Associate Professor Terry Harden, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Wine & Food Sciences Head of School, remembers well his first few days in Wagga Wagga. “I arrived just before the 1974 big flood, so I was filling sandbags to save my newly adopted town. They hadn’t built the Boorooma Campus then. Times have changed dramatically.” Professor Harden retires soon after 32 years with CSU. He says highlights include “Getting the very first overseas course going for the University with our Hong Kong medical laboratory science students - there was no international office in those days. Also, one of our PhD students, Melanie Whitelaw, found a fungus that promotes the growth of wheat, and that was quite exciting, and another PhD student, Stephen Simpfendorfer, found bacteria that produced a potent anti-fungal agent.” Professor Harden and his wife are retiring to the Gold Coast to “get involved in community work, exercise, travel – I’ll be doing what I want to do.”

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Allied Health Clinic in Albury is seeking patients who need foot care for its final year podiatry students. Podiatry is the investigation and treatment of foot disorders, and  CSU offers the only four year podiatry degree available in Australia outside metropolitan cities. “We welcome anyone with any type of foot problem,” said Associate Professor Paul Tinley, Head of Podiatry. “We can assess and treat most foot problems and make referrals where necessary. There is a thirty dollar consultation fee, and qualified podiatrists supervise the students as part of their training.” Prospective patients can phone 6051 6922 to make an appointment at the Allied Health Clinic which is centrally located on the corner of Guinea and Olive Streets in Albury’s CBD.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has made his mark on one of Australia’s premier cycle races. Dean Windsor, who is currently studying Primary Education, won the fourth stage and came fourth overall in points in the five-day Jayco Bay Cycling Classic. The Classic is the world’s fastest criterium series according to organisers. Dean says he is delighted to have done so well. “All the professionals race this, and it is important to get a win early in the season. It is quite a top quality field and a top class event.” Next up is the Road National, a 150 kilometre race around Ballarat, and Dean says he is looking forward to a trip to Europe later this year, as well as “a few tours in Asia. My CSU lecturers are very supportive, so it is possible to combine my studies with the cycling,” he said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will soon return to the Campus towns of Albury, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst, and some will be seeking off campus accommodation, according to CSU Student Services Officer Jane Battersby. “We have VTAC and UAC rounds coming out next week, so the student demand will soon be there. We have a database of off-campus accommodation providers, from vacant rental to shared rental and board.” Colleen Poy says providing accommodation to CSU students can be very rewarding. “I started off with one house, then two and now I have five houses. I really missed my children when they left home. There’s nothing like being around young people, they never lose their enthusiasm. Every morning is a whole new day and they are up and at it. I think it’s wonderful.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) and TAFE NSW Riverina Institute will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) next week to give people in Deniliquin the opportunity to study for a Diploma-Degree in Social Work. CSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers said “We see our partnership as an important step in providing regional students with access to education. Social work is more relevant than ever to the needs of our rural and regional communities, and job prospects are very high as we are seeing gaps in service delivery accentuated by our worst drought in history.” Charles Sturt University is acknowledged as a leading provider of social work graduates. Professor Chambers and Ms Rosemary Campbell, Director of the Riverina Institute, will officially sign the MoU on behalf of their institutions. 

CSU Media wishes you all a happy and safe festive season and looks forward to working with you in 2007.

Three Charles Sturt University (CSU) students have topped the University’s sparkling wine production course in 2006. The wine science students - Sophie Houghton, Graeme Scott and Steve Balog - each received 12 bottles of wine from Domaine Chandon, Australia’s leading producer of sparkling wine. Subject Coordinator, Professor Geoff Scollary, said that the contribution of Domaine Chandon to the teaching program was a major factor in the success of the final year Sparkling Wine Production subject. “Students get the opportunity to taste wines, to blend wines ready for commercial release, and to hear from leading sparkling wine makers,” he said. The School of Wine and Food Sciences has a long history of collaboration with Domaine Chandon, with the company’s CEO, Dr Tony Jordan as the first wine science lecturer at CSU in the late 1970s.

Like a lot of Australia’s fauna, the Squirrel Glider’s habitat is being eroded by human population pressures. Now the small tree-loving marsupials are being offered new homes in a collaborative project between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Riverina TAFE. A "work-for-the-dole" team, using the TAFE workshops at Thurgoona, is currently constructing over 200 nest boxes for Squirrel Gliders, which will soon be placed in the conservation area between CSU and TAFE and other areas at Thurgoona. Three kilometres of barb wire fencing which can be hazardous to the gliders has been replaced, and five hectares of cleared land adjoining the area will be revegetated during 2007 to provide valuable food. The project will provide an important opportunity to study the habits of the sugar glider and it is also intended that local school students and Landcare groups will monitor the site.

Ms Deb Clarke, a lecturer in the School of Human Movement Studies on Charles Sturt University’s Bathurst Campus, has won the Vice-Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for 2006. Ms Clarke’s ability to engage her students and develop them into critical thinkers and life-long learners was central to her success. “I’m also the chair of the School’s Learning and Teaching Committee. The members have formal meetings where we work through issues, but also informal chats in the corridor about ‘how can I do this better? Or how can I teach that?’ If something’s not working well in my tutorials or my lectures, I will do informal evaluations with the students or ask them to write down a few things confidentially, and then try and modify as much as possible to suit their needs. I just love teaching,” said Ms Clarke.