Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be well represented when the ‘new look’ Town and Gown Procession makes its way through the heart of Wagga Wagga on Thursday 29 March. The colourful annual parade has been expanded to celebrate the city’s role as a centre for education and training in inland Australia. Representatives from local schools, other education providers, and the Australian Defence Force will join with CSU staff in the procession. Starting at 5pm, the procession down Baylis Street will end at the Victory Memorial Gardens with an educational expo from 5.30pm. Read more on CSU News here.

Veronica Madigan, senior lecturer and pre-hospital care course coordinator at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Bathurst Campus has been recognised as a leader and expert in her field. Ms Madigan will now be entered into the International Index of Experts and Leaders – Emergency Services. The index recognises experts and leaders in emergency services such as Police,  Law Enforcement, Security, Ambulance, Emergency Medical Services, Paramedic Services, First Responders, First Aid, Fire, Emergency Management and Rescue on a global scale. Ms Madigan said, “This University pioneered pre-hospital care education in Australia. When I started in 1999 we had 35 students the first year, we now have 150. It’s one of the strongest growing disciplines at CSU. The double degree, nursing and paramedic, is the most popular double degree CSU offers.”

An agreement between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) to provide study options for business studies students will be marked in a ceremony in Wagga Wagga this week. A new Memorandum of Understanding will be signed by CSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Ross Chambers, and CIT Chief Executive Officer, Mr Adrian Marron, on Wednesday 21 March to continue the cooperation between the two education providers. CIT is a TAFE partner of CSU for the Pathway Program into business studies. CIT students complete an Advanced Diploma, and then complete CSU subjects (delivered on CIT’s Reid campus in Canberra) in their final year of study. After three years of study, students graduate with an Advanced Diploma from CIT and a degree in business studies from CSU. Professor Chambers said, “This new agreement will strengthen pathways for students between the Canberra Institute of Technology and Charles Sturt University, as well as the development of further academic cooperation.” Read more here.

His passion for science will be more evident than usual at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 21 March when Professor Nick Klomp, Dean of the Faculty of Science and a regular science commentator on ABC Radio in NSW, delivers his Science@CSU Roadshow. Commencing at 4pm, the public presentation will explore developments in science at CSU including new courses, current and future research collaborations, new international staff appointments and multi-million dollar investments in research and training facilities. “The Faculty of Science at Charles Sturt University is among the largest and most diverse science faculties in Australasia, with approximately 9 000 students and hundreds of staff in seven schools across six campuses,” said Professor Klomp. “We are involved in teaching and research in a variety of science and health disciplines including veterinary science, dentistry, nursing, environmental studies, forensic biotechnology, wine science, agriculture, and allied health.”  Science@CSU is open to CSU staff and students, industry and the general public. Read more about Science@CSU here.

Co-founder of the non-profit peacemaking educational company, Preaching Peace, Mr Michael Hardin, will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga during his trip to Australia. A theologian and author from the USA, Mr Hardin is a member of the Akron Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania. He brings his message about a peaceful God to CSU when he delivers the next Saint Martin's College Occasional Seminar from 4pm on Monday 2 April in the Fairfax Centre, building 382, CSU in Wagga Wagga. His seminar, titled Nonviolent Atonement, is free and open to the public. As executive director of Preaching Peace, Mr Hardin is also affiliated with the Colloquium on Violence and Religion. Saint Martin’s College is a residential university college run by the Anglican Church. It is located at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

The annual Somerville Lecture celebrates the contribution of Professor Warren Somerville to the scientific and Bathurst communities, and in 2012 the lecture will be delivered by Charles Sturt University (CSU) scientist Dr Andrew Rawson at the new Flannery Centre in Bathurst on Tuesday 17 April. Dr Rawson is an adjunct associate professor at the CSU School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences who teaches climate change science at CSU in Orange. He is also a senior scientist with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and his primary role within the NSW government is to provide scientific support to climate change policy development. Dr Rawson has contributed to the NSW Greenhouse Plan, the NSW Soils Policy, and the NSW Climate Impacts Profile. The topic of Dr Rawson’s lecture is, Climate Change – reconciling modern climate change with the geological record. CSU education lecturer and Somerville Lecture spokesman, Dr Peter Wilson, said, “This is the third Somerville Lecture and it will be a very appropriate inaugural event at the newly-completed Flannery Centre. The subject of climate change is now an abiding topic of public interest and debate, and the Centre will provide a focus for practical environmentally responsible training and skills development.”

The centre of Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga will be abuzz on Wednesday 21 March when the CSU community celebrates national Harmony Day. Commencing at 12 noon, international students and staff will have stalls, displays and demonstrations highlighting the cultures, unique skills and food that they bring to Australia. Food stalls will ring the main circle near the Gums Café, while a martial arts display by students from South Korea will be staged in the same area. The event is part of Harmony Day celebrations across Australia on 21 March. Members of the Albury-Wodonga and CSU coummunities are welcome to attend the event.

Last month Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Bathurst Regional Council (BRC) signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Vice-Chancellor of CSU Professor Ian Goulter said the MoU would see CSU and BRC “develop strategies to attract new business and industry, and this includes opportunities for research, internships and work for CSU students”. In the spirit of this greater collaboration CSU, Bathurst TAFE and BRC will sign a Cultural Cooperation Agreement today, Tuesday 12 December. Acting Head of the School of Communication, Bill Blaikie said the signing will “encourage and foster cultural development in Bathurst. Culture is created by people meeting and talking and then making. This is a significant agreement that indicates the ongoing commitment that the University has to cultural and community development in the city.”

The 2012 Police Expo at Darling Harbour in Sydney on Sunday 1 April will give prospective recruits the opportunity to learn about the range of policing courses offered by Charles Sturt University (CSU). Ms Amanda Davies, lecturer and course director for the Associate Degree in Policing Practice at the CSU School of Policing Studies in Goulburn, said, “Charles Sturt University is proud to participate at the 2012 Police Expo, which is part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of the NSW Police Force. The University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate policing courses. The Associate Degree in Policing Practice is a starting point for new recruits, and other courses enable officers to advance their careers and specialist interests, including law enforcement research and management, through the CSU Australian Graduate School of Policing at Manly.”