The staff and alumni of Charles Sturt University (CSU) are saddened by news of the passing of Mr David Morrow, who lectured in law at the University’s predecessor institution, Mitchell College of Advanced Education (MCAE), in the variously named School of Business entities from 1972 to 1989. Mr Morrow died peacefully at home in Bathurst last week. Following his retirement, Mr Morrow was an active member of the CSU Foundation, helping to raise funds for the University, and served in the role of Esquire Bedell, carrying the symbolic mace for many CSU graduation ceremonies. He is also remembered as a keen bridge player and teacher, and was a foundation member and life member of the Bathurst Beef and Burgundy Club. The University extends its condolences to Mr Morrow’s family.

Supermarket botany, wine tasting, magic microscopes, water and soil testing and the multiplication of kangaroo paws using tissue culture will be on show in the Charles Sturt University (CSU) tent at the Henty Machinery Field Days. Staff and students from CSU will take visitors through hands-on and active displays that highlight various aspects of research and teaching in the University’s Faculty of Science, which is represented on its main campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Orange and Wagga Wagga. Acting Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Science, Professor Lyn Angel, says, “Charles Sturt University has a strong presence in regional Australia, and the Field Days present a key opportunity to engage with the community, listen to current issues on the land, and show some of our education and training facilities”.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will play host to a special NAIDOC Day celebration on Wednesday 21 September. The NAIDOC Day event hosted by the Barraamielinga Indigenous Student Services Unit will see invited community groups and community members such as the Dubbo Senior College ‘Indigenous Youth Leadership’ Scholars attend a BBQ lunch with the day themed Change: The next step is ours. Entertainment will feature award winning blues artist and 2011 Deadly Award nominee Buddy Knox and the Buddy Knox Blues Band, as well as local talent and 2011 Nanga Mai award winner Mr Kodi Lane. “It’s events like these that remind us of our heritage and celebrate our achievements as a community and as a nation,” said CSU Student Services Office team leader Mr Laurie Crawford. “We invite anyone to come along and enjoy the day.”

The Mitchell Student Guild at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will host the annual Kids Day Out on Saturday 24 September. The co-ordinator of this year’s Kids Day Out at CSU, Miss Alyce Woods, said, “The event will be bigger and better, and all proceeds will go to the Bathurst Base Hospital Paediatric Ward, and the local Riding for the Disabled organisation. Children can meet Dora the Explorer, and the Toy Story movie characters Buzz and Woody, and see and do much more, so we encourage parents to bring their little ones for a memorable day out.” The event will also feature kids craft making stalls, an animal petting zoo, jumping castles, barbeque and food stalls, candy and show bags, sack, three-legged, and egg-and-spoon races, a stage with various local performers, raffles, colouring competitions, roving performers, face painting, an ambulance, a fire truck and a police car.

No doubt it is a very nice accolade when a national newspaper describes your latest film as “shaping up as the year's top Australian comedy”. However, director and Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate Darren Ashton says, “Although we are really chuffed at the response, at the end of the day the most important thing is that people go and see it”. The idea for Razzle Dazzle grew out of a short story written by Darren’s partner, and fellow CSU graduate, Carolyn Wilson. Described as “a fly-on-the-wall look at the tears, tantrums and tiaras in the world of competitive dance eisteddfods”, it was filmed in the “mockumentary” style because, “The dance world is really heightened, and I wanted to balance that with being observational and understated,” said Darren, whose debut feature film was Thunderstruck. His next project is a wrestling film set in the 1970s.

Awards for excellence in research, teaching, leadership, innovation and sustainability are just some of the honours to be presented to Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff by Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann during the coming week. The 2012 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards will be handed out at two ceremonies in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 15 August and in Bathurst on Monday 20 August. The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence will be presented to Dr Jade Forwood from the School of Biomedical Sciences in Wagga Wagga. Dr Stephen Bird from the School of Human Movement Studies in Bathurst will receive the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Professor Excellence. The Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence will be presented to Dr Geoff Burrows from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences in Wagga Wagga. The presentation ceremonies will be held from 1pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 15 August, Convention Centre, CSU in Wagga Wagga and from 1pm to 3.30pm on Monday 20 August, James Hardie Room, Centre for Professional Development, CSU in Bathurst.

A public forum discussing how people in north east Victoria and southern NSW can respond to climate change and the positions of Victoria’s major political parties on this critical issue will be presented by Monday 20 November. Hosted by Charles Sturt University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS) and La Trobe University, speakers include four candidates for the Victorian seat of Benambra for the up-coming Victorian State election: Bill Baxter (Nationals), Lisa Mahood (Labor), Helen Robinson (Greens) and Bill Tilley (Liberal), as well as a scientist who will discuss the predicted impacts of climate change on this region. Starting at 6pm, light refreshments will be available at the close of the forum at 7.30pm. The forum will be held in the Main Lecture Theatre, La Trobe University, University Drive, Wodonga.

Policies aimed at increasing the pace of developing renewable energies could accelerate global warming, according to Dr Rod Duncan, a lecturer in economics at Charles Sturt University. It wouldn’t be the first time regulations have had the opposite of the desired effect. When US Congress introduced the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, Detroit car makers responded by producing petrol-guzzling SUVs. And when Mexico City implemented no-drive days where a car could only be used every other day, the citizens reacted by buying a second car. “Air quality in Mexico City got worse, because the second car tended to be an old bomb,” said Dr Duncan. And what does all this have to do with alternative energies? “If cheaper alternatives are being developed, oil producers will have an incentive to pump oil faster and sell it cheaper. The renewables could be worth it in the long run, but at least temporarily, you may actually make the global warming problem worse.”

Residential students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange raised more than $2 000 for the Orange and District Early Education Program (ODEEP) with a “Great Gatsby’ themed ball recently. The ODEEP centre is a community based, not for profit early childhood intervention service for young children with disabilities or delays in their development. Earlier this year the students presented the centre with $2 500 in funds raised through chocolate sales and other activities. Residential Coordinator Terri-Lee Duffy said the students were supported in fundraising for the ball through many local businesses offering prizes for the night and items to auction. “The major sponsor for the night was Harvey Norman Electrical who generously donated a flat-screen television. The Orange business community, and the community in general, have been very supportive,” she said. The ball raised more than $2 000, bringing the students fundraising efforts for the centre this year to nearly $5 000.