A significant funding increase from Charles Sturt University (CSU) for higher degree research places has resulted in a large intake of doctoral and Master students in the University’s School of Environmental Sciences, working with supervisors in the Institute for Land, Water and Society. Eight students from as far as Mexico, Bhutan, Zimbabwe, China and USA have joined nine students from around Australia in full-time and part-time studies on the Albury-Wodonga Campus, with topics ranging from yak herders in Bhutan to snow leopard conservation in Nepal. ILWS Director Professor Max Finlayson said the number of international students at ILWS highlighted the quality of research undertaken at the University. “Many issues we face in the Murray Darling Basin are faced around the world. We are part of a world group of scientists addressing issues on the local and global stage,” Professor Finlayson said. Most of these students will be welcomed to the Institute during an ‘Aussie’ morning tea commencing at 10.30am on Thursday 9 August.

Slip-sliding slapstick action will be centre stage at the Ponton Theatre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst when the physical theatre production Too Bloody Right hits the boards from Thursday 9 to Saturday 11 August. The production by second-year theatre/media students is directed by Mr Daniel Aubin, lecturer in theatre/media at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst. “Too Bloody Right is the outcome of a five-week process, exploring the role of human rights in our modern society through a mixture of acrobatics, table-sliding, ‘mockumentary’, and food puppetry,” Mr Aubin said. “It uses comedy to look at a serious topic. The show is a lot of fun, and features a spectacular table-sliding circus act.” Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for non-students at the door for a 7.30pm start.

The independent federal member for New England, Mr Tony Windsor, MP, will be the guest speaker at the biennial Tony McGrane Memorial Scholarship Dinner at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Monday 24 September. The Acting Head of Campus at CSU in Dubbo, Dr Patricia Logan, said, “We are delighted that Mr Windsor has agreed to speak at the dinner. As a rural independent like Mr McGrane, Mr Windsor brings a regional perspective and voice to policy deliberations, and his contribution as guest speaker at the dinner will provide insight into some of the topical issues confronting the nation.” Mr McGrane, OAM, was a former Mayor of Dubbo (1991-99) and was subsequently the independent Member for Dubbo in the NSW Parliament. The memorial scholarship fund was established in his name in 2010 to ensure that students from western NSW are able to gain a university education. Tickets for the dinner are on sale for $130 per head. To purchase, please contact Ms Christine Stewart at CSU on (02) 6885 7370.

Emeritus Professor John Dwyer, AO, will deliver a public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 5 September in support of the University’s bid to establish a new rural medical school to boost the supply of ‘doctors for the bush’. Professor Dwyer is the founder of the Australian Health Care Reform, and has been working with CSU to establish a medical school in regional areas. He has championed the resurgence of clinician governance in Australia, is involved in efforts to create structural reform within the Australian health care delivery system, and is adamant that health outcomes for rural Australians are just not acceptable in such a wealthy nation. The Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, will host the free public lecture and says, “Bathurst Campus is delighted to host this presentation by Professor Dwyer – a national leader in health care provision, who speaks with authority on health care outcomes for rural Australians. This is a chance for the Bathurst community to hear first hand about the state of rural health care and what needs to be done - from someone who really knows. I urge everyone with an interest in this issue to attend to hear Professor Dwyer and to have their questions answered.” The public lecture will be at 6pm on Wednesday 5 September at the James Hardie Room, Centre for Professional Development at CSU in Bathurst. Refreshments will be served. RSVP by Friday 31 August to Ms Julie Brabham on (02) 6338 4645 or send an email. 

The Politics of Water - What Are the Real Issues? is the topic of a Politics in the Pub discussion by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Professor Shahbaz Khan in Sydney on Friday 10 November. Internationally regarded for his work in hydrology and water management, Professor Khan joined the University in the middle of 2004 when CSIRO Land and Water and CSU jointly funded the position of Professor of Hydrology to head up work in the critical research areas of land and water management. Having worked on nearly every continent of the world, particularly in developing nations, Professor Khan is the Regional Coordinator for UNESCO’s International Hydrology Program, HELP (Hydrology Environment, Life and Policy), based at CSU. Politics in the Pub started in the Harold Park Hotel in inner-city Glebe in 1988 and forums are held at 6pm each Friday in the Gaelic Club, Devonshire Street, Surrey Hills.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will hold a MyDay to provide information to prospective students about nursing, social work, teaching, and business courses on Thursday 16 August. Ms Rebecca Morgan, a CSU prospective student adviser, said, “MyDays are an excellent forum for students to experience aspects of the discipline area they are interested in, and to find out what to expect during the course and how to apply for admission. We presently expect about 70 Year 10 and 11 students from nine schools in seven towns around the region to attend.” Schools attending include Dubbo Christian School, Dubbo College Senior Campus, Gilgandra High School, Gulgong High School, Macquarie Anglican Grammar School, Narromine High School, Mudgee High School, Peak Hill Central School, and Wellington High School.

High school students in Year 10 in the Riverina will get a taste of the range of courses available at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga in the creative industries. Known as MyDay, the two-day event on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 August has attracted 110 students from schools in Boorowa, Griffith, Leeton, Narrandera and Wagga Wagga. From 10.15am to 2.15pm, the teenagers will participate in a range of workshops covering CSU courses such as fine arts, animation, photography, graphic design, television production, acting and design for theatre and television. They will meet with CSU academics and visit the facilities in the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga, including the HR Gallop Gallery, photography studio, television studio and drama studio. Further information about courses in creative industries is available here. Read more about the University’s MyDay initiative here.

The role of women in higher education is being celebrated at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst and at universities across the country during Bluestocking Week from Monday 13 to Friday 17 August. Dr Kristina Gottschall, a lecturer at the School of Teacher Education in Bathurst, and the newly-elected President of the Bathurst sub-branch of the National Tertiary Education Union, said two events are planned. “All ‘Bluestockings’ and their supporters are invited to attend a screening of the new Australian film The Sapphires at 6.40pm on Tuesday 14 at the Metro Cinema, Bathurst, and there will be a special lunch at Café Mitchell on the University’s Bathurst Campus from 12.30pm on Wednesday 15 August ,” Dr Gottschall said. “In addition to providing a place for women, their friends and supporters in Charles Sturt University to get together, we want to stress the importance of women’s contribution to academic life, advancing feminism and equality through education and collaboration, and subverting the social constructs that narrow social roles, and women’s creativity, expression and thought. It’s essential to reconnect through such events, particularly given the tightly regulated and compressed nature of academic work life today, especially for women who tend to have higher rates of casual employment.”

Sixteen medical science students from the Fiji National University (FNU) are spending a week at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga. The group of final year students will be accompanied by their lecturer Mr Manasa Mainaqelelevu. With a theme of food and nutrition in Australia, the FNU students will attend a food and nutrition research workshop and visit local food production facilities at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 August. Their visit to Albury-Wodonga on Tuesday 14 August coincided with the 2012 Science Fair at CSU as part of National Science Week. The week-long visit is supported by the University’s School of Biomedical Sciences based in Wagga Wagga and CSU Global.