Aged in her mid-forties, Mrs Carol Ford-Johnson was married with four children and worked full-time. Then Mrs Ford-Johnson experienced an aneurysm which left her with total left-side paralysis, and her life changed forever. As a keynote speaker at the annual occupational therapy students’ conference at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga, Mrs Ford-Johnson will share her experience of suddenly waking up one day with a severe physical impairment and the obstacles she had to overcome. Nineteen years later, she attributes her survival and personal triumph to stubbornness in the face of adversity, mixed with a large dose of humour. Mrs Ford-Johnson will speak of her time in a rehabilitation ward in Melbourne, and of her positive and negative experiences receiving therapy from a multi-disciplinary team. She has since completed a Diploma of Welfare and worked within a multidisciplinary allied health team at the MS Society in Melbourne. The keynote address to the 2010 Occupational Therapy Student Conference will be delivered from 8.40am on Tuesday 27 October in the Nowik Theatre at CSU in Guinea St, Albury.

More than 400 native trees and shrubs will be planted on the farm at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Tuesday 26 October as part of a regeneration project funded by the Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and the University. Farm manager, Mr Steve Mannix, says the project on the 500 hectare property will improve soil stability, and adjacent land productivity, as well as water quality for down-stream users. “By returning these sensitive areas back to their natural environment we encourage the return of micro-organisms, insects and other wildlife activity that will improve soil quality and ultimately improve water quality.” Students from the TAFE NSW Western Institute and CSU will be joined by CSU staff to plant the trees and shrubs.   

After featuring at the Sydney Fringe Festival in September, a play written by a final-year Charles Sturt University (CSU) student will have a special one-night-only return performance at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre on Monday 25 October. The play, Before and After Knockoff, was written by Mr James Pike who is studying theatre/media at the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Bathurst. Mr Pike said, “Before and After Knockoff is a hard-hitting story about the brutal consequences of mixing business and family life, told by combining the coarse language of the building site with a poetic eloquence. The play involves a range of new and experienced theatre-makers in Bathurst. It’s a mark of the production’s strength that it has the support and involvement of the Bathurst Theatre Company, Local Stages, Arts Outwest and Charles Sturt University’s theatre/media course.”  

Students living on-campus at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga are being urged to do their bit for environmental sustainability by supporting an inaugural market day on Sunday 24 October. The Residence Market Day is open to the public and will be held from 9am to 2pm at CSU in Wagga Wagga. “The idea of the day is to allow students to recycle their old unwanted items and to reduce waste around the campus,” Head Resident - Full Board, Ms Lana Whytcross said. “We also hope to raise money for charity by donating the profits to a university support network known as Red Frogs.” Donations are now being accepted for the Market Day including old clothes, fridges, furniture and even non-perishable food.

Regional dental patients have something to smile about with construction of the new Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dental and Oral Health Clinic in Dubbo now complete. “The clinic will have 16 dental chairs,” explained senior lecturer Dr Sabrina Manickam. “Professional dentists and students from the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at CSU will provide patient care in 2011.” The new state-of-the-art dental clinic has been designed and constructed at a cost of $8 million, with funds from CSU, NSW Health and The University of Sydney. Dental staff from Greater Western Area Health Service (GWAHS) will be the first to occupy the new facility with the relocation of its public dental services currently provided from the Dubbo Community Dental Clinic in Ronald Street. The new CSU Dental and Oral Health Clinic will open for public patients on Monday 18 October.  

Research into cancer education will be presented by third year clinical science students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Friday 15 October. Community members will join CSU staff and students to discuss student research at the University Experiential Learning Centre (ELC). “The students have spent months working on their research as part of their studies,” lecturer from the School of Biomedical Sciences, Ms Sarah Hyde said. “The students conducted the research by designing and mailing out surveys, entering and analysing the data, with a surprising number of responses.” The research topics include; oral cancer awareness and its risk factors, the relationship between breast screening concordance and the location of residence, awareness and education of cancer screening in female patients, the effectiveness of the ‘three-step breast check shower card’ in increasing breast self-examination amongst CSU students; and general practitioner attitudes and knowledge concerning prostate cancer screening.

Representatives of Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Study Group Australia (SGA) will meet at a ceremony at CSU in Bathurst on Tuesday 12 October to mark the signing of a new services agreement for the ongoing delivery of courses at CSU Study Centres in Sydney and Melbourne. The CSU Study Centres offer courses from the Faculty of Business to international undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Ian Goulter, said, “The renewal of the services agreement for the Charles Sturt University Study Centres is strongly aligned to the University's strategic planning priorities and its Internationalisation Strategy.” Study Group Australia Pty Ltd, as part of one of the world’s largest private education providers, has been engaged in the quality provision of higher education services to international students in collaboration with CSU since 1995. Although studying in Melbourne or Sydney, many of the students graduate at ceremonies at the regional campuses of CSU.  

The creative skills of Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Mr Damian Candusso are again on the big screen with the release of the film, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. Directed by Hollywood director Zac Snyder, this film is Australia’s first 3D animation production. Mr Candusso, worked as the sound effects editor on the film. “I created many of the 3D sound effects, including the 3D slow motion battles and surreal sound effects,” Mr Candusso said. “Being the country’s first 3D animation, this film has redefined the benchmark for quality Australian cinema. In addition, the sound design for this film is the first in the country to be created for a 3D animation.” The film is based on Kathryn Lasky’s novels, Guardians of Ga'Hoole. Mr Candusso is a lecturer with the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga. He is well known for his work on Daybreakers (2009), Farscape: The Peacekeepers Wars (2004), Happy Feet (2006) and Australia (2008). In 2001, the CSU academic was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal in the Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Australian society and Australian film production

A group of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students has portrayed the considerable research being undertaken by the University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society in a short film being launched on Thursday 14 October. The students, who study television production with the School of Communication and Creative Industries based at CSU in Wagga Wagga, have looked at a variety of research projects such as the fishing history of the Murray River; how well Murray Cod fingerlings swim; Indigenous knowledge of inland fisheries; varying water flows from dams; and social justice in the use and administration of water in the Murray Darling Basin. Ms Juliet Cullen from the Murray Catchment Management Authority introduces the film, which is part of the Water on Tap? exhibition in the Albury Regional Art Gallery, Dean St, Albury.