A program to advance Charles Sturt University (CSU) as a leader in higher education teaching and learning will be launched in Bathurst on Tuesday 17 September. CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Garry Marchant, said, “Given the ongoing growth of student numbers and evolution of the higher education sector due to theoretical and technological developments, the launch of ‘Smart Learning’ will enable a stronger professionalised teaching focus to improve student engagement and maintain high-quality teaching standards at the University. With the implementation of Smart Learning, Charles Sturt University will lead the way in higher education learning and teaching innovation.” Information about Smart Learning and the next steps in establishing this program will be presented at the launch at The Grange, CSU in Bathurst at 3pm on Tuesday 17 September.

The phrase ‘You deserve a medal’ will ring true for some long-serving staff members at Charles Sturt University (CSU) this week. CSU Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Andrew Vann will present medals to six staff for 30 and 20 years of service to the University and its predecessor institutions. Among those receiving a medal is former Head of the University’s School of Education in Wagga Wagga and researcher with the Centre for Indigenous Studies and Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education, Associate Professor Ros Brennan-Kemmis, AM, for her 20 years of service. “In these 20 years Charles Sturt University has grown and matured as a regional and international university. It has been a wonderful place to work full of opportunities and wonderful colleagues and friends,” she said. “Every morning as I walked to my office from the car park I thought of the amazing privileges that the University provided and the opportunities for teaching and research that have enriched my life in so many ways.” Professor Vann will present the medals to the staff over lunch in the Chancellor's Room in the Convention Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga from noon on Wednesday 11 September.

The assessment of the sustainability goals at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will be revealed at the launch of an Environmental Scorecard on Thursday 12 September. Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, said the assessment, which was conducted at all CSU campuses as part of the strategy to reduce energy consumption and waste, and enhance the University’s sustainability, is a work-in-progress. “Like all Charles Sturt University campuses, Bathurst has continued to grow, and this assessment is relative to 2006 when the University embarked on this CSU Green initiative and the baseline data was recorded,” Mr Sharp said. “Electricity consumption plateaued in 2012, with overall electricity consumption remaining fairly consistent since 2009. Overall, gas consumption on the main campus has plateaued as well. There was an increase in water consumption in 2012 compared to 2011, which is mostly attributed to the significantly hot, early summer experienced on the campus in late 2012. Bathurst proved to be the showcase in terms of waste management in 2012 when it transitioned to a new waste collection system which significantly increased the amount of commingled recyclables that are being diverted from landfill. This also freed staff for other duties that were previously diverted to collecting waste.”

A free public lecture about sexuality and spirituality will be delivered at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Friday 13 September. The public lecture, titled ‘Eros, Intimacy and the Mind of God’, will be presented by Dr Patricia Weerakoon, an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, and is co-hosted by the CSU Bathurst Christian Students club and Bathurst Presbyterian Church as part of a larger weekend-long event. One of the event organisers, Mr Jonty Perrett, said, “Dr Weerakoon will explore recent scientific research on sexual desire (eros), attraction (love) and long-term attachment (bonding), and the relationship of this research to the teaching of the Bible. Everyone is welcome, and there will be a question and answer panel following the lecture.” The ‘Eros, Intimacy and the Mind of God’ public lecture is at 7.30pm on Friday 13 September in building S15, room 2.23, CSU in Bathurst. The evening will conclude with tea, coffee and supper and the opportunity to discuss the topic with Dr Weerakoon. For more information contact Mr Jonty Perrett on mobile 0404 975 499 or send an email.

The Australian Red Cross mobile blood donation service will be at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst next week. The Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, encourages CSU staff, students and members of the Bathurst community to make a donation if possible. “Most of us now know the stats,” said Mr Sharp. “One in three Australians will need blood at some time, but only one in 30 donates. We also know that donated blood helps a wide range of people,” he added, “but collectively many who can donate just don’t make the time – even though they want to. Many of our students and staff donate, but we simply need more blood. I therefore invite members of the Bathurst community to help out - it only takes a phone call to make an appointment and 45 minutes to donate.  We’d love to see more locals come onto campus to donate.” Anyone wishing to donate blood can make an appointment online or phone the Australian Red Cross on 13 14 95. The service will operate from Monday 16 to Thursday 19 September outside the CD Blake Auditorium, building E1 on Village Drive, CSU in Bathurst.

With the car traffic growing around Thurgoona and on its campus, Charles Sturt University (CSU) recently completed research to study how staff and students travelled to and from the Albury-Wodonga campus and why they travelled the way they did. Research project coordinator and social researcher Dr Shelby Gull Laird said many CSU staff and students indicated they would like to ride a bicycle or ride a bus instead or driving their car, but not all of them. Convenience and necessity were the main reasons that over 60 per cent of travellers chose their car as their main means of getting to work and study at CSU. Only five per cent currently travel by bicycle and six per cent by bus. “With over 20 per cent of respondents travelling from outside Albury-Wodonga city limits to work and study, this provides a barrier to a large increase in the use of buses and bikes. However, a number of people who live in Albury-Wodonga said they used their bikes or bus as their ‘second’ mode of transport, so we need to see what it will take to make them change their main modes of transport out to Thurgoona,” Mr Maher said. The research will help point to ways that show how CSU can become carbon ‘neutral’ by 2015. The research was carried out in 2012 and 2013 by Dr Gull Laird and Dr Rosemary Black from CSU’s School of Environmental Sciences.

The quest to capture the quintessential image of Wangaratta has led to a number of high quality images which also highlight the growing partnership between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Goulburn Ovens TAFE (GOTAFE) in the region. GOTAFE design students have captured photographic images of Wangaratta to assist with marketing the presence and courses of CSU in Wangaratta. A prize of $100 per image has been provided by CSU for the competition, which was won by Ms Cassandra Pollock, Ms Paige Milne and Mr Phillip Watt, who will receive their prizes at GOTAFE in Wangaratta on Wednesday 11 September. Manager of CSU’s Wangaratta centre Ms Robyn Farley said: “This is another example of the strength of the GOTAFE-CSU partnership, where we can work together to maximise opportunities and outcomes for regional students”. GOTAFE photography teacher Warren Tait, added “The quality of the images taken by these students was excellent, and evidence of their skills in understanding a photography design brief and then taking images to meet that brief”.

An icon of Australian science will celebrate 100 years of scientific discovery in regional Australia at a public lecture on Thursday 15 August at the Albury Entertainment Centre. Writer, broadcaster and former federal science minister, Dr Barry Jones, will present a free public lecture as part of National Science Week to the residents of Albury-Wodonga. Dr Jones is the only person to be elected as a Fellow of Australia’s four Learned Societies representing science, engineering, humanities and social sciences. He served in state and federal parliaments from 1972 to 1998, while also serving as national president of the Australian Labor Party and representing Australia on various international committees in science and the economy. This lecture concludes National Science Week activities for 2013 planned by the Albury Wodonga Astronomical Society in collaboration with Charles Sturt University.

A forum for candidates in the Calare electorate for the 2013 federal election is being convened by a student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Tuesday 13 August. Mr Jeremy Rubel, a first-year theatre/media student at the School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst took the initiative to host the ‘Q&A’-style forum in order to help answer people’s questions about the candidates’ and their parties’ vision for Australia’s future and how they hope to attain it. Mr Rubel said, “I want to remind people, especially my peers at the University, that we do not live in a two-party democracy, and that there are other choices that we can make if we feel inclined. More importantly, our votes will not be wasted if we choose a party that isn’t ‘the big two’. The candidates at the forum will be expected to answer questions prepared by a panel of students, as well as questions asked directly by the audience. Everyone, not just students, is invited, as this is a perfect chance for people in the Calare electorate to get to know the candidates available to them.”