The annual exhibition by graduating photography students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga is predicted to be the largest show in its five year history. Twenty Bachelor of Arts (Photography) students from the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU will exhibit up to 60 photographs, ranging in size from one to two metres wide at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery from Friday 19 October to Sunday 9 December. Photography and digital imaging lecturer Mr James Holcombe said, “The exhibition has become a much-anticipated event on the local Art Gallery calendar. Opening nights last year and in 2010 attracted crowds of more than 300 people.” Lucid: CSU Photography Graduation Exhibition will be officially opened by CSU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann at 6pm on Saturday 20 October. The photography students are due to graduate from CSU in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 11 December. One exhibitor, Mr Jacob Raupach said, “This exhibition will be an excellent opportunity to see out the course with a big community event. I am extremely proud to be exhibiting my work alongside some really talented photographers."

The cohort of nursing graduates from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will be farewelled with a luncheon by staff and fellow students from the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health on Thursday 11 October. Lecturer in nursing, Ms Cathy Maginnis, said the 17 students graduating from CSU in Dubbo are among 163 students across the University’s five campuses who are graduating from the Bachelor of Nursing in December. “This is the 11th year of internal nursing graduates from Charles Sturt University in Dubbo,” Ms Maginnis said. “The students are primarily mature-age women who have juggled family, employment and study. We also have two males in the group, and students who have travelled each week to attend classes from regional towns such as Coonabarabran, Tooraweenah, and Gilgandra. All have offers of new graduate nursing positions to commence in 2013, so this will be a great boost to our regional registered nurse workforce. They aim to work in a variety of discipline specialisations including medical, surgical, emergency, intensive care, and paediatrics. The majority will take up roles in Dubbo and the surrounding areas of Coonabarabran, Gilgandra and Wellington, and one student will practice in Orange.”

The dream of a person with communication impairment has lead to a community project to improve assistance for this group by Border businesses. A group of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students are helping client tutor Margaret Bashford to develop a booklet for Border businesses so they are better prepared to work with people with communication impairments. The third year speech pathology students at CSU have already surveyed some pharmacists, banks and doctors' surgeries to assess their awareness of people with communication impairments, with some organisations requesting further training and advice in this area. The students are now seeking comments from people with communication impairments to rate Albury health, education and business organisation on the service and consideration they receive. “Something as simple as an individualised business communication book, which includes product pictures and prices, can improve service and make shopping a lot easier for people with a communication disability," said CSU student Jennifer Robinson. The survey results will be used to help develop a book or training program to help fulfil Margaret’s dream and help businesses better assist people with communication impairment.

United States Consul General Mr Niels Marquardt will be immersed in environmental sustainability when he visits the award winning campus of Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga on Wednesday 10 October. Hosted by the University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Vann, and Head of Albury-Wodonga Campus, Professor Julia Coyle, Mr Marquardt will view the environmentally friendy features of the Thurgoona site, from the energy-saving buildings to extensive water-saving management facilties and dry composting toilets. “We are proud of Charles Sturt University’s environmentally sensitive campus in Albury-Wodonga and we want to show what can be done with ingenuity and thoughtful investment over a number of years,” Professor Vann said. During his visit, Mr Marquardt will also meet with CSU staff and students, some of whom recently completed overseas clinical work in Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Albury’s teaching community will celebrate ten years of student research and dedication at the 2006 ECON conference, hosted by final year early childhood education students with Charles Sturt University’s Murray School of Education on Friday 3 November. The annual educational conference, for primary school teachers, early childhood educators and interested parents in the Border region, will address such questions as: Is childhood becoming extinct? Who's watching their weight? Is homework of value in primary school? and What are the challenges for beginning teachers? Guest speakers as this 10th anniversary meeting include former ABC TV Play School presenter Benita Collings and early childhood education experts Sue Dockett and Susan Groundwater-Smith. The conference, to be held between 11am and 3.30pm, will cost $12 on the day and includes a barbeque lunch and afternoon tea. It will be staged in the Cliff Blake Theatres on CSU Albury-Wodonga Campus, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

An experienced education manager has been appointed the inaugural manager of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Wangaratta Study Centre. Ms Robyn Farley, who has lived on a small mixed farm near Chesney Vale since 2001, has previously worked for the University of Wollongong and Goulburn Ovens TAFE (GOTAFE) and has postgraduate qualifications in applied science and in education. "I believe it is vital that we enhance opportunities for regional students to undertake quality tertiary education studies locally, and that this can be done through educational partnerships such as the one recently formed between Charles Sturt University and GOTAFE in Wangaratta,” Ms Farley said.  The Wangaratta Study Centre will offer CSU degrees in agriculture and agricultural business management from 2013 to vocational education and training diploma holders who have completed appropriate courses. “We are looking to offer other higher education programs at Wangaratta in coming years, including nursing from 2014,” Ms Farley said.

Stage Door is set to cap off a successful year of productions for the University Theatre Ensemble. Opening this Friday 3 November, the play will be the final Riverina Playhouse production for third year Charles Sturt University (CSU) Acting for Screen and Stage students. Set in post-Depression 1930s New York, it is the tale of the show that closes early, of talent unrecognized, and the attraction of motion pictures and fast money. Director Bagryana Popov said it is a play about integrity and true love of the theatre. “Not much has changed from then to today. The world of the actor is as magical as it is fragile. It takes a lot of strength to hold on and to keep going, no matter what.” Stage Door was written by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman in 1936. The stage hit, notable for its predominantly female cast, became a hit movie in 1937 featuring a cast that included Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball and Eve Arden. It drew much praise and critical acclaim for the sparkling dialogue, excellent performances and easy shifts between comedy and drama. It received Academy Award nominations including one for Best Picture. Bagryana Popov has previously worked with CSU directing The House of Bernarda Alba in 2004. She has worked as an actor, theatre maker and director for 17 years. She was one of the founding members of Hildegard, performing, and co-producing in Woman in the Wall, The Wedding, Al Andalus, Inje and Three Sisters. Stage Door runs until 18 November and tickets can be booked at the Civic Theatre Booking Office, telephone 02 6926 9688, or purchased at the door. Tickets may also be booked online at www.civictheatre.com.au.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Faculty of Business will present a $1 000 prize to All Saints College, Bathurst, on Tuesday 16 October, as the central west region winners of the Game On business studies simulation competition for senior students. Associate Professor Mark Frost, Head of the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Management and Marketing will present the cheque to the school’s winning team, ‘BeeJay Elite Motors’, which consisted of three Year 11 students - Doug Morgan Thomas, Brad Brown, and Jack Ison. “The CSU business simulation is designed to assist HSC students undertake their business-related studies by providing a competitive and real life scenario that reflects what many of today's businesses encounter,” Professor Frost said. “Students had to make decisions on the range of issues that impacted their business performance and against other businesses in the simulation. The activities were designed to be ‘real life’ as much as possible as this enhances the student learning experience, which is a key part of the CSU business teaching strategy.”

Residents of the Orange region will have the opportunity to assess and discuss Cadia Valley Operations’ present and future environmental management programs at a public seminar at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Tuesday 7 November. ”The development of this mining site will ultimately affect the prosperity of entire region,” says Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Rural Management Adjunct Professor David Goldney, who will chair the CSU Orange Campus seminar. Cadia Valley Operations Environment and Community Relations Manager Greg Morris will address the seminar, exploring major issues facing the operation now and into the future. This includes the development of a new Cadia East Project, an extensive zone (830Mt) of gold and copper minerals. Mr Morris says the proposed Project “has the potential to extend the current operational life of the mine by 30 years”. Cadia Valley Operations, comprising the Cadia Hill Open Pit and the Ridgeway underground mine, is the largest gold and copper producer in New South Wales and the largest employer in the Orange district. With a current mine life predicted to end in 2013, a $100 million feasibility study is being conducted which will see an estimated 18 million ounces of gold and 2.9 million tonnes of copper extracted from the 1.9km deep open pit. “Cadia Valley Operations is working with CSU on several projects involving operations, environmental assessments, rehabilitation research and the positive impact our work has on the local economy,” Mr Morris says. “This seminar will give those who attend an insight into our collaborative research program.” The public seminar will be held at CSU Orange Campus on Tuesday 7 November from 1 to 2pm in Lecture Theatre One.