A charity to support the families of children receiving medical treatment in Wagga Wagga will benefit from the generosity of construction workers from the National Life Sciences Hub project at Charles Sturt University (CSU). The project’s contractor, Joss Construction will donate $2 500 to Ronald McDonald House Wagga Wagga at 10am on Monday 7 May. The money has been raised by gold coin donations during fortnightly barbecues involving Joss Construction and sub-contractors working on the large complex since late 2010. Joss Construction hosted the regular barbecues to coincide with Site Safety Meetings. The $45 million National Life Sciences Hub is due to be handed over to the University’s Faculty of Science by July. It includes teaching laboratories, a research complex, glasshouses and controlled environment facilities for plant growth. The project has been jointly funded by the Federal Government as part of the Education Investment Fund and CSU.

The future of the trade union movement in Australia is the topic of a public lecture to be presented in Bathurst on Wednesday 2 May. Ms Cassandra Coleman, a union delegate with the Public Service Association, will highlight parallels between the failed and unpopular ‘Work Choices’ legislation enacted by the federal Howard Coalition government and similar legislation of the current O’Farrell government in NSW. “We were justified in opposing ‘Work Choices’ through our ‘Rights at Work’ campaign, and we are just as right in opposing the so-called O’Farrell reforms,” Ms Coleman said. The speaker will also address the problems caused by increasing casualisation in the workplace, and how unions can engage with their members, non-members in industries, and the wider community. “I will also discuss the future of the union movement in the current and recent political environments found in Australia,” she said. The lecture will be held between 1pm and 2.30pm in Room 324 of building C3 on CSU in Bathurst.

Past graduates of Charles Sturt University (CSU) who live in Albury, Wodonga and surrounding areas are invited to an informal gathering in Albury on Monday evening 14 May. Alumni of all ages and backgrounds can attend a cocktail evening to catch up with friends and possibly make new contacts, while also hearing from three accomplished CSU alumni and staff: Assistant Commissioner at the Australian Tax Office, Ms Debra Unsworth; current Deputy Chancellor of Charles Sturt University and former senior manager with NSW TAFE, Ms Kathryn Pitkin; and, CSU psychology lecturer, researcher and avowed sceptic, Dr Krissy Wilson. The event will start at 6pm at The Bended Elbow, 480 Dean Street, Albury, with finger food and drinks provided. People intending to attend can register with CSU Alumni, and follow the Events links.

At first glance mistletoe might seem to be a destructive weed but Charles Sturt University (CSU) ecologist Associate Professor David Watson will explore the role the parasitic plant plays in promoting biodiversity at a seminar in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 2 May. The National Wine and Grape Industry Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga will host the seminar titled, Parasitic plants as drivers of ecological communities: patterns, predictions, processes. In his presentation, Professor Watson will pull together a decade of research on mistletoe ecology in southern Australia. “The word parasite has nasty connotations to it but rather than being negative or even neutral, in natural systems parasitic plants may be disproportionately important to biodiversity,” he said. “This may provide land managers with a new tool to boost the value of remnant habitats for wildlife and maximise ecosystem functionality in modified landscapes.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher has been appointed to a new position to help her colleagues tackle the world of electronic research. Ms Penny Cooke is the University’s new eResearch Analyst for Intersect,  the peak body in NSW to coordinate expertise in electronic Research for NSW universities and public and private sector research agencies. In the increasingly globalised world of research, Intersect aims to increase the quality, efficiency and visibility of NSW based research. CSU joined Intersect in early 2012. Director of Research at CSU, Associate Professor Andrea Bishop said, "Charles Sturt University is keen to deepen its relationship with Intersect, particularly to pursue larger collaborative projects that address the needs of rural and regional researchers. As our eResearch Analyst, Penny is now the primary link between Charles Sturt University and Intersect.” Ms Cooke’s role includes advice and support for CSU researchers using eResearch; access to Intersect services; and access to and advocacy in the various national eResearch bodies.

Grounds staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) eagerly await the new-look business awards in Wagga Wagga later this month. CSU has been named as one of the finalists in the 2012 Crow Awards, hosted by the Wagga Business Chamber, on Friday 18 May. The staff have been nominated for a new category of Disability Employer of the Year. In the University’s Division of Facilities Management, the grounds and janitor staff, are responsible for the upkeep of approximately 200 buildings as well as facilities, such as sports ovals, gardens and lawns at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Campus Services Manager at CSU in Wagga Wagga Mr Terry O’Meara said, “We have actively sought out staff with disabilities for employment within our group. Morale and work performance appears to be higher as the group has genuinely put time into training the new staff and ensuring we have a cohesive team.”

Acting students from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) are to train in the Chekhov and Stanislavski technique with a Russian director with an unbroken link to the two great men themselves. Leonid Verzub was a long-term student of Maria Knebel, an assistant to Konstantin Stanislavski and friend and collaborator with Mikhail Chekhov, Anton Chekhov’s nephew. In 1979 Leonid Verzub was awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Russia and Theatre Director of the Highest Category. He visited CSU’s Wagga Wagga campus yesterday (Monday 20 November) at the behest of his former student Dr Ashley Wain who is now a lecturer in the CSU’s VPA. Verzub was here to meet the acting and design students with whom he will work next year when he directs the Australian premiere of Stars in the Morning Sky at the Riverina Playhouse. “It is a really rare opportunity for the students to work with someone who is a master director in one of the strongest and richest theatrical traditions in the world,” said Dr Wain.

High school students will get to experience the world of Nursing and Paramedics at university when Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst holds a special MyDay event on Tuesday 15 May. MyDay offers high school students the unique opportunity to experience a day in the life of a university student. More than 60 students who have expressed a particular interest in studying Nursing and Paramedics will experience a session in the Simulation Clinics and other activities as well as a campus tour and key information on support available to make their goals achievable. CSU has submitted an application to the Regional Priorities Round of the Education Investment Fund (EIF) for $63.6 million to expand health programs including Nursing and Paramedics.

Four students from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Ontario in Canada have arrived in Dubbo to work at Dubbo South and Buninyong Primary schools as part of their studies. Ms Jaclyn Craig, Ms Bobbi-Sue Airdrie, Mr Andrew Petruccelli, and Ms Natalia Yarmak will work at the school as part of their Bachelor of Primary Education Studies. Two more students, Ms Amanda Waugh and Mr Marcus Johnson, have been placed at schools in Bathurst. Ms Waugh says she is enjoying her stay. “We are all loving it here and just had our first day yesterday at the schools,” she said. “It was great to meet everyone.  We have found so many similarities but also so many cool differences.” The students will be in Australia until Friday 25 May.