Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will celebrate its cultural diversity on Wednesday 21 March which is national Harmony Day. “The past 10 years has seen an encouraging change in dynamics and cultures on the campus,” said Head of Campus, Dr Heather Robinson. “I think this comes with the increased diversity in courses offered on the campus. The undergraduate student body is a wonderful mixture of young people of all cultural backgrounds and we continue to host postgraduate students from Asia, Africa and Europe. It makes for a rich and diverse campus experience.” With the theme for Harmony Day 2012 Sport - play, engage, inspire, CSU will host a game of frisbee and a barbecue from midday at the CSU sports oval, with all staff, students and visitors welcome to attend.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Cricket Club will be one of hundreds of community cricket clubs across Australia sharing in the Vodafone Sydney Pink Test phenomenon this year by participating in Pink Stumps Day on Saturday 18 February. This is an initiative of the McGrath Foundation and Cricket Cares, Cricket Australia’s community action program. The CSU Cricket Club coach and team manager, Mr Ali Syed, an adjunct senior lecturer in the CSU Faculty of Business, says the team is excited to take part in the event. “The team has been playing cricket for the last three years,” Mr Syed said. “It’s wonderful to be able to contribute to the community and, with regards to this event, to show that the students care about charity.”

Associate Professor Terry Harden, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Wine & Food Sciences Head of School, remembers well his first few days in Wagga Wagga. “I arrived just before the 1974 big flood, so I was filling sandbags to save my newly adopted town. They hadn’t built the Boorooma Campus then. Times have changed dramatically.” Professor Harden retires soon after 32 years with CSU. He says highlights include “Getting the very first overseas course going for the University with our Hong Kong medical laboratory science students - there was no international office in those days. Also, one of our PhD students, Melanie Whitelaw, found a fungus that promotes the growth of wheat, and that was quite exciting, and another PhD student, Stephen Simpfendorfer, found bacteria that produced a potent anti-fungal agent.” Professor Harden and his wife are retiring to the Gold Coast to “get involved in community work, exercise, travel – I’ll be doing what I want to do.”

With an audience of 250 students from universities across Australia and New Zealand, the new Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU) Professor Andrew Vann will attend a pharmacy conference opening in Wagga Wagga as one of his first official duties in the new role. The University is hosting the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association (NAPSA) Congress 2012 from Sunday 22 January to Saturday 28 January, a first for regional Australia. Planning for the event stems back to 2010 when the University’s student club, Pharmers' Society won a bid to host the Congress. The Congress will be attended by students and recent graduates from pharmacy programs at universities in Australia and New Zealand. The opening will take place from 9am to 11am on Monday 23 January at Joyes Hall at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Read more about NAPSA Congress 2012 on CSU News here. Read more pharmacy news on CSU News here.

The new Murray Children’s Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga will open its doors to the public on Friday 27 January. The $3.5 million building, located on Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona, will welcome almost three times the number of children at the previous building located on Olive Street in the Albury city centre. The new 72-place early childhood centre currently has full-time places available for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers. The new Centre has been built with sustainability in mind, featuring lighting that adjusts to the daylight, temperature controlled under floor heating, high ceilings for air flow, views of the natural landscape, and ergonomic kitchen, play and bathroom facilities. The community is invited to tour the new facility at the Murray Children’s Centre open house from 2pm to 4pm on Friday 27 January.

Leading speech pathologist Mrs Mary-Ruth Mendel, the 2012 NSW Australia Day Ambassador, will be the special guest at a lunch organised by the Charles Sturt University (CSU) speech pathology program in Albury-Wodonga on Wednesday 25 January. Ms Libby Clark, the organiser of the lunch and lecturer in the speech pathology program within the School of Community Health at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, said this was a wonderful opportunity for speech pathologists and early childhood educators in the region to meet and hear a leader in the field. “Mrs Mendel is a distinguished speech pathologist, specialising in literacy and language learning issues. While she has an international client base for her private practice in Sydney, she has also shown, through the development of a range of programs, a real commitment to supporting literacy in indigenous languages.” Ms Clark said. “She has many achievements and we are delighted that she has made time to visit Charles Sturt University in Albury-Wodonga before officiating at Australia Day activities on Thursday. This will be a wonderful opportunity to discuss potential links between the work that Mrs Mendel has been doing and the projects related to indigenous language and literacy that are being carried out by Charles Sturt University speech pathology students and staff in Condobolin and Wagga Wagga.”

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Allied Health Clinic in Albury is seeking patients who need foot care for its final year podiatry students. Podiatry is the investigation and treatment of foot disorders, and  CSU offers the only four year podiatry degree available in Australia outside metropolitan cities. “We welcome anyone with any type of foot problem,” said Associate Professor Paul Tinley, Head of Podiatry. “We can assess and treat most foot problems and make referrals where necessary. There is a thirty dollar consultation fee, and qualified podiatrists supervise the students as part of their training.” Prospective patients can phone 6051 6922 to make an appointment at the Allied Health Clinic which is centrally located on the corner of Guinea and Olive Streets in Albury’s CBD.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has made his mark on one of Australia’s premier cycle races. Dean Windsor, who is currently studying Primary Education, won the fourth stage and came fourth overall in points in the five-day Jayco Bay Cycling Classic. The Classic is the world’s fastest criterium series according to organisers. Dean says he is delighted to have done so well. “All the professionals race this, and it is important to get a win early in the season. It is quite a top quality field and a top class event.” Next up is the Road National, a 150 kilometre race around Ballarat, and Dean says he is looking forward to a trip to Europe later this year, as well as “a few tours in Asia. My CSU lecturers are very supportive, so it is possible to combine my studies with the cycling,” he said.

The Booranga Writers’ Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) is seeking contributions for a new anthology of writing exploring issues of cultural diversity and representation. The Centre is partnering with The Multicultural Council of Wagga to publish Riverina Multicultural Voices with funding from Regional Arts NSW. Booranga Writers’ Centre Director, Dr Derek Motion, said local writers from a non-Anglo-Celtic background are invited to contribute original work. “This might be poetry, fiction, non-fiction, a script or song lyrics, anything that can be defined as writing,” he said. “In recent years the Riverina region has become increasingly culturally diverse, and this publishing venture will locate the range of different voices in our region.” The Centre also plans to hold a series of writing workshops to help writers get work ready for publication in the book. Submissions must be received before the end of March and the book will be launched in August at the Wagga Wagga City Library.