Early childhood is a critical period for literacy development and US research has found that 35 per cent of children enter public schools with low levels of the skills needed to learn to read. Visiting US academic Professor Lynn Williams will present a lecture about how children acquire literacy skills on Thursday 8 November at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst Campus. Associate Professor Sharynne McLeod, from CSU’s School of Teacher Education, said that Professor Williams has a distinguished career in teaching and writing about speech and language development and disorders in children. “Her lecture, Contexts for facilitating emergent literacy skills, will summarize the findings from a range of studies in order to assist early childhood educators, speech-language pathologists, and families in their roles to prevent later reading difficulties for young children,” Dr McLeod said.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Wagga Wagga Campus Occupational Health and Safety Committee promoted a healthy approach to life during its Walk and Cycle to Uni Day, held on Friday 5 October 2007. Both staff and students were encouraged to take part in the event which is and based on the National Walk to Work Day, which is run by the Australian Pedestrian Council. The OHS committee hopes the event will not only assist the environment but will also help to improve personal fitness, health and well-being. Over one hundred participants departed from near the old Hampden Bridge in Fitzmaurice Street Wagga Wagga walking and cycling to the CSU Wagga Wagga Campus. Head of the CSU Wagga Wagga Campus Professor David Green supported the morning.  There was a free breakfast and prizes awarded for the Best Outfit and Best Decorated Headwear for individual walker, teams, Individual cyclists and team cyclists at the conclusion of the walk. Organiser Anette Coombs has extended a huge thankyou to everyone who participated in Walk or Cycle to Uni Day and in doing so made it a really great morning.

Six Charles Sturt University (CSU) students studying at the University’s Bathurst Campus have won scholarships in 2007 from V8 Supercars in association with Bathurst Regional Council (BRC). The students received praise from V8 Supercars, BRC and CSU representatives at a race week presentation ceremony at the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst on Thursday 4 October. CSU representative and acting Head of the School of Communication, Mr Rod McCulloch, said, “This tripartite relationship allows our students to benefit from Bathurst’s proud association with Australian motor racing. I thank V8 Supercars Australia and BRC, and its predecessor, Bathurst City Council (BCC), for its long history of supporting students through the Charles Sturt Foundation scholarship program. Starting in 1986, scholarships have been funded by BCC and BRC for the past 21 years, demonstrating their significant commitment to support education in the region.” CSU student Trent Hile, who is studying a double degree in Sports Studies and Journalism, is the recipient of the 2007 Peter Brock Memorial Scholarship.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is sending a 115-strong team of students to compete in the annual Australian University Games on the Queensland Gold Coast from Sunday 23 to Friday 28 September. This year the games organisers expect around 6 000 students from over 40 universities from across Australia to compete in a range of sports. While CSU has competed successfully before, this is the first year that CSU has representatives from all its major campuses as well as Distance Education students at the games. CSU individuals or teams have entered in athletics, beach volleyball, fencing, golf, men's and women's hockey, women's and mixed netball, mixed touch football, rugby union 7s, water polo and ultimate frisbee. CSU team manager Niklaus Granger said, "The Australian University Games boast previous Commonwealth and World University Games participants. CSU is usually strong in hockey, touch football and rugby union, but who knows what 2007 will hold for the combined CSU team?" Go, CSU, go!

Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst will host the first national Mensheds Australia conference on 16, 17 and 18 June. CSU is the major sponsor of the conference which has the theme ‘Sustaining your Menshed’. Dr Pat Bradbery, Director of the Professional Development Unit in the CSU Faculty of Business, said this is the first-ever national conference for Mensheds Australia participants, with about 70 indigenous and non-indigenous men attending from all over Australia. “The Mensheds movement is relatively new, has grown rapidly to about 300 individual Menshed groups/locations, and has a strong focus on educational development. The conference will include a half-day workshop to consider the CSU-TAFE education initiative developed for Mensheds, and CSU looks forward to building a relationship with Mensheds Australia into the future,” Dr Bradbery said. Conference participants will be welcomed to Bathurst by Mr Greg Westman, a Bathurst Regional Councillor, and to CSU by the Head of Campus, Mr Col Sharp.

In recent years, many media have highlighted the “tree change” phenomenon, with many high-paid, highly skilled professionals moving to regional areas to leave the pressures of modern city life for a more relaxed lifestyle. So why are many large organisations in inland Australia having so many difficulties in recruiting skilled professionals such as engineers and accountants? Charles Sturt University (CSU) business researchers Kerry Grigg and Debra Da Silva will explore the problem with managers from large businesses and organisations such as Mars, CooperTools, accounting firm KPMG and Albury City Council at a roundtable discussion on Thursday 20 September on the CSU Albury-Wodonga Campus. Ms Grigg is particularly looking at how such companies are using “work life balance” policies, not just better pay, to lure workers out of the cities to meet the regional skills crisis. “We are experiencing high economic growth and low unemployment, and this makes it difficult to attract professionals to inland areas. But more workers are looking for a ‘tree-change’ to improve their lifestyles. So why are they not coming to Albury?” Ms Grigg said.

Interested in studying clinical sciences, nursing or pharmacy? Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences is holding an information session on the Orange Campus on Saturday 22 September between 2pm and 4pm for students interested in enrolling in these courses. Dr Debbie Burton, Course Coordinator for the Bachelor of Clinical Science, says people from the Orange region can see what CSU offers in health and medical science courses and to learn about the University’s commitment to alleviating the shortage of health and medical practitioners in inland Australia. “CSU is playing a crucial role in educating health professionals for inland communities. We have seen 60 to 70 per cent of CSU health graduates gaining work and staying in the country. As the range of health courses offered by CSU increases, so will the number of practicing health professionals in inland communities,” Dr Burton said. Information will also be available on the new School of Dentistry and Oral Health that will be established in 2009.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Nursing and Midwifery and Greater Western Area Health Service (GWAHS) have entered into a partnership to offer the CSU nursing degree by distance education to Enrolled Nurses to commence study in February 2008. Residential schools for the students will held be at the Dubbo campus with students able to undertake clinical placements in GWAHS, reducing personal and financial cost to the students. Heather Latham, CSU nursing course manager, says that the University and GWAHS recognise this partnership is important in addressing the critical shortage of Registered Nurses in rural hospitals. “This partnership model provides additional support for Enrolled Nurses to upgrade their knowledge and skills to Registered Nurses while continuing to live and work in their local communities,” Ms Latham said. “GWAHS has allocated a Nurse Educator to support the students during the four year course and this person will work closely with the School of Nursing and Midwifery.”

Improve returns from cattle bound for the Asian market will be the focus of a forum hosted by the Asian Agribusiness Research Centre at the Orange Campus of Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Wednesday 26 September. The meeting, titled Asia Today 2007 - Building Beef Returns, will be held at Borenore near Orange. Dr Claus Deblitz, Director of the Asian Agribusiness Research Centre, said Asia Today 2007 will focus on the opportunities available for beef producers who wish to take advantage of this growing regional market. “The practical morning session will provide industry experts demonstrating muscle density testing, low stress stock handling and related activities,” Dr Deblitz said. “In the afternoon, the forum will provide information for the beef industry and review opportunities in international markets. It will address major beef market trends world-wide and in Asia, improving  beef tenderness and marbling to meet customer needs, prospects of beef production in China and the Australian live cattle export business.” Keynote speaker Rob Sinnamon, the 2007 NSW Farmer of the Year, will outline how he significantly improved the profitability of a 5 000 head Santa Gertrudis beef operation he manages near Casino on the NSW North Coast,.