Charles Sturt University (CSU) has signed on to the Bathurst Breast Screen Business Challenge and is encouraging its female staff aged 40 and over to take the opportunity for a free breast screening examination during paid working hours throughout July. Occupational, Health and Safety Manager at CSU, Mr David Tallentire, said, “Charles Sturt University takes its commitment to staff health and safety very seriously, and we are proud to participate in this important initiative in partnership with BreastScreen NSW and other local businesses. The University recognises the significant impact breast cancer has on Australian woman and their families. Breast cancer is the number one cancer killer of women in Australia, with one in eight women being diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. The early detection or identification of breast cancers can have significant benefits to the health outcomes of a diagnosed woman.” The screening only takes around 15 minutes to complete. To make an appointment, contact BreastScreen NSW on 13 20 50.

The biennial ArtStart Youth Arts and Skills program aims to develop the performance skills of young people aged 12 to 24 years across the NSW Central West. This year’s event will employ a number of Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduates and students from the theatre/media course offered through the School of Communication at Bathurst. ArtStart  will hold a range of workshops in Condobolin, Blayney, Forbes, Oberon, Orange and Parkes during the July school holidays. Ms Zoe Rodwell, a CSU theatre/media graduate and ArtStart Coordinator with Arts Out West, said, “Half a dozen graduates of the theatre/media course are employed on this year’s program, and all of them are generating work and successful businesses for themselves in the creative industries in regional NSW. CSU graduates and current students are working together to pass on their skills. Some of the young people will have CSU students as mentors in event management, and other students will produce a series of short documentaries on each community project.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic has been recognised for her work in improving the clinical experience of health students at CSU at Albury-Wodonga. Ms Kristy Robson from the School of Community Health has been named winner of the 2009 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Professional Excellence for her work with the CSU Allied Health Clinic where podiatry and other students obtain clinical experience. Ms Robson has also organised joint clinics with physiotherapy students, with a similar clinic with occupational therapy students scheduled in the next semester. Ms Robson grew up in Albury, studied in Sydney, and returned to set up a private practice in Albury-Wodonga before moving to CSU. “Since we want more health professionals working in regional and rural areas, it is vital that Charles Sturt University continues to offer high quality health courses and professional experiences that develop the confidence of students to meet the challenges of working in regional and rural areas,” Ms Robson said.

The 2009 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has been presented to Central West ‘local’ Dr Jennifer Sappey, from Oberon, who came to work at Mitchell College of Advanced Education – one of CSU’s predecessor institutions - in 1974 before enrolling to study there in 1975. “For me, education is about social justice, for the individual and the wider community,” Dr Sappey said. “My commitment to education lies in its role as a social equaliser, leading me to an emphasis on bridging theory to practice and my students’ own life experiences. My disciplinary lens, industrial sociology, allows me to understand that teaching is not just something I ‘do’ but who I ‘am’, and my strong belief in Charles Sturt University as a place of inspiration and hope which changes peoples’ lives, both young and old, lies at the heart of my own story.” Dr Sappey taught at other universities before returning to CSU in 2002 to take up a role as lecturer in Management. In 2007 she was appointed to her current role as lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies at CSU at Bathurst.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Winery Cellar Door at Wagga Wagga has again been named as a finalist in the annual Inland NSW Tourism Awards. The Cellar Door is one of the finalists in the Riverina region of the 2009 Inland NSW Tourism Awards. The winners will be named at a dinner at the Crossing Theatre in Narrabri NSW on Saturday 25 July. The Cellar Door sells wine and offers tastings from the University’s own range of premium table, fortified and sparkling wines. Since its inception in 1977, the Winery has won numerous trophies and medals in national wine shows. The winery has been rated as a 4.5 star winery in the 2009 and 2008 James Halliday Wine Companion and was a finalist in the 2008 Inland NSW Tourism Awards. “It’s a great achievement to once again be named as a finalist in these awards considering the number of cellar door’s in operation in inland NSW,” said Cellar Door Manager Mr Richard Lawson. “The award recognises the Winery’s contribution to local and regional tourism, as well as the extensive range of CSU wine, cheese and olive oil products available for tasting and sales. It also recognises the hard work of our dedicated Cellar Door team.”  

The success of the inaugural equine school held during the Easter school holiday break at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Orange has prompted organiser Ms Cheryl Gander to continue the program. The next school will be held from Tuesday 21 to Friday 24 July. “All the participants enjoyed themselves immensely and came away feeling they had learned valuable horsemanship skills as well as new handling techniques and a better understanding of the general welfare and nutrition of their equine friends,” said Ms Gander from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences. The four-day school, run by highly regarded and qualified instructors, caters for all age groups and experience levels. The Equine Centre at CSU at Orange even has a selection of quiet horses that are available for hire during the school. The closing date for enrolment applications for the July school is Monday 13 July. For enquiries please phone Ms Gander on 02 63657 850 or mobile 0417 665 324.

The shift in counselling technique from focussing on a client’s problem and where the problem originated from, to concentrating on solutions to the issue has been highlighted in a new book by Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic and counsellor, Ms Stephanie Johnson. Solution focused counselling... Keeping it Real, discusses the philosophy of solution focused counselling, now used in most government and non-government agencies, particularly in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. The eBook provides step-by-step examples of the techniques and principles of solution focused. “This is a book for therapists, social workers, psychologists and allied health professionals in the brief family therapy,” said Ms Johnson. “This is a book for those who are interested in using solution focus in their work and want to know more. Solution focused counselling fitted my counselling approach perfectly. It maintains that the client is the expert in their own life and that the problem is the problem; the client is not the problem. This book is the accumulation of 14 years of counselling practice - I felt that there was a gap in the market for information for beginning practitioners around solution focused counselling.”  

When the week-long live-to-air music festival Sounds Live returns to Bathurst community radio station 2MCE from Saturday 1 to Friday 7 August, the performances will be recorded for distribution to community radio stations around Australia. Ms Michelle O’Connor, Programming and Production Coordinator at 2MCE, said the station recently received a grant from the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (AMRAP) to produce a compilation CD of local musicians from the Sounds Live concerts for distribution nationally via AMRAP and the Community Radio Network (CRN). “The AMRAP funding comes from the Federal Government and is managed through the Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF). We are very pleased to be part of this project and look forward to sharing the great musical talent from the Bathurst region with the rest of Australia,” said Ms O’Connor. In 2009 Sounds Live will feature two live concerts for the Bathurst community.  

Half-way through her veterinary science studies at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga, Ms Simone Lee is putting her scholarship funds to good use. Ms Lee from Mathoura, between Deniliquin and Echuca, won the 2009 Greenham Dairy Scholarship worth $10 000. The funds are being used by the CSU student to meet the costs of the practical experience in her course such as accommodation and travel, including four weeks work in the field in 2009. She has undertaken placements at her home town of Mathoura in NSW as well as in Corryong and Tatura in Victoria. “I spent one year on a dairy farm before starting my degree at CSU in 2007 and it is there that I developed a strong interest in working with dairy cattle,” said Ms Lee. “This generous scholarship has made a big difference to my life  of study and work at CSU.” The annual scholarship, offered by H W Greenham and Sons in Tongala, Victoria, aims to promote education within the dairy industry and to encourage people to undertake further studies and make a commitment to the industry.