The Federal Government has announced that Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will receive 15 new places in the Graduate Certificate in Rural Mental Health Nursing, and the 30 new places for the Bachelor of Nursing course in Orange and Dubbo in 2009.  Supporting higher education places in the national priority area of nursing, the Government offered 300 places for rural and regional areas. “We are happy that 45 places were allocated to Charles Sturt University,” said Professor Elaine Duffy, Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery. “It may be a small per cent of the total number allocated, but Charles Sturt University is already a dominant industry supporter and our graduates are highly sought. Applicants from around Australia are invited to learn more about the distance education courses via the CSU website link.”

In the lead up to the Super Cheap Autos Bathurst 1000 motor race on Sunday 12 October, event promoter V8 Supercars Australia awarded scholarships to five Charles Sturt University (CSU) students to assist them with their studies. At a ceremony at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery on Thursday 9 October, the retiring chief executive officer of V8 Supercars Australia, Mr Wayne Cattach, presented the scholarships totalling $30 000 to CSU students Ms Lauren Mason, Ms Caris Bizzaca, Mr Justin Lanser, Mr David Marchese and Ms Amy Spear. Head of Bathurst Campus, Mr Col Sharp, said “Charles Sturt University appreciates the generous support of its students by V8 Supercars Australia, which has contributed over $85 000 worth of scholarships to 32 Bathurst recipients in recent years. All the scholarship winners were highly motivated young people who are achieving well in their studies and more broadly.”

Frogs will be in the spotlight at a ‘talk and walk’ along the banks of Kings Billabong, near the Murray River at Mildura led by Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher Ms Sascha Healy. The talk to be held on Thursday 16 October will focus on the types of frogs living in the area, where they are found, and how to identify them by sight and sound. Ms Healy is currently undertaking surveys of frogs in the Wentworth and Mildura region as part of a project led by CSU researcher Dr Skye Wassens and funded by the Murray Wetlands Working Group looking at the breeding responses of frogs in wetlands along the Murray River.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) allied health students will meet with employers in the health sector in Albury on Thursday 16 October to consider their futures. Potential employers have been invited by CSU to promote positions and careers to the final year students before they finish their degrees. This year’s annual CSU Job Market, now in its sixth year, will have an international flavour as a group of health employer representatives from Singapore will also attend the market. The expo will include prospective employers for speech pathologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. “There is always a buzz in the room at this expo. As they face the end of their courses, the students are considering their options and this expo brings many of these options under one roof,” said Dr Megan Smith, physiotherapy course coordinator at CSU. Research shows that between 2002 and 2007, up to 60 per cent of graduates from CSU started their careers in regional, rural and remote Australia.

Some of the most mysterious and interesting creatures in the Murray River floodplain - tadpoles and frogs - will be the subject of a field night with Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dr Skye Wassens near Albury as part of national Water Week. A researcher at CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, Dr Wassens will present a 30-minute talk about the frogs of the region, how to identify them and how to create frog-friendly habitats. This will be followed by a spotlight and listening tour around the Wonga Wetland lagoons near Albury and a demonstration of how to identify different frogs by their calls. Dr Wassens is currently leading a research project funded by the Murray Wetlands Working Group, looking at the relationship between different flood management regimes and the breeding responses of frogs in wetlands along the Murray, from the Hume Dam to the South Australian border. She is an expert on the Murray River’s most endangered frog species, the Southern Bell Frog.

After 35 years as a lecturer at Charles Sturt University (CSU) and its predecessor institution, Mitchell College of Advanced Education (MCAE), Associate Professor Noel Thomas has retired from his role as Head of the School of Teacher Education. Professor Thomas began his teaching career in 1968, and after completing a Masters degree in mathematics, taught at the University of Papua New Guinea before joining MCAE in 1973. Associate Dean in the Faculty of Education, Professor Jo-Anne Reid, said Professor Thomas’s distinguished career as a teacher educator has brought the respect of both students and colleagues. “Retiring as Head of the School of Teacher Education, the largest School on the Bathurst Campus, Professor Thomas has shown his capacity to grow and change over the years, developing a research profile and working in the classroom with children learning mathematics right up to the end of this career,” she said. Professor Thomas will be farewelled by colleagues at a dinner at the University on Monday 20 October.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst Campus Health Promotion Service is holding a free ‘Chill Out’ barbeque on the library lawn at 11.30am on Thursday 16 October to promote awareness of mental health, sexual health, and alcohol and other drug issues. CSU spokesperson and University nurse, Ms Kathryn Foster, said October is Mental Health Month at CSU and this promotion has been designed to bring in relevant organisations to encourage a closer link between the University and the wider community. “Often, mental health issues can influence students’ intake of alcohol and drugs, leading to poor sleep, course failure, violence and unsafe sex,” she said. “So it is important for everyone to be aware of the services available in our community to help when stress, anxiety or depression are affecting our daily lives.” A range of services and personnel will be present to advise students and guide activities.

A ceremony will be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 16 October to recognise the academic achievements of a number of fourth year veterinary science students at CSU. Organised by CSU’s Veterinary Science Foundation, the inaugural Professional Experience Scholarships will be presented to 13 students from across regional NSW during the ceremony at the Veterinary Clinical Centre at CSU. The scholarships have been provided by Coopers Animal Health, Piper Street Veterinary Clinic, and Moruya Veterinary Hospital. Read more about the inaugural scholarships here. The ceremony will also mark generous donations from the Albury-Wodonga Angus Breeders' Association (AWBA) and Prattley Livestock Equipment towards the construction of the Artificial Insemination teaching facility at the University's Veterinary Clinical Centre.    

Tenders have been called to reconstruct a key Charles Sturt University (CSU) laboratory complex which was partially damaged in an explosion on the Wagga Wagga Campus in 2007. Known as the Sutherland Laboratory, the building is a teaching and research centre for students from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences and the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. The University called for tenders for the $1.05 million building project in July. Work is expected to be completed by early 2009. “We want to reconstruct the damaged laboratory on the same footprint of the previous building,” said CSU Architect Mr Chris Nesakumar. “However, the University plans to refurbish the damaged laboratory as a multi-purpose facility to satisfy the immediate and future teaching requirements of the agricultural and veterinary science students.” The new facility will accommodate 72 students with a preparation room, solvents room, wash-up area and incubator room.