A Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Human Movement Studies initiative with the Western Region Academy of Sport (WRAS) at Bathurst aims to enhance the performance and competitive edge of elite athletes from regional NSW while providing practical experience for CSU Human Movement students. Dr Stephen Bird, a lecturer in Human Movement at CSU, said the program, known as the ‘WRAS Strength and Conditioning Internship (SCI)’, offers the human resources, scientific knowledge and programming expertise that enables athletes to train systematically and safely to improve sports performance and reduce the risk of injury. “The Internships are open to senior second and third year Human Movement students and will give them the proficiency, skills and knowledge required as early-career strength and conditioning professionals. The first two CSU interns, Ryan Drew and Geoff Minett, will devise individualised programs with strength and conditioning activities specific to each athlete’s chosen sport,” he said.

Academics and other professional staff at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are being introduced to the next wave of online change. Associate Professor Marian Tulloch, the Director of the Centre for Enhanced Learning and Teaching (CELT), will introduce the new online learning and teaching environment CSU Interact at a series of seminars on CSU’s campuses between 7 May and 16 May. “In early 2008 CSU Interact the new online collaborative scholarly environment will be rolled out across the University for learning and teaching,” Professor Tulloch said. “As part of CSU’s flexible learning strategy it will provide an integrated, enhanced and evolving learning environment for on and off campus students. Because it is a complex and collaborative process, these seminars will provide an opportunity for staff to hear more about the development of CSU Interact, to ask questions, and make suggestions.”

Kiama High School pupils will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dubbo Campus tomorrow to hear about CSU’s innovative Enhanced Training Program for teaching in schools with significant Aboriginal enrolments. Tracey Simpson, senior lecturer and Associate Head of the School of Teacher Education at CSU Dubbo, is the driving force behind the program. She explains that fourth year Bachelor of Teaching students, who participate in the Enhanced Program, take on subjects that explore “Aboriginal history and social justice issues, as well as working within schools and communities where there are Aboriginal families”. Todd Mackie, who attended Kiama High, is currently undertaking the Enhanced Program, which he describes as, “Extremely positive. It is amazing how the learning experiences in the program are starting to connect and help us see the bigger picture - addressing systematic educational inequalities."

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will honour the achievements of Mrs Gail Kelly, the managing director and chief executive office (CEO) of the St George Bank at the University’s Bathurst Campus graduation ceremony at 10.30am on Friday 11 May. Mrs Kelly will receive an honorary Doctor of Business for her contribution to the financial services and banking industries, and to the promotion of women in leadership. Mrs Kelly, who will also deliver the occasional address at the graduation ceremony, migrated from South Africa to Australia with her husband and four children in 1997. She was head of the Customer Service Division of the Commonwealth Bank prior to joining the St George Bank in January 2002, and was the first woman to become CEO of a major Australian bank and one of the top 15 public companies in Australia. The Australian Women’s Weekly magazine recently nominated Mrs Kelly as one of the ten most powerful women in Australia.

The Vice-Chancellor of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Ian Goulter, will confer his Teaching Excellence Award for 2006 on Ms Deborah Clarke, lecturer at the School of Human Movement, at the University’s Bathurst Campus postgraduate students’ graduation ceremony on Thursday 10 May. Ms Clarke’s ability to engage her students and develop them into critical thinkers and life-long learners was central to her success. “In everything she does, Ms Clarke focuses on making connections between university study and the world of schools,” says Professor Toni Downes, Dean of the Faculty of Education. “Her classes are highly interactive and always at the forefront of knowledge about teaching, a point consistently acknowledged by her students. Above all, she helps her students to see how dry curriculum documents can be translated into exciting and meaningful classroom experiences for children in schools. She does this by modelling creative, challenging and innovative ways of teaching children and always looking for ways to improve her own practice.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is playing a key role in an international comparative study of the juvenile justice systems in NSW and India. Ms Asha Mukundan, an academic from the Centre for Criminology and Justice, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India, is a visiting fellow at CSU through the Federal Government’s prestigious 2007 Endeavour Research Fellowship program. The research is aimed at understanding the function of various agencies under NSW Juvenile Justice focusing on the roles, activities and procedures of delivery systems; institutional and non institutional rehabilitation options and the potential application of best practices in India. The research is supervised by CSU Associate Professor Manohar Pawar, who says it is a great opportunity for CSU and the Tata Institute to work together and explore further collaborative activities.

The lack of doctors and dentists in rural areas often overshadows the critical shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs). To overcome this, Charles Sturt University (CSU), the Moira Nursing Education Consortium and the Greater Southern Area Health Services (GSAHS) have collaborated in programs that encourage Enrolled Nurses (ENs) who are based in rural, regional and remote areas to upgrade their skills and become RNs. The program takes residential schools and clinical placements to the ENs, as well as providing them with financial and other support. Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Health Science at CSU, Heather Latham says, “We are confident they will continue to work in their local communities. It is so important to support these nurses”. One of the nurses, Sharyn Maxwell who works at Tumut Hospital, said, “We already live here, work here and want to stay here. It was a wonderful experience. The CSU lecturers were very supportive and approachable. It made such a difference having that peer and financial support, as well as the support from my employers.”

Graduate business managers in northern Victoria and southern NSW seeking to upgrade their qualifications with face-to-face postgraduate studies closer to home are one step closer with an agreement to be signed by the Australian Graduate Management Consortium (AGMC) and Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE (BRIT) on Friday 11 May. As part of the Australian Graduate Management Consortium, BRIT staff will deliver Charles Sturt University (CSU) courses that will lead to a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma in Management, which are part of the University’s Master of Management program. An agreement allowing NSW Riverina Institute of TAFE to offer similar courses at its Albury, Wagga and Griffiths sites is due to be signed later this year. National Coordinator of the CSU program, Jan Knox said,,”The AGMC Programs are a innovative way of delivering graduate study opportunities to students throughout inland Australia”. The CSU-BRIT agreement will be signed at 11.30am on Friday 11 May in Bendigo.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Chancellor Lawrie Willett, AO and Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter witnessed the first two graduates from CSU Orange Campus accept their degrees last Friday 16 March 2007. Amity Ballantyne Latham received her Master of Sustainable Agriculture degree and Malgorzata Bronicka graduated with honours with a Bachelor of Land Management (Ecological Agriculture) degree. “This has been the best research experience I’ve had,” said Malgorzata of her Honours year. Her thesis studied soil fungi in saline and non saline soils in Gumble, NSW. “After completing my Masters, I plan to move back to the country and work in town planning with a focus on natural resource management.” Results from her research will soon be published in Sydowia, an European journal dedicated to studies on fungi.