Before sunrise, a dedicated group of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students are focussed on evaluating the quality of meat carcasses. The students enrolled in animal, equine, agricultural and veterinary sciences arrive at companies like Cargill Beef Australia and Knights Meats in Wagga Wagga and the Junee Abattoir as early as six o’clock in the morning to learn about carcass evaluation and meat quality.  The student group is led by CSU’s carcass evaluation expert and fifth year Veterinary Science student Mr Richard Sanders.  “The importance of maintaining the flow of trained young experts in the speciality field of Meat Science to service the needs of the beef, sheep and pork industries is not lost on these companies,” said CSU Professor of Animal Production Peter Wynn. “The companies willingly make their facilities available each year for the education of our students.” The students will attend a carcass evaluation workshop sponsored by Meat and Livestock Australia in Armidale in early July.  They will then have a chance to participate in an elite national training workshop and selection in an Australian team to compete in international carcass evaluation competitions.  “None of these opportunities would be possible without the support of the management of these companies,” said Professor Wynn.  

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.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student who has also studied with the TAFE NSW Riverina Institute has been recognised for his achievements at the WorldSkills National Competition held recently in Sydney. Mr Aaron Talbot, who studied jointly with CSU and TAFE NSW Riverina Institute in Albury, was part of the highly successful Riverina/Murray team that competed against the most highly skilled young people in Australia. Mr Talbot, who worked for WHK in Albury, received the Gold Medal in Information Technology (IT) PC Networking Support at the competition.  He has received one of only 17 nationally competitive BBM Limited Scholarships for young people in any trade who are highly skilled and show leadership qualities. The scholarship includes study in the United Kingdom (UK) to take part in a leadership program as well as overseas work placements.

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.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) student Mr Daniel Flavel has returned to his studies after receiving a prestigious Rural Pharmacy Student Award and attending the National Rural Health Alliance Conference in Cairns in May. The second year pharmacy student was nominated for the award by his lecturers at CSU for dedication to his studies. “Daniel is a country boy who, after graduating, is intending to work as a pharmacist in rural Australia,” said lecturer with the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU at Orange, Dr Heather Robinson. “We believed he would benefit greatly by attending the conference.” The Rural Pharmacy Student Award is an initiative of the Rural Pharmacy Workforce Program (RPWP), established in recognition of the key role pharmacists play in maintaining the health of all Australians, particularly in rural and remote Australia.

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.

The attendance of a number of international and national guests at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) commemorative dinner on Tuesday 2 June to celebrate CSU’s 20th anniversary has been hailed as a demonstration of the scope and extent of the University’s relationships. Countries such as China, Indonesia, South Korea and Pakistan were well represented at the event, along with Australian dignitaries including the NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, the architect of the current higher education system and former Hawke and Keating Government Minister, Mr John Dawkins and NSW Department of Primary Industries Director-General, Dr Richard Sheldrake. “It was also a pleasure to have representatives of regional local governments at the dinner and an honour to have Bathurst Regional Council Mayor Councillor Paul Toole speak on the economic impact of CSU on its campus cities,” said Head of Campus, Bathurst Mr Col Sharp “The anniversary dinner and recent events such as graduation and the Charles Sturt Foundation scholarship awards ceremony have brought many people to Bathurst, staying in our hotels, motels and guest houses, dining in our restaurants and spending in our shopping centres,” said Mr Sharp.  

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.