The 25th Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst Half-Marathon and 10 kilometre Run will be staged on Sunday 1 May. Lecturer at the School of Human Movement Studies in Bathurst,  Mr Peter Micalos, said, “The half-marathon and 10 kilometre run  are staged over a flat, fast course on pathways and country lanes around the Macquarie River, and starts and finishes at the Bathurst Rugby Club in Hereford Street. All runners should ensure an adequate carbohydrate diet and be appropriately hydrated before the event.” The entry fee is $30 or $15 for students, and includes a free sausage sizzle at the presentation, and random-draw prizes.

A controversial figure in the Australian legal sector will speak on ‘Public education and the third great principle of secularism’ in the 2011 Bob Meyenn Lecture next week at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga. The former Australian High Court judge, the Honourable Michael Kirby, AC, CMG, will appeal for the traditional place of secularism in Australian public schools, and the protection it offers children who have no religion as well as those who are members of a religion. This year’s Bob Meyenn Lecture will commence at 7pm on Thursday 28 April in the CD Blake Lecture Theatre, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona. The annual major public lecture is named after Professor Bob Meyenn, the former inaugural Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Education.

With children counting down the days until Easter, Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dental and Oral Health Clinic  dentist Dr Ying Shi Chang asks parents to remember the importance of children’s teeth. “Everyone loves indulging in some chocolate at Easter time,” says Dr Chang, “but it’s also a good time to book in a dental check-up for the family.” Dr Chang recommends parents make the most of the CSU Dental and Oral Health Clinic. “The Clinic is large, colourful and friendly so it’s perfect for young children. As well as professional dentists, third year Bachelor of Dental Science students are available to clean children’s teeth and teach the importance of regular brushing and flossing.” To book an appointment at the CSU Dental and Oral Health Clinic call 1300 278 642.

A leading Australian theologian and academic at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has been awarded an honorary doctorate by another national university. Reverend Professor James Haire, AM, KSJ, who is Professor of Theology at CSU and executive director of the CSU Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACC&C) , received the Doctor of the University from the Australian Catholic University in Sydney at its recent graduation ceremony. The citation for the honorary degree noted that Reverend Professor Haire is one of the world’s leading scholars and promoters of interfaith dialogue. It concludes, ‘Australia is indebted to James for his work in encouraging understanding between not only the Christian churches, but between people of different faiths’. Reverend Professor Haire also delivered the occasional address to graduates, and spoke of the need for them to be compassionate and generous in their personal and professional lives. “My experience is that, on balance, unless there is obvious evil, it is worth taking the risk to be generous. If you are generous, you give and you expect trust, and it is trust that is both the Christian way, and in any case makes life worth living,” he said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is taking a closer look at garbage as part of an annual environmental scorecard tracking resource use and greenhouse gas emissions from the institution. The scorecard is produced by CSU Green , and this year’s features more information about waste at the University. The report found almost 16 000 cubic metres of waste was produced in 2010 and more than 75 per cent went into landfill. Acting Manager of CSU Green, Mr Edward Maher, says in the past waste was viewed simply as a cost for the organisation. “A lot of hard work has gone into understanding more about where the waste is coming from and what types of materials it contains,” Mr Maher said. “From here there is real scope to implement avoidance, reuse and recycling initiatives that will ultimately result in less waste to landfill.”   CSU has set a target for 2014 to recover 70 per cent of its solid waste rather than send it to landfill. The environmental scorecard also shows that despite construction of new facilities, CSU’s greenhouse gas emissions are steady and water consumption is nearly half that used in 2006.

Graduation time and celebrations are ever growing on the Border, with Charles Sturt University (CSU) this year for the first time holding four graduation ceremonies in Albury-Wodonga commencing Thursday morning, 28 April. Over 820 graduates will be eligible to receive their doctorates, degrees, diplomas and certificates from CSU’s Chancellor Lawrie Willett, AO, with over 600 actually attending their ceremonies, together with more than 1 800 family and friends. Highlighting the growing importance of research at CSU at Albury-Wodonga, this year 13 Doctors of Philosophy will be awarded to researchers from the University’s Faculties of Business, Education and Science. Three ceremonies, including the first-ever evening event for graduates from the University’s Melbourne Study Centre, will be held on Thursday 28 April, with a morning ceremony on Friday 29 April. All ceremonies will be celebrated in the Albury Entertainment Centre, Swift Street, Albury.

A visiting decision-making expert from the United Kingdom will present a seminar for psychology academics and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 20 April. The organiser of the seminar, Dr Stephanie Quinton, a psychology lecturer at the CSU School of Psychology in Bathurst, says that guest lecturer Dr Mandeep K Dhami, who lectures at the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, will present a series of studies whose findings have implications for the psychology of decision-making as well as the criminal justice system. “Dr Dhami’s presentation, titled Simply Criminal or Legally Simple?, will argue that generally accepted perspectives on crime and justice - which assume that people use compensatory decision strategies that weight and integrate all of the available and relevant information in order to make a decision - may be wrong,” Dr Quinton said. “She will assert that the decision-making of both offenders and court judges, by contrast, can be best described as ‘non-compensatory’; that is, they rely on simple ‘fast and frugal’ personal investigative methods that ignore much of the available and relevant information, and base decisions on one piece of information alone.”

Improving the physical health and mental well-being of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students and staff is the aim of new walking tracks that have been developed around the University’s Thurgoona site. “Members of the wider Thurgoona community can also use the tracks for exercise in a beautiful bush setting,” said Ms Sue Moloney, the new Head of Campus, Albury-Wodonga. The longest track, which runs for 1.2 kilometres through bush on the eastern side of the site, will be officially launched tomorrow, Tuesday 19 April, with CSU staff and students taking part in an Easter egg hunt along the track. “With nearly 300 students living on campus and a major suburb growing up around the site, these tracks will become important to providing for the health and well-being of the Thurgoona community,” Ms Moloney said.

The newly-completed dental clinic at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will commence operation on Monday 18 April. Dr Amelia Foster, the dentist-in-charge of the clinic and a tutor at the CSU School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, said staff are now taking appointments for the state-of-the-art equipped facility which was completed in late 2010. “After a preparatory period for the new staff, we are delighted that this wonderful clinic will soon be open and operational as planned,” Dr Foster said. “This is an exciting milestone for CSU and for the people of Bathurst and the region. While we will not have CSU dental students here gaining practical experience until 2012, the clinic will operate from Monday to Friday, depending on my tutoring commitments.” The dental clinic operates as a private dental clinic, not a public or hospital dental clinic. As in all private dental clinics, fees will apply. Members of the public who wish to make an appointment should phone 1300 278 642.