A researcher exploring consumer attitudes and taste preferences for food and wine is among the Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff recognised for their contribution to the University. CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann will present his annual Awards for Excellence at a ceremony in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 28 August. Associate Professor Anthony Saliba from CSU’s School of Psychology and National Wine and Grape Industry Centre has been recognised for his research into how we interpret sensory experiences to make decisions. “I'm passionate about research because it gives us answers, it allows us to achieve things like prolong life, increase happiness and allows us to make informed decisions about our future,” said Professor Saliba. More than 100 people are expected to attend the ceremony at CSU in Wagga Wagga to see more than 30 awards presented to individual staff members or teams for outstanding achievements in teaching, sustainability, research, innovation, leadership performance and professional excellence.

Two academics from Albury have won top honours in annual awards from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann. Lecturer with CSU’s School of Environmental Sciences, Dr Rosemary Black has won the individual Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Professional Excellence, while Dr Jenni Munday, the Associate Head of the School of Education, won the individual Award for Teaching Excellence. Dr Munday said her award shows that universities such as CSU can provide high quality distance education that is “student-centred, collaborative and constructive, and along with the excellent work we do with the students we teach face-to-face on-campus”.  Dr Black received her award for her long commitment and significant contribution to environmental interpretation and tour guiding as a practitioner, teacher and researcher. Dr Black has had roles on international, national and regional committees such as the International Union for Conservation and Nature, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Interpretation Australia and Guiding Organisations of Australia. They will receive their awards from Professor Vann at a ceremony at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 28 August. Read about other 2013 Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards on CSU News here.

TAFE students undertaking the Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC) in Bathurst, Lithgow and Orange will attend a CU@CSU event at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst today to explore their prospects for further study at university. The CU@CSU event is an opportunity for prospective students to find out about CSU entry pathways, support services and scholarships. CSU marketing officer, Ms Rebecca Morgan, said, “Charles Sturt University has a formal partnership with TAFE NSW Western Institute to promote pathway options for students in the region, and offers a number of support services to assist with the transition from TAFE to university. We have a range of credit arrangements and offer guaranteed entry into many undergraduate courses for students who have completed a TAFE Diploma or Advanced Diploma. Scholarships valued at up to $2 500 are available for students who have completed a TAFE qualification with the last five years. More than 30 per cent of the University’s new commencing students are admitted on the basis of previous TAFE qualifications.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) was well represented at a national forum for the next generation of rural and remote health professionals. Second year Bachelor of Pharmacy students Ms Hannah Knowles and Ms Rose Broughton attended the National Rural Health Students Network’s NextGen Conference in Canberra in August. They were joined by final year pharmacy students Ms Louise Luong and Ms Courtney Lerano, and final year nutrition and dietetics student Mr Ash Smith. The students are all members of the WARRIAHS rural health student club at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The Conference focussed on Leading the Future of Rural Health and included skills workshops and networking opportunities along with professional development. Champion Australian wheelchair tennis player, Ms Daniela Di Toro was one of the keynote speakers at the conference, which was designed to inspire future rural health leaders. “The Conference was an amazing opportunity to listen to a wide range of leaders in rural health talk about their experiences and to network with similarly minded health students from all around Australia. It has been a strong motivator for me to become more involved with the issues surrounding health in rural and remote areas,” Ms Knowles said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange is embracing NSW Bike Week this week, encouraging its staff and students to jump on their bikes for the health and environmental benefits. CSU staff will celebrate the week with a Ride to Campus event, starting at Bill’s Beans on McLachlan Street, Orange, on Wednesday 18 September. Staff will gather at the coffee shop from 8am for an 8.30am departure and a gentle, five kilometre ride to campus finishing at Banjo’s Bistro for a free breakfast. Other CSU campuses are also rolling into Bike Week, with events set for CSU in Wagga Wagga, Bathurst, Dubbo and Albury-Wodonga. Bikes and helmets are essential and there is a chance for CSU participants to win a bike and helmet valued at $600. To register for any of the NSW Bike Week events at CSU, email CSU Green here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is rolling with NSW Bike Week from Monday 16 September, encouraging its staff and students to jump on their bikes for the health and environmental benefits. At CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr Kris Whybro from local cycle store, Kidsons Cycles will present a Bike Workshop from 1 pm to 2 pm on Tuesday 17 September. The workshop near the University cafeteria, Eat@20, will cover how to select a bike, cycling safety and basic bike maintenance. On Wednesday 18 September from 8am, staff, students and community members are urged to join in a social ride from Premium Coffee Roasters in Trail Street, through North Wagga Wagga to CSU for a free breakfast from 8.30 am at Eat@20. Other NSW Bike Week events include a game of Bike Polo from noon to 1.30 pm at Eat@20 courtyard on Wednesday 18 September and a scavenger hunt from 3.45 pm to 5 pm on Friday 20 September. To register for any of the NSW Bike Week events at CSU, send an email to CSU Green. Bike and helmets are essential and CSU participants can win a bike and helmet valued at $600.

The quest to capture the quintessential image of Wangaratta has led to a number of high quality images which also highlight the growing partnership between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Goulburn Ovens TAFE (GOTAFE) in the region. GOTAFE design students have captured photographic images of Wangaratta to assist with marketing the presence and courses of CSU in Wangaratta. A prize of $100 per image has been provided by CSU for the competition, which was won by Ms Cassandra Pollock, Ms Paige Milne and Mr Phillip Watt, who will receive their prizes at GOTAFE in Wangaratta on Wednesday 11 September. Manager of CSU’s Wangaratta centre Ms Robyn Farley said: “This is another example of the strength of the GOTAFE-CSU partnership, where we can work together to maximise opportunities and outcomes for regional students”. GOTAFE photography teacher Warren Tait, added “The quality of the images taken by these students was excellent, and evidence of their skills in understanding a photography design brief and then taking images to meet that brief”.

With the car traffic growing around Thurgoona and on its campus, Charles Sturt University (CSU) recently completed research to study how staff and students travelled to and from the Albury-Wodonga campus and why they travelled the way they did. Research project coordinator and social researcher Dr Shelby Gull Laird said many CSU staff and students indicated they would like to ride a bicycle or ride a bus instead or driving their car, but not all of them. Convenience and necessity were the main reasons that over 60 per cent of travellers chose their car as their main means of getting to work and study at CSU. Only five per cent currently travel by bicycle and six per cent by bus. “With over 20 per cent of respondents travelling from outside Albury-Wodonga city limits to work and study, this provides a barrier to a large increase in the use of buses and bikes. However, a number of people who live in Albury-Wodonga said they used their bikes or bus as their ‘second’ mode of transport, so we need to see what it will take to make them change their main modes of transport out to Thurgoona,” Mr Maher said. The research will help point to ways that show how CSU can become carbon ‘neutral’ by 2015. The research was carried out in 2012 and 2013 by Dr Gull Laird and Dr Rosemary Black from CSU’s School of Environmental Sciences.

The Australian Red Cross mobile blood donation service will be at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst next week. The Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, encourages CSU staff, students and members of the Bathurst community to make a donation if possible. “Most of us now know the stats,” said Mr Sharp. “One in three Australians will need blood at some time, but only one in 30 donates. We also know that donated blood helps a wide range of people,” he added, “but collectively many who can donate just don’t make the time – even though they want to. Many of our students and staff donate, but we simply need more blood. I therefore invite members of the Bathurst community to help out - it only takes a phone call to make an appointment and 45 minutes to donate.  We’d love to see more locals come onto campus to donate.” Anyone wishing to donate blood can make an appointment online or phone the Australian Red Cross on 13 14 95. The service will operate from Monday 16 to Thursday 19 September outside the CD Blake Auditorium, building E1 on Village Drive, CSU in Bathurst.