A formal graduation ceremony at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Ontario on Friday 13 June  will recognise the achievements of nearly 200 students. Distance education students and more than 150 Bachelor of Primary Education Studies (BPES) Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies (BECS) and Master of International Education (School Leadership) graduands from CSU's School of Education will receive their awards. "It is exciting to see the students in this graduating class take the next step in their careers," said CSU Ontario Provost and Head of Campus, Associate Professor Will Letts. "Each one of our students is truly passionate about teaching and learning and has so much to offer their future students, colleagues and communities. They are so well prepared and I know they are going to shine." Senator, Dr Vern White, who was awarded a Doctor of Police Leadership from CSU's Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security (AGSPS) in 2013, will address graduates, friends and family during the ceremony at the Burlington Convention Centre. CSU Chancellor Mr Lawrie Willett AO and the University's President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann will travel from Australia for the event. Read more about the graduation ceremony here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host the annual 2014 Secondary School Principals' Conference in Bathurst from Tuesday 10 to Thursday 12 June. Professor Toni Downes, the Executive Dean of the CSU Faculty of Education, said, "Charles Sturt University is very pleased to host this annual conference for NSW secondary school principals. I look forward to welcoming the principals, and the NSW Minister for Education, The Hon. Mr Adrian Piccoli, who will deliver an address to the conference on Wednesday 11 June. The conference is especially important at this time when significant government policies that will have profound impacts on the future of education in Australia are being debated. In particular, we need to ensure that all education – from early childhood through to Vocational Education and Training (VET) and higher education - are seen as an investment that has a significant return for the productivity and social inclusion of society," Professor Downes said. Between 280 to 300 high school principals are expected to attend the conference.

Fifty-five senior students from 21 regional high schools will attend a MyDay event at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 5 June to learn about courses and careers in teaching and education. CSU prospective student adviser, Ms Melinda Negus, said, "MyDay events give senior high school students an opportunity to receive detailed and personalised information about a range of courses and career options. This MyDay will enable students to make well-informed choices about which courses will suit their needs and career aspirations. Lecturers and advisers will provide information sessions in the Interactive Learning Centre (building 1432) which is a state-of-the-art high-tech 'classroom of the future'."

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) journalism alumnus and '60 Minutes' TV current affairs reporter, Ms Allison Langdon, will address communication students in Bathurst today, Tuesday 3 June. Journalism lecturer at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, Ms Kay Nankervis, said, "It is always very rewarding for our students when former graduates return to speak to them about their experiences of the industry the students are studying to enter. Allison Langdon completed her Charles Sturt University journalism degree at the end of 2000, and went on to a career in television news before joining the '60 Minutes' reporting team in 2011. Allison is keen to share insights with students about gaining employment into the media industry after completing University, and will be open to questions from students." Ms Allison Langdon will address students this afternoon from 3pm to 4pm Tuesday 3 June in lecture room 347 in the Mansfield Building (building 1411).

Two PhD students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) have been recognised at the recent 2014 Speech Pathology Australia National Conference in Melbourne. Ms Sarah Verdon from the School of Teacher Education at CSU in Bathurst was awarded Best Student Paper Prize. Ms Sarah Masso, also from the School of Teacher Education, was awarded one of four Best Poster Prizes at the conference held from Sunday 18 to Wednesday 21 May. Both students are PhD scholars at the University's Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE). They are supervised by Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Professor Sharynne McLeod. In June, Professor McLeod and three of her PhD students – Ms Verdon, Ms Masso, and Ms Suzanne Hopf - will present papers at the International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association in Sweden and will host a meeting of the International Expert Panel of Multilingual Children's Speech. Professor McLeod will also visit the Icelandic National Hearing and Speech Institute in late June. Her trip will focus on multilingual children's speech acquisition. : Read more about Professor McLeod's work in her "Speaking my language" blog here.

Two experts will consider the current state of Aboriginal Australia from different perspectives as part of National Reconciliation Week at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury Wodonga on Tuesday evening, 3 June. CSU education academic Ms Leonie McIntosh with the School of Education will consider what reconciliation means through the eyes of a Wiradjuri person, while Mr Ian Anderson from the University of Melbourne will speak on 'Indigenous Health In a Global Context: Contemporary Challenges' at the free public event. Head of the CSU Albury-Wodonga Campus, Professor Julia Coyle, said the event brings together a very personal story with stark clinical facts about Aboriginal people in modern Australia. The lectures run from 7 to 9 pm in the CD Blake Lecture Theatre, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will present their marketing communication recommendations to several Central West organisations at CSU in Bathurst on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 June. Twenty-four teams each with four to six second and third-year students from the CSU School of Management and Marketing and the School of Communication and Creative Industries have researched briefs provided by four organisations to develop marketing communication recommendations. The student groups will have up to 12 minutes to highlight their research and make recommendations to representatives of the organisations and CSU academics. Marketing lecturer Mr Andrew Mashman said, "These students will benefit from these client-based research projects in a number of ways. Firstly, they learn to investigate and leverage the academic theory they have learned. They experience the excitement and tensions of having to deliver their findings to a real client who is likely busy, time-poor and expectant, in a corporate-style environment. Each student receives valuable team-work experience where they have to be self-reliant and manage various stakeholders for success. Finally, students have a major differentiator in their portfolio or resume which starts a whole different conversation during job interviews, because these experiences make CSU students more employable."

A US entrepreneur and business leader will meet academics and Aboriginal business leaders at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Friday 30 May. African-American author and business leader Mr Clifton Taulbert is the guest of the CSU Faculty of Business. His Dubbo visit is part of a brief tour to highlight the current Australian Indigenous leadership and entrepreneurship research being conducted by CSU. Dr Michelle Evans, senior lecturer in leadership at the CSU School for Management and Marketing, said, "The University aims to advance the development of Australian Indigenous leadership and entrepreneurship, and Mr Taulbert has extensive US experience to share with his audience in Dubbo. His presentation, 'Dual Initiatives: Building Community and Entrepreneurial Thinking', will explore how his life was nurtured and changed by ordinary people using the 'Eight Habits of the Heart' in the process of building community. He saw the personal impact of business ownership on people who were entrepreneurs even though they may not have been familiar with that term." Mr Taulbert's presentation starts at 12.30pm Friday 30 May.

An imaginatively reconceptualised production of the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata by Aristophanes opened at the Ponton Theatre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst last night, Tuesday 27 May. The story of the women of Athens trying to end the Pelopponesian War (431-404 BC) by abstaining from sex is retold in cabaret style by third-year theatre/media students from the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries with the setting shifted to 1940s war-time. CSU lecturer and director Mr Adam Deusien said, "At first glance the story looks like an empowering story about women's role in society, but the solutions the play presents don't actually advance moves toward equality. This production draws into light the contemporary issues around gender inequality that still exist." Lysistrata plays at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 May at the Ponton Theatre (building 1434) at CSU in Bathurst. Tickets are $15 or $10 for student / concession, and are available at the door or by phoning 0431 909 886.