The annual Scholarships and Prizes Presentation Ceremony for the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dubbo Campus will be held on Tuesday 6 May 2008 from 6pm. Head of Dubbo Campus and Director of the Centre for Indigenous Studies, Mr Gary Shipp said that for the first time the ceremony will be held in the Theatrette of the Dubbo RSL Club. “Because we have 14 scholarship and 17 prize winners this year, we decided to move the event to a bigger venue to comfortably accommodate the winners, their families and friends, the Foundation and prize sponsors, and a range of dignitaries including local business people and school principals,” Mr Shipp said. “We aim to expand the number of scholarships and prizes on offer to our students, and we welcome enquiries from any individual or organisation wanting to support the University in this way.”

Third year adventure ecotourism student at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Mr Peter Barrett has won a Student Achiever Award, to be presented by Tourism Training Australia next week. The award is for students who show outstanding academic and community leadership qualities in their education. Mr Barrett’s academic record has already been recognised through winning the 2006 Albury Freemasons Prize for Academic Excellence as a first year student. He is currently president of the CSU students’ Parks and Eco Club and represents CSU students on the Thurgoona Campus Environmental Advisory Committee. Peter Barrett has also gained practical work experience in Canberra and the United States as a team leader. He will receive his award at a dinner in Sydney on Tuesday 13 May.

The work of a Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff member to provide high quality accommodation for CSU students has been recognised by the Australasian Association of College and University Housing Officers (AACUHO), the national body for University accommodation professionals. Mr James Kelly, from the CSU Division of Student Services, won the Fran O’Brien Award at the Association’s conference in the National Museum, Canberra in April. Overseeing accommodation for about 1 200 CSU students, Mr Kelly is the Manager of Residential Operations on the University’s Bathurst, Dubbo and Orange campuses. The award recognises and encourages outstanding newcomers to student housing and includes financial support for Mr Kelly to attend the 2009 conference. Mr Kelly joined the University in 2004. “Through his dedication and enthusiasm, James has made a valuable contribution to the development of the residential community at CSU,” said Executive Director of CSU Division of Student Services, Mr Andrew Callander. “James has been able to enhance the community support focus of the residential operations.”

Construction of the new 200-bed residential development for Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will commence this month at its Thurgoona site. To be built by Joss Constructions, ten modular concrete and corrugated iron buildings will each house 20 students in self-catering accommodation. The development will include ‘open plan’ kitchens and living areas in each block, with two buildings enclosing an open courtyard. The corrugated iron, which is light, strong, adaptable and durable, highlights the heritage of Australian agricultural buildings while shielding the internal concrete walls from the summer heat. This will enable the student accommodation buildings to maintain a more constant temperature for the residents without the use of expensive air conditioning. Rainwater collected from roofs will be used to flush toilets, while wastewater from kitchens and bathrooms or grey water will be pumped into the existing grey water treatment ponds on the CSU Thurgoona site. The buildings are due to be finished in time for the start of the 2009 academic year. Other buildings already underway at Thurgoona include academic offices and the Learning Commons, which will house a library and computing facilities.

Award-winning poet, Ms Petra White returns to the Albury-Wodonga and Riverina regions in May for public poetry readings and workshops hosted by the Booranga Writers’ Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Her first poetry collection, The Incoming Tide, published by John Leonard Press in 2007 , was short listed for Arts Queensland's Judith Wright Calanthe Prize for Poetry. In 2003, Ms White was joint winner of the Patricia Hackett Prize for her poem 'Grave' and her poems were published in The Best Australian Poems series in 2003 and 2006. “Petra's work was very well received when she came to Wagga Wagga with the Poets-On-Wheels tour last year. This time, as well as reading her poetry, Petra will be running workshops for poets and mentoring a local poet.  Poets of all ages and backgrounds will be able to further develop their writing skills and read their poems in front of an audience,” said the Booranga Writers’ Centre’s Mr David Gilbey. Ms White will read her poetry at the Albury City Library on Thursday 8 May at 5.30pm and at an open mike event at the Wagga Wagga City Library on Monday 12 May at 6.30pm. She will lead poetry writing workshops at Booranga Writers Centre, Wagga Wagga on Saturday 10 May and in Griffith on Sunday 11 May. Ms White is hosted by Booranga Writers’ Centre and her visit is jointly funded by CSU and Arts NSW.

A scientist whose ground breaking research pioneered understanding about drought responses in plants will this week visit the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, a research alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) at Wagga Wagga. On Monday 5 May, Professor John Boyer will share his expertise with researchers at the Centre who are focused on improving agricultural production and environmental conservation through science based research. Professor Boyer's work on maize's tolerance of low rainfall allowed plant breeders to develop improved varieties which remain productive in drought conditions. His research also allowed an extension to the area where the plant can be grown across the world. Professor Boyer hails from the University of Delaware in the United States where he is a Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 

The work of five Charles Sturt University (CSU) academics has been recognized by their inclusion in the latest Who’s Who of Australian Women, the book which honours inspirational women from all walks of life. Among the new entries in the 2008 edition are Strategic Research Professor in Professional Practice, Joy Higgs AM, Professor of Social Work and Human Services Margaret Alston, the Head of the University’s School of Biomedical Sciences and chair of the CSU Human Research Ethic Committee, Associate Professor Lyndall Angel, senior lecturer in Early Childhood Education, Ms Tracey Simpson and Associate Dean of Policing and International in the Faculty of Arts, Associate Professor Tracey Green. Published by Crown Content Pty Ltd, the third edition has the theme of Leadership & Beyond and profiles over 6 200 eminent but diverse women, ranging from 104 year old Linda Vipont, OAM to NSW Governor, Professor Marie Bashir, AC, who is mentioned throughout the publication as an inspiration to many. Launched in 2006, the publication is a celebration and acknowledgment of women and redefined the boundaries of success.

Staff and students will be recognised during the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Faculty of Business awards ceremony in Bathurst on Monday 5 May. The ceremony will mark the awarding of academic prizes, the Dean’s List Awards and the Faculty of Business’ Teaching Excellence Award. Prizes, provided by community organisations and businesses, are awarded to students who show academic excellence during their studies at CSU. The Dean's List acknowledges outstanding academic performance by undergraduate students who have achieved high academic performance in their recent studies. The CSU Faculty of Business’ Team Teaching Excellence Award for 2007 will be presented to the School of Accounting & Computer Science accounting and community practice team, which is comprised of seven staff from the Bathurst based school and two staff from the Centre for Enhancing Learning and Teaching (CELT).

The importance of research into a major Australian agricultural and environmental weed - serrated tussock - has been acknowledged with a national scholarship awarded to Charles Sturt University (CSU) student, Ms Sonia Graham. The PhD student is one of two university students in Australia to be awarded the three year, $15 000 AW Howard Memorial Research Fellowship. Presented to the Canberra-based Ms Graham by AW Howard Memorial Trust chairman, Professor Rob Lewis, the fellowship will be used to assist with her research. Serrated tussock has spread across farming lands making large areas of NSW and Victoria unproductive. Ms Graham’s study looks at the ways farmers and State and local governments work together to control the weed. The AW Howard Memorial Research Fellowship commemorates the unique contribution of the late South Australian farmer, Mr Amos Howard, in the use of subterranean clover as a major pasture plant in Australia.