Do you stutter, or know of someone who does? You may be interested in learning more about a treatment program soon being offered locally. Speech pathology academics at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are keen to hear from interested adults who stutter. Stuttering program coordinator Ms Lisa Brown said one percent of Australian adults stutter, and “we have developed strategies and techniques to reduce the impact of stuttering”. Ms Brown would like to hear from adults around Albury-Wodonga who want to take part in an intensive one-week treatment program to be conducted in early November by final year speech pathology students. Ms Brown, who is an experienced speech pathologist and is now completing her doctoral research on stuttering, will supervise the students. The program will start on Monday 1 November on CSU’s Thurgoona site.

The Evocities campaign which aims to encourage Sydney residents to live, work and invest in one of NSW’s seven Evocities, will be launched in Orange, Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga on Friday 24 September. Charles Sturt University (CSU), as a corporate sponsor, is excited about the opportunities this collaborative project will provide. Evocities is a major marketing and public relations campaign funded by the Australian Government and the participating councils, and is supported by the NSW government and corporate sponsors, including CSU. “Research already undertaken indicates that more than 30 per cent of the Sydney population has considered a move to one of the seven Evocities,” said Professor Kevin Parton, Head of Campus at CSU in Orange. “Charles Sturt University is based in five of the seven cities represented, so we are in a great position to support this campaign.”

An international authority on the impact of water scarcity on root growth will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga from Monday 27 to Thursday 30 September. Professor Bob Sharp from the University of Missouri in the USA has been invited to the city by Strategic Research Professor at CSU, Len Wade. “Professor Sharp and I are collaborating on an international project examining drought avoidance root traits,” Professor Wade said. “This work is significant given the need for food security and the limits on arable land available for agricultural production.” While at CSU, Professor Sharp will take part in The EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation’s seminar series at 3.00pm on Wednesday 29 September. His seminar, Root growth under water deficit: physiological complexity and coordination, will appeal to a diverse audience with interests in crop or pasture improvement under drought, and implications for improved management in rain-fed systems. Read more about the free EH Graham Centre seminar here.

An Austrian freshwater ecologist is visiting Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Environmental Science and the Institute for Land, Water and Society to see how scientists are studying the survival of the young stages of fish in Australian rivers. Associate Professor Hubert Keckeis, from the University of Vienna in Austria, is working with CSU researcher Dr Paul Humphries on the ways that fish larvae disperse in rivers. His visit follows Dr Humphries’ own work two years ago in the Danube River, which was the basis for a major three-year project for Professor Keckeis, the results of which will be used in plans to restore the Danube River that flows through much of southern Europe. “Dr Humphries is well-known for his ‘larval drift’ work in rivers,” said Professor Keckeis, who is working with Dr Humphries, Dr Kevin Warburton and Honours student Mr Tim Kaminskas on experiments to investigate the effects of water velocity and light on larval drift, and analysing age and growth data of drifting larvae.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic wants Australians to become more involved in the formulation of public policy, saying this could make the world a better and more peaceful place. Associate Professor Leonora Ritter, Head of the School of Social Sciences and Liberal Studies said that, “the biggest difference we could make would be to increase the amount of love and security and decrease the amount of fear and anxiety in the world. And we can do that at a micro level. If you smile at the girl at the supermarket, she might not hit her child when she gets home that night, and her girl might not grow up to be racist or violent. You have got to start somewhere. Human beings have enormous frailty because they are susceptible to anxiety, fear, anger and aggression”. At the broader level, Dr Ritter said she would, “try to engage people more in the political process so they can change the world for the better. It is not about left versus right. It is about promoting human values such as kindness and charity.” Dr Ritter will speak on Putting the “i” into public policy tomorrow, Wednesday 23 May at the next All Saints’ Cathedral Forum in Bathurst.

A taste of Tennessee comes to inland Australia through the Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) newest theatre production. More widely recognised for his success with The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams’s lesser known work Orpheus Descending is one of his most lyrical and beautiful plays. Williams gives a new version of the myth of Orpheus through the musician Val and his encounters with conservative sceptics who dominate a small town in America’s Deep South. Orpheus Descending is directed by CSU’s new lecturer in acting, Ashley Wain, and is performed by CSU third year acting students. The set is designed by visiting Egyptian PhD student Dahlia Farah, with other design roles and stage management being undertaken by CSU third year students of the CSU degree in theatre design.

Major developments at Charles Sturt University (CSU) continue as work begins on an expanded School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences. A $8 million Clinical Training Centre to be built on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus will be used to train undergraduate students in clinical veterinary medicine, surgery, diagnostic imaging and reproduction. The facility will include a large animal surgery and hospital, small animal teaching surgery, diagnostic imaging for both small and large animals, a reproduction laboratory and barn, as well as offices and tutorial spaces. The cutting edge imaging facilities will include scintigraphy, computerised tomography, ultrasonography and digital radiography. Director of Veterinary Science, Professor Kym Abbott said, “In addition to providing the facility for the veterinary science program, the Clinical Training Centre will build and extend pre-existing expertise at CSU in equine science and medical imaging.”

BATHURST NSW: Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Goulter, will formally announce plans to seek the support of the State and Federal governments to establish a new medical program in central west NSW based in Orange and Bathurst. “With a fully functioning, upgraded hospital in Bathurst and a new base hospital in Orange soon to open, the Central West is becoming the health hub of NSW,” said Professor Goulter. “Charles Sturt University is leading the way in growing the future rural medical workforce and this initiative exemplifies our commitment to the health of rural and regional Australia.” The announcement will be made at midday Wednesday 18 August at CSU in Bathurst.  Other speakers include: Chancellor Lawrie Willett, AO (former Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Health; former Chairman, National Health and Medical Research Council; Chairman, Australian Hospital Care Limited) Emeritus Professor John Dwyer, AO (former Head of School and Clinical Dean, University of New South Wales Medical School; Clinical Program Director, Medicine and Oncology, Prince Henry/Prince of Wales Hospitals)  Mr Danny O’Connor, Chief Executive, Greater Western Area Health Service, NSW Health  Mr Gerard Martin, State Member for Bathurst  Clr Paul Toole, Mayor of Bathurst  Clr John Davis, Mayor of Orange

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will celebrate the reward for years of hard work embodied in degrees, diplomas and certificates to be awarded to 721 graduands at the CSU Goulburn Campus on Friday 18 May. The NSW inland city will be swept up in celebration as families and friends gather to acknowledge the achievements of some 165 graduands who are due to attend the ceremony from the Faculty of Arts and the Australian Graduate School of Policing. NSW Police Commisioner Ken Moroney will present new police recruits with their testamurs. The occasional address will be delivered by Dr Leigh Gassner, Assistant Commissioner with the Victoria Police Academy and a musical interlude will be performed by the NSW Police Band. Prize winners at the ceremony will include Ms Melanie Roseman, who will receive the Constable Education Program Medallion for her top academic performance in the Associate Degree in Policing Practice; Ms Rashelle Conroy, the Police Associate of NSW Award in the Bachelor of Policing; and Ms Debra Dawes, the Police Department Employees Credit Union Award in the Bachelor of Policing (Investigations).