Author and communicator Mrs Kerrie Phipps will deliver a free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Tuesday 11 August discussing the importance of connecting with strangers. 'Do talk to strangers' is part of the University's Explorations Series and will be held in building 901, room 422 from 6pm to 7pm. "In our busy world of social media and speed networking, you have to wonder if we're losing the ability to relate and connect with our fellow human beings," Mrs Phipps said. "Connecting with a stranger on a plane, train or automobile can change the course of your life. In this lecture, I'll be discuss why it's important to stay connected and not be afraid to communicate with others, how to talk to strangers easily and naturally, and how to connect with anyone, anywhere." The lecture will be based on Mrs Phipps latest book Do Talk to Strangers and her discoveries internationally since it launched. This lecture will also include a Q&A session. For more information about the public lecture please visit http://news.csu.edu.au/events

A free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Tuesday 18 August will explore contemporary Australian Indigenous health policy. The lecture, Indigenous health: power, politics and citizenship, by Associate Professor Dominic O'Sullivan introduces his new book of the same title. Professor O'Sullivan is Associate Head of the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences and senior lecturer in political science in Bathurst. Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Professor Jo-Anne Reid, said this free public lecture will examine contemporary Australian Indigenous health policy as a site of contested perspectives about Indigenous citizenship and 'belonging' to the modern state. "Professor O'Sullivan's lecture will explain how the political system itself contributes to policy failure in Indigenous health," Professor Reid said. "He will consider the claims that Indigenous people can reasonably make on the public health system, and examine what these claims mean for contemporary Australian conceptions of citizenship, democracy, and human rights." The CSU Explorations Series free public lecture starts at 6pm Tuesday 18 August in room 223 in building 1292, with the nearest parking in car park P7. Follow the event parking signs and balloons. Light refreshments will be served after the lecture. To attend, please register here (for catering purposes), or for more information, contact CSU regional relations assistant Ms Olivia Wyborn on owyborn@csu.edu.au or phone (02) 6338 4645.

The local community, industry partners and media are invited to take part in the first site tour of the new engineering facilities at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst. Foundation Professor of Engineering Euan Lindsay will lead a tour around the new site, which is currently under construction and due for completion in December 2015. The tour will commence at 4pm on Wednesday 5 August and will be followed by a presentation of 3D modelling of the site and an information session about the University's new Bachelor of Technology / Master of Engineering (Civil Systems). "We're excited to offer our local community, industry and media the opportunity to visit the new site of Engineering at Charles Sturt University and to hear how we are progressing," Professor Euan said. Registration for the site tour is required. Please email Professor Lindsay elindsay@csu.edu.au

Academic gowns and mortar boards will take centre stage in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 4 August when Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff and students take to the street in the Town and Gown Procession. The academic procession along Baylis Street will celebrate the city's education and training heritage and the close links between CSU and the community. It has been held since 2005 and has grown to include other teaching, vocational training, learning and research organisations. Head of Campus at CSU in Wagga Wagga Ms Miriam Dayhew is encouraging people to take in the spectacle. "Charles Sturt University is proud of the role it plays in training professionals for rural and regional Australia and the contribution this makes to our local community," she said. "The Town and Gown Procession is an opportunity to celebrate and to highlight the wealth of opportunities for young people to be educated and trained locally." The Town and Gown Academic Procession will begin at the corner of Morgan and Baylis Streets at 4:30 pm and conclude with a reception in the grounds surrounding the Civic Centre. Read more here.

Students from the Faculty of Education at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are helping to bring a local author's latest children's book to life. Cinnamon's Birthday Surprise will be released on Saturday 8 August and is the second publication by Albury-Wodonga based author Ms Kim Macklin. It is a sequel to her 2015 book Happy Harry's Beach Adventure which was the official 2015 calendar for Life Without Barriers, an Albury-based organisation supporting people with disabilities. CSU Education student Mr Craig Dent assisted Ms Macklin working on the book in the role of Creative Director."I helped Kim weave her concepts for the book into a narrative thread and then assisted her and Illustrator Mr Colin Dowden to develop a creative and logical sequence for the book," Mr Dent said. "I saw this project as a great opportunity to work with people with disability and enhance my teaching skills. It has been very rewarding to see Kim's vision come to life and realise her passion for books and connecting with children and schools."Education students Miss Samantha Van Berlo and Miss Alice Rash will help to launch the book on Saturday 8 August and, along with Mr Dent, will accompany Ms Macklin on her tour of regional NSW and Victoria as readers. "I knew that being a part of this team was going to be a great experience and I'm sure all the children will love Cinnamon's Birthday Surprise," Miss Rash said. "Being a reader for the book means I get to interact with children, and help bring the character and the story to life. This a great hands-on experience and will be a great help for when I step into the classroom in a teaching role."Education student Miss Clementine Patterson is facilitating a colouring-in competition with Tabletop Public School to help launch the book, and another student Mr Lachlan Mitchell will provide musical entertainment at the launch. "As education students, being able to get involved in a project such as this has been invaluable and has helped us to develop our communication skills for working with children and people with disabilities," Mr Dent said.Cinnamon's Birthday Surprise has been independently published and is funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Lifestyle Solutions, a national provider of disability support in Australia.

Students and staff from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will join forces with Summer Hill Creek Landcare on Sunday 2 August to safeguard part of the local environment. The group will spend the morning planting trees on the Third Crossing property at 870 Ophir Road, Summer Hill Creek to provide shade for the small water creatures which are food for the local platypus. The tree planting will improve the habitat for birds and other animals, and stabilise the soil, especially on the creek banks. The trees have been grown as part of a joint CSU and Landcare initiative. Extra volunteers are welcome and are asked to meet at the property from 9.30am to be transported across the creek in 4WDs. After the tree planting, volunteers will enjoy soup and a country style lunch.For more information and to volunteer, contact Dr Cilla Kinross from the University's School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences on CKinross@csu.edu.au

The 2015 Theo Barker Memorial Lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Friday 14 August will explore relationships, marriages and families in early colonial New South Wales. Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Professor Jo-Anne Reid, said this free annual memorial public lecture celebrates the life and work of former history lecturer Mr Theo Barker. "This is the sixth Theo Barker Memorial Lecture and it will be presented by guest history lecturer Associate Professor Grace Karskens from the University of New South Wales," Professor Reid said. "The title of Professor Karskens' talk is 'Men, women, couples and families on Australia's first frontier, 1803 to 1830'. In it she will explore the findings of her research on relationships, marriage and families in the early settler community at Castlereagh on the Nepean River in New South Wales. The lecture will examine the impact of the shortage of women on the marriage stakes in early colonial New South Wales. She will ask and answer, what happened when older men married fourteen and fifteen year old girls? What about the fact that there were so many young convict men around? How big were their families, and what became of all those children? And just how far were men and women prepared to go for love and passion? This will be a fascinating and fitting public lecture and I invite the Bathurst community to attend." This free public lecture is co-presented by CSU and the Bathurst District Historical Society (BDHS) in honour of the late Mr Theo Barker, Bathurst's historian and a long-standing member of the BDHS. Mr Barker wrote a two-volume history of Bathurst, and The Story of Three Colleges, a history of CSU's three predecessor institutions.

Representatives of two leading Australian media and advertising agencies will provide a brief to Charles Sturt University (CSU) advertising students in Bathurst on Wednesday 29 July. Mr David Maxwell, lecturer in advertising and radio in the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst said Ms Debbie Ferris from media agency OMD and Ms Claire Crennan from agency Fuse* will visit the University to present to second-year Bachelor of Communication (Advertising) students studying the unit Channel Planning in Action. "The agencies will present a brief to the students, and the students are required to work in teams to prepare and present their recommendations to the agency executives in September," Mr Maxwell said. "Through this industry participation, advertising students are exposed to real channel planning problems and the development of industry-standard responses. This assists student learning and adds to the making the graduating students 'work ready'." The briefing will be held in the Ponton Theatre at CSU in Bathurst at 11.30am Wednesday 29 July.

Approximately 50 primary school students from Orange and Parkes will experience university life at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 29 July. The Year 6 students from Glenroi Heights Public School in Orange and Middleton Public School in Parkes will participate in a selection of fun and interactive workshops as part of a 'Check It Out' day to give them an authentic first-hand university experience. CSU Future Moves program coordinator Mr Ben Morris said, "By introducing young people to the world of university study, students are encouraged through a positive experience to become more engaged in school studies and more confident in considering tertiary study as a realistic post-school option." Students will participate in two hands-on faculty-based activities, then explore the library, tour the campus and its facilities, and enjoy lunch in the student dining hall. They will end the day by donning mortar boards for a mock graduation which will include a special presentation by a Future Moves leader or CSU academic. The Check It Out days are part of CSU's Future Moves program, which has been developed to encourage aspiration for higher education among students in rural and remote NSW and Victoria. Future Moves is a federally-funded initiative, run through CSU and aligned with the Australian Blueprint for Career Development.