A leading group of veterinary educators has given their stamp of approval to Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) veterinary course, the first such course offered in regional Australia. The Veterinary Science Accreditation Advisory Committee which visited CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus last week has recommended accreditation for the University’s new Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree. The committee of six veterinary practitioners and academics from Australian and New Zealand universities will recommend to the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council that they provide provisional accreditation of CSU’s veterinary program. CSU’s first dedicated building for veterinary science, the $4.5 million Pre-Clinical Centre for teaching anatomy and physiology, was formally handed over to staff and students last week. Professor Kym Abbott, Director of Veterinary Science at CSU, said the accreditation committee praised the high quality of staff and facilities and the strong support given to the new program by the University.

The Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Andrew Vann, will host the 2013 Alumni and Community Cocktail Reception at the University in Port Macquarie on Monday 25 November. Dr Muyesser Durur, campus director of CSU in Port Macquarie, said, “This is becoming a wonderful annual event for our new campus and the University’s many alumni who live in the region. There are nearly 700 former graduates from all faculties and campuses who live on the Mid North Coast, so it is a great opportunity for them to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and consolidate and extend their professional and social networks. The event is also an opportunity for the University to acknowledge and thank the many people from the business, education and local government sectors and the wider Mid North Coast community who have been so supportive of the University in its first two years of operation. It has been a very dynamic period. The community has really embraced Charles Sturt University, which I believe has been in no small part due to the passion of the staff here and the commitment by everyone involved to share in our journey to contribute to the growth and wellbeing of the region.” The guest speaker at the event will be CSU alumnus and psychologist Mr John Nolan who has a practice in Port Macquarie.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) first professional doctorate in gerontology and a family affair will highlight the three graduation ceremonies to be held next week in Albury. Margaret Gartrell will receive a Doctor of Health Science during the afternoon ceremony on Thursday 27 April, for her research into how older people cope with pain and its implications for nursing. Meanwhile Anne Nevins will be joined by her daughters Amy and Rachel as they all receive their arts, business and health degrees during the two days of graduation ceremonies on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April. Over 500 graduates from the University’s five faculties will receive their degrees during the three ceremonies to be held in Albury-Wodonga, joined by their parents and friends from around Australia.

Rising energy costs and living and learning in a clean environment have continued to influence the design of the new School of Business building proposed for Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Albury-Wodonga Campus. "As with previous construction on our Thurgoona site, the University is looking to reduce the cost of energy used in large public buildings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production," said Head of the Albury-Wodonga Campus, Professor Gail Whiteford. "One innovative feature of this building will be its insulation. Whereas most inland Australian buildings have their insulation inside, the new building will be like an 'esky', with insulation on the outside and the main support structures inside. This aims to reduce the fluctuation of temperature inside and drastically cut the need for heating and cooling, something we have learnt from our previous buildings." Plans for the $3 million, two-storey office building, which follows research by CSU staff into the existing buildings on the Thurgoona site, will be presented to Albury City Council next week. They will also be on public display during the Thurgoona Futures Festival to be held this Saturday 27 May on CSU's Thurgoona site.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Dr Keith Nesbitt’s research on a design pattern for complex systems has won him a 12-month postdoctoral appointment to the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI) in Boston, USA. Dr Nesbitt, a lecturer in Information Technology at CSU, has been working in the relatively new field of science known as complex systems. The study of complex systems is about understanding indirect effects and the problems we find difficult to solve. They have causes and effects that are not obviously related. Examples of complex systems include beehives, ant colonies and even the stockmarket, as well as the human brain. NECSI, where Dr Nesbitt will be based, is an independent non-profit educational and research institution dedicated to advancing the study of complex systems. NECSI was established as a collaboration of faculty from Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Brandeis and other academic institutions. “I’m keen to take my research to the next level. That would be the ultimate goal: to try and understand what they call the theory of the mind”, said Dr Nesbitt.

Charles Sturt University graduate David Ford has won the Great Australian Story Challenge with his short film, A Little Bit of Magic. David graduated this year with a Bachelor of Arts (Television Production), and will now spend three months working with Australian Story at ABC TV. “I have a lot of respect for both the program and the ABC. I feel I have the capacity to make good stories, but it is also knowing how to work within a particular production environment. I don’t know where it will take me or what it will hold but it is looking optimistic.” A Little Bit of Magic tells the story of Cliff Armitage, who had an amazing career change since being involved in the gun control policy formation after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. David says making the film was a challenge “because I was doing the lighting, sound and camera, as well as producing and directing and researching”. Last year David filmed a travelogue documentary about his time spent at an African AIDS orphanage, which airs in July on cable TV in Australia, and later in New Zealand and Indonesia.