A Charles Sturt University (CSU) justice studies lecturer will be locked up in a Bathurst shopping centre as part of the Time 4 Kids campaign to raise awareness and funds for youth intervention programs operated by the local Police-Citizen Youth Club (PCYC). Dr Diane Solomon-Westerhuis from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Bathurst will be temporarily detained in the Bathurst City Centre shopping complex from 1pm to 2pm on Thursday 15 April and is seeking donations for her $500 ‘bail’ to assist the Time 4 Kids program as part of National Youth Week, which runs from 10 to 18 April. Dr Solomon-Westerhuis said, “Time 4 Kids and similar programs can be significant turning points in young people's lives, giving them opportunities they may not otherwise experience. The hard-working PCYC volunteers and staff are to be congratulated for putting in the effort to promote Time 4 Kids, so we should give as much as we can to support them - and to get me out on bail!” Contact Dr Solomon-Westerhuis on (02) 6338 4648 to pledge your support to raise her ‘bail’, or contact Bathurst PCYC manager Mr Matt Brealey on (02) 6331 2191 or 0407 226 202. All donations are tax deductible.

Leading Australian energy supplier Country Energy has sponsored the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Remote Telescope by installing a dedicated high speed fibre optic line stretching 1.5 kilometres to enable students around the world to study the universe as seen from the Southern Hemisphere. The initiator and administrator of the CSU Remote Telescope, Associate Professor David McKinnon, from the School of Teacher Education in Bathurst, said the generous offer by Country Energy ensures the viability of the long-running project by providing up-to-date technological links to the Internet. “Country Energy has taken the ‘long view’ to assist starry-eyed school students everywhere. I’m over the moon! The in-kind support consists of plant labour and parts, which is mainly an optical fibre cable backbone link and termination devices. This will ensure faster and more secure download times and viewing opportunities for students,” Professor McKinnon said.

Culcairn senior AFL coach and Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate Mr Luke Donnan has joined the University’s School of Community Health as a lecturer. The 2007 graduate from the CSU podiatry course has returned to Albury after working for two years in a Wagga practice. “It is great to be back in Albury in a teaching position having already been a student here. I have also completed a degree in human movement in Melbourne, so I think this fits nicely with podiatry, especially in high impact sports such as AFL. There are plenty of aches and pains in the district after a weekend of winter sport, and CSU has established a special clinic combining expertise in podiatry and physiotherapy to tend to these pains and strains.” Prior to leaving Albury, Mr Donnan was a clinical educator in the CSU Allied Health Clinic, which runs public clinics with podiatry and other allied health students supervised by qualified professional staff.

Ten South Korean students have joined five compatriots who arrived in 2009 to enjoy a warm welcome to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga, part of an expanding collaboration that sees Korean students complete the final two years of undergraduate degrees through CSU’s Faculty of Business. The students are living in the CSU student accommodation at Thurgoona, allowing them to enjoy living and developing friendships with other students. Ms Kim Ji Su, or Sue, said she enjoyed the lively interaction between lecturers and students which was very different to university classes in South Korea, while Mr Choi Kuk Jin said he enjoys playing tennis and other sports which were very expensive in his home country. Head of CSU’s International School of Business and Partnerships, Associate Professor John Atkinson, said the students were “enjoying their educational experience in Albury-Wodonga” and that the number of students from South Korea at CSU in Albury-Wodonga is expected to grow. The first group of Chinese students are due to commence a new Master of Business course based in Albury-Wodonga in the middle of 2010.

Organisers of the 2010 Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst Half Marathon and 10 Kilometre Run have announced a new course for the event on Sunday 2 May. One event organiser,  Mr Peter Micalos from the CSU School of Human Movement Studies in Bathurst said, “The new starting line at the Bathurst Rugby Club is around the corner from the old start, and the new course incorporates lanes and pathways around the Macquarie River, avoiding busy roads, and the old ‘out-and-back’ section past the Tyers Park Racecourse has been eliminated. In the past, just over 200 runners have participated in the event, and we have seen competitive runners as well as individuals completing their first half marathon or 10 kilometre run. The event continues to attract interest and we hope to see more participants this year.”

Nearly 50 prizes will be presented to Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduates and current students in the Faculty of Business to recognise their academic excellence in 2009. Prizewinners will receive a variety of prizes including scholarships, books and funds from donors such as the Albury Freemasons, the Certified Practising Accountants of Australia, Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Australian Tax Office. During the ceremony Acting Dean of the CSU Faculty of Business, , Professor Ken Dillon, will recognise 28 students and graduates with Dean’s List awards for their exceptional academic performances. The ceremony will start at 10am on Thursday 22 April in the Faculty of Business building on CSU’s Thurgoona site.

Representatives of the older generation of Indigenous Christian leaders will lead discussions on the theme of ‘Christianity and Indigenous Culture and Spirituality’ at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) 2010 Pastor Cec Grant (Wongamar) Lecture on Friday 23 April. CSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Ross Chambers, said, “This lecture was established by Charles Sturt University, the Wiradjuri Council of Elders, and the Wiradjuri Christian Development Ministries to honour the memory and contribution of Pastor Cec Grant, or Wongamar. Wongamar was a leading Wiradjuri leader who played a very important part in the development of Indigenous education at CSU,” Professor Chambers said. “The theme of the third annual lecture reflects a major element in Wongamar's life, work and vision.” The 2010 lecture will be led by Mrs Edna Stewart, Miss Jean Phillips, Pastor Ossie Cruse and Mr Avon Moyle. Pastor Darren Wighton will lead the singing and other worship. The service will feature stories, reflections on the ways in which Indigenous nations developed their own ministers and leaders, the challenges faced in doing so, and the contribution these leaders made to strengthening Indigenous cultures and communities.

Like the mysterious grinning Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, only one aspect of the invisible ‘dark matter’ which dominates the universe is apparent: its gravitational effects. “We live in a universe that is completely dominated by invisible matter whose origin and nature are essentially unknown,” says Dr Allan Ernest, a physics lecturer with the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. In a lecture on Wednesday 28 April, Dr Ernest will examine the latest theories which attempt to answer the vexing questions: “What gravitational effects tell us dark matter exists? If it is really there, what could it possibly be? Are there alternative theories to dark matter?” The talk by Dr Ernest will also present work being conducted at CSU to address the questions surrounding the nature and origin of dark matter.

Innovative thinking and action to foster positive attitudes to mental health problems and linking individual struggles and social justice are promoted in NSW by a joint initiative between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the University of Western Sydney (UWS). Professor David Fryer, Professor of Community Critical Psychology at CSU’s newly established School of Psychology in Bathurst, and UWS Professor of Women’s Health Psychology, Professor Jane Ussher, will convene a half-day workshop - Freeing up our minds: critical alternatives to drug-focused approaches to mental health – at UWS on Thursday 22 April. Professor Fryer will describe and illustrate his work with ‘artivists’, self-styled ‘survivors of psychiatry’ who use artistic media in community settings to uncover and contest mental health-related oppression. “We have taken advantage of the visit to Australia by Dr Rufus May, a groundbreaking British clinical psychologist, mental health activist and media personality, to convene a workshop for those interested in socially-just alternatives to pharmacological and medical approaches to mental health,” Professor Fryer said. More information on the workshop is available from Professor David Fryer on (02) 6338 4450 or send an email.