Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Goulburn has taken a huge stride in developing its infrastructure at the NSW Police Academy by laying five kilometres of fibre optic cable to connect the campus to the main Sydney-Melbourne fibre optic trunk. The cable, which cost $600 000 to install, now provides a network connection of one Gigabyte per second, which is more than 100 times greater capacity than the technology it replaced. As CSU owns the cable, it will be able to increase the capacity in the future at a reasonable cost.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a barbeque at the Dubbo Campus on Monday 3 November to farewell 18 nursing students who have completed a three-year nursing degree with the School of Nursing and Midwifery. The nursing students have just returned after four weeks focussing on their transitions to becoming registered nurses as they are now eligible to register with the NSW Nurses and Midwives Board. Subject coordinator at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Dubbo campus, Ms Lyn Croxon, said “The nursing students received great support from the staff in the hospitals in which they undertook the clinical placement. The University thanks these health settings for the support of our programs as the clinical element is an integral component of the course.” The students originate from Dubbo and the surrounding region, and the majority have accepted positions at Dubbo Base Hospital, Lourdes Hospital, Dubbo Mental Health Unit, and regional hospitals such as Narromine, Gilgandra, Nyngan, Wellington, Warren, and Bathurst. Several students will practice in Newcastle and Tamworth.

The future direction of nuclear oncology in rural and regional Australia is on the agenda of a conference being held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 November. “The use of nuclear medicine in diagnosing cancer plays a crucial role in improving patient management,” said CSU senior lecturer and conference organiser Dr Geoff Currie.”There is a significant inequity in this area between rural and metropolitan people and this conference plays an important role in developing rural strategies for today and for the future.” The conference has attracted more than 100 delegates, including oncologists and radiotherapists as well as nuclear medicine students from CSU and other institutions. "The NSW Cancer Council supports important events such as this conference as part of its role to ensure equity of access for cancer patients in rural and regional NSW,” said Mr John Knight from the Cancer Council in Wagga Wagga. Associate Professor Dianne O'Connell from the NSW Cancer Council will speak on 'Patterns of cancer care studies in NSW’.

The ‘Reclaim the Night’ march in Bathurst on Thursday 30 October will affirm the right for women everywhere to live in freedom from discrimination and fear of violence. One of the march organisers, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education at Bathurst, Associate Professor Jo-Anne Reid, said she expected strong support for the march by women students and staff members from the University. “We have had outstanding support by staff and students from CSU faculties, divisions and services for sponsorship and action, and we look forward to an impressive turn-out on the night. The aim of this year's march is to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Reclaim the Night, and for women, men and children of the Bathurst community to come together to peacefully protest against sexual violence towards women and children, and to promote women’s strength and survival.”

A national award promoting religious harmony and acceptance within Australian society has been bestowed on Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer in theology, Associate Professor Clive Pearson. The principal of the United Theological College (UTC) in Sydney, within the CSU School of Theology, received an Australian Affinity Award in September. The award recognised Professor Pearson’s significant contributions in the study of religion, interfaith and intercultural dialogue, and the ‘facilitating' by CSU in this dialogue. Associate Professor Pearson was particularly recognised for his work on the public theology of issues of diversity in Sydney, including analysis of the riots in the Sydney suburb of Cronulla in December 2005. “The United Theological College has been working with Affinity and Sydney’s Islamic community firstly out of concern for the neighbour, for the stranger in our midst and a concern for social cohesion,” said Associate Professor Pearson. “We have attended and presented at each other's conferences because we believe that it is important for a Christian theology to be done these days in the presence of the religious other as well as the secular.”

Before scientists from almost 40 countries, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Emeritus Professor of Agriculture, Jim Pratley, was honoured for his significant contribution to the development of the science of allelopathy. The international award was presented to Professor Pratley during the fifth World Congress on Allelopathy in the USA in late September. The prestigious and competitive Molisch Award is presented every three years during the International Allelopathy Society’s conference to recognise research excellence and career contributions to the field of allelopathy, which is  the science of using a plant’s natural defense system to beat weed infestation.  Professor Pratley is a staff member at the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation in Wagga Wagga, a collaborative alliance between CSU and the NSW Department of Primary Industries, and was a member of the recent conference’s organising committee and a past vice-president of the International Allelopathy Society. Professor Pratley is continuing his research into natural herbicides and weed management.

Three new books from human movement studies lecturers at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be launched at the Bathurst Campus on Wednesday 29 October. The books provide insights into the way the human body deals with its heating during exercise and exertion; the personal and cultural meanings of participating in competitive sports in later life; and the way young women view and respond to their bodies, health and physical activity. Head of the School of Human Movement Studies, Associate Professor Frank Marino, said “The significance of these books is that the School of Human Movement Studies believes in being a player in creating knowledge rather than a passive user. It shows to our students that we in the School are at the forefront of research and scholarship, so they should have every confidence that the curriculum they are a part of is cutting edge.”

The less commonly known oilseed crop, safflower, will be in the spotlight when world experts descend on Wagga Wagga for the 7th International Safflower Conference to be held from Monday 3 to Thursday 6 November. Conference convenor Ms Sue Knights said safflower offers enormous potential in drought conditions and the conference will feature a visit to trial crops at Coleambally to demonstrate its suitability to the Riverina. “The conference is themed ’Safflower: unexploited potential and world adaptability’ and will encompass growers, marketers and researchers as an opportunity to undertake critical industry development on this underutilized crop,” she said. Hosted by the Australian Oilseeds Federation, the program features speakers from India, USA, Spain and the Charles Sturt University EH Graham Centre’s Dr Rod Mailer who will speak on ‘Quality evaluation of safflower cultivars’.

The ’rich heritage’ left for Charles Sturt University (CSU) by the first students enrolled in the Wagga Wagga Agricultural College in 1949 was acknowledged during a ceremony held at CSU at Wagga Wagga on Friday 24 October. Several of the inaugural students, known as ‘the 49ers’ gathered to honour their former classmate, the late Mr John Bowen. The University has honoured Mr Bowen by naming a student accommodation building John Bowen Hall. The 1912 building was used by the first group of students to attend the Wagga Wagga Agricultural College in 1949. Mr Bowen’s widow, Mrs June Bowen, and their son, Mr Ken Bowen, met with former agricultural students at the naming ceremony. Mr Bowen told the audience that his father, who lived on the NSW Central Coast, kept coming back to Wagga Wagga and “loved the college and the city”. Read more here.