the competition and was undefeated to win gold, while the men’s number 2 water polo team won the bronze medal. The rugby league ‘sevens’ team of students from Wagga Wagga and Bathurst Campuses won the silver medal. The women’s water polo team was unplaced in their first time in the competition. It is a testament to our students’ attitude to competition against much larger universities that CSU placed fifth overall, and again won the ‘Spirit Award’ as it did at the 2007 Australian University Games,” Mr Granger said.

There was special mention of Australian veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturer Jurox at the official opening of the Veterinary Clinical Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 9 July. Before more than 180 people at the opening, the Head of the CSU School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Professor Kym Abbott, presented Jurox Research and Development Head, Dr Ted Whittem, with a certificate for the company’s early support of veterinary science activities at CSU. Praising the CSU veterinary science program for its “unique” focus on biosecurity, leading equine veterinarian Dr Nigel Nichols said the University “will have a standard of training equal to anywhere in the world”. The former federal Agriculture Minister and Chief Executive Officer of Thoroughbred Breeders Australia, Mr Peter McGauran, said CSU had the “best equipped veterinary school in Australia”. He said training professionals for regional and rural Australia “permeates the DNA of CSU”. The new Veterinary Clinical Centre includes large and small animal operating theatres as well as recovery wards. The theatres are supported by the latest in diagnostic imaging and anaesthetic equipment, and the equine reproduction unit provides an outstanding teaching and clinical resource.

A team of Charles Sturt University (CSU) animal science and livestock production students has returned from northern NSW confident in the new meat grading skills they gained while training and participating in the 2008 Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging Competition (IMJC) held in Armidale. Competing against university students from across Australia as well as students from Japan and the United States (US) in July, third year agricultural science student Mr Campbell Ross was selected in a group of ten to undertake a national training program with Meat Livestock Australia in Brisbane in November. Mr Ross, from West Gippsland in Victoria, has a chance to be included in the final Australian team to compete in US competitions later this year. CSU Professor of Animal Production, Peter Wynn, said “it was also very exciting for second year animal science student Ms Tiffany Robertson from Camden, NSW, to be named as one of the fifteen finalists in Armidale, as the competition was dominated by third and fourth year university students.”. The CSU team of fifteen students was among the largest participating from any Australian institution. Training at local abattoirs was conducted by fourth year veterinary science student Mr Richard Saunders who was a member of the Australian IMJC team to tour the USA in 2004.

A fortnight after its official opening, the $9 million Veterinary Clinical Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will host an Open Day. The Centre and its experienced clinicians were hailed at the official opening on Wednesday 9 July for their vital role in producing well-rounded professionals committed to inland Australia. The facility, a key part of the CSU veterinary science program, provides  modern surgical facilities for large and small animals, diagnostic imaging and reproduction services for horses. The Centre also offers veterinary services to animal owners across the Riverina. It is staffed by experienced veterinary surgeons, an anaesthetist, radiographers and veterinary nurses as well as specialists in large animal reproduction. Fourth year veterinary science students and veterinary nurses will conduct tours of the new facility from 3pm until 5pm on Wednesday 23 July.  Those interested in participating in a tour of the Veterinary Clinical Centre should send an email.

Four staff will be honoured during a lunch in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 24 July for three decades of service to Charles Sturt University (CSU) and its predecessor institution, the Riverina College of Advanced Education (RCAE). Service medals for the thirty years of dedication to CSU will be presented to Mrs Debby Arneill from the Division of Finance, Mrs Kerry Cutting from the School of Commerce, Mr Geoff Gordon from the School of Visual and  Performing Arts, and Dr Bruce Graham from the School of Biomedical Sciences. Fifteen CSU staff will also be presented with medals for twenty years with the University. The University Chancellor, Mr Lawrie Willett, AO, will present the medals to staff during a lunch from noon to 2pm at the CSU Convention Centre. The Head of the Wagga Wagga Campus, Professor David Green, will also attend the event.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has a long history of producing champions in various fields and it hasn’t lost its touch with the recent inclusion of All Luck, a horse sired by CSU thoroughbred Bao Lack, in Australia’s Olympic three-day event team. “Bao Lack is a 16.2 hands-high thoroughbred with a wonderful temperament,” CSU’s Equine Business Management lecturer Dr Amanda Warren-Smith said. “I’m not surprised he has produced a horse that can compete at Olympic level.” Mr Shane Rose will make his debut at the Beijing Olympic Games riding the 13 year-old horse. Mr Rose and All Luck will feature in three days of fierce competition in three disciplines; dressage, cross-country and show jumping. “We’re thrilled that Bao Luck has sired this Olympic contender,” Dr Warren-Smith said.

As students return to Charles Sturt University (CSU) this week for the start of the second semester, the University welcomes Red Frogs founder Mr Andy Gourley to Wagga Wagga and Bathurst Campuses to discuss his initiative aimed at encouraging a safe alternative at social events. Founded in 1997, Red Frogs now connects university students with more than 1 800 volunteers to assist them through some of the most important years of their lives. Manager of Residential Operations, Mr Peter Bell, said CSU supports a fun yet safe lifestyle for all students and wants to promote responsible alcohol consumption. “Volunteers are the key to the success of Red Frogs. Students will be encouraged to volunteer to participate in the program, which will give them a chance to help fellow students and develop and use leadership skills.” Red Frogs aims to change the atmosphere of an event and promote a sense of looking after your mates by handing out red frogs and ice blocks, cooking pancakes and running coffee crawls to help support students through their studies.

About 230 administrative staff from across Charles Sturt University (CSU) are expected to attend the biennial Admin Focus Conference 2008 which will be held on Bathurst and Wagga Wagga campuses in the coming week. Held for the first time in 2000, the biennial conference provides an opportunity for the University’s administrative support staff to gain new professional skills and updated information. The 2008 conference will be held on the Wagga Wagga Campus on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 July.  Admin Focus aims to recognise the significant contribution of administrative staff in office and support positions, and to foster networking and a sense of community among administrative staff across the University. The event will include keynote addresses from senior staff, skills development workshops, and an exhibition of services and projects at the University.

Through its School of Information Studies, Charles Sturt University (CSU) is a leading educator in Australia and overseas of professionals for the information industry, ranging from the traditional library and information management to the emerging field of private sector information and knowledge management. As part of this work, the University’s Centre for Information Studies (CIS)  supports research, publications and continuing professional development in library and information science, teacher librarianship and Australian literature for young people. The Centre has assisted CSU senior lecturer Dr Philip Hider, with Professor Ross Harvey, to revise the successful first edition of the book, Organising knowledge in a global society: principles and practice in libraries and information centres. The book reflects on current practice in information organisation, particularly how libraries and other information services provide intellectual access to digital information resources through socalled ‘metadata’. In the book’s 2008 revision, the information organisation components of the recent Web 2.0 era are discussed.