Construction has begun on the $7.7 million allied health development at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange. The development includes a new Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Science teaching facility for the School of Community Health along with restructured access roads and a new alternative entrance allowing easier access to campus accommodation. With the Bachelor of Physiotherapy course established at CSU in Orange  this year, the University is continuing its development of the campus with a new purpose-built facility which will include academic offices, a rehabilitation gym and a practice clinic. Until the facility is completed, students will continue to use state-of-the-art rooms in the Experiential Learning Centre and Dentistry building, and attend lectures in one of the three lecture theatres on the campus. “Both the students and academics are very excited about the new facilities,” said Associate Professor Julia Coyle, Head of the School of Community Health. The building is due to be completed by mid-2011.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Emeritus Professor Ted Wolfe will receive a national medal for his outstanding contributions to agricultural education and research at a ceremony in Canberra this evening, Tuesday 9 November. Awarded by the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, the Australian Medal of Agricultural Science for 2010 will be presented to Professor Wolfe who continues to actively support agricultural research, extension, professional activities and rural communities in the Riverina, and in Eritrea, North East Africa. In 1990, Professor Wolfe was appointed head of the then-School of Agriculture at CSU in Wagga Wagga and coordinated the agriculture degree at CSU until his retirement from the University in 2001.He is a member of the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, a collaborative alliance between CSU and Industry & Investment NSW. Professor Wolfe has experienced another busy period in 2009/10, completing two book chapters, writing a Pasture Profile of Australia for the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, and supporting an Australian-funded agricultural project in Eritrea.  Read more about Professor Wolfe’s Australian Medal of Agricultural Science for 2010 here.

More than 130 Charles Sturt University (CSU) administrative staff will converge on CSU in Orange to attend the University’s biennial conference, Admin Focus - Diversity @ one university on Wednesday 17 November. Every two years administrative staff from six CSU campuses gather to attend a program of professional and social activities and this is the first time the conference has been held at CSU in Orange. “Charles Sturt University values the significant contribution of administrative staff in office and support positions,” said Ms Jenna Sharp, chairperson of the Admin Focus organising committee. “Admin Focus gives staff the opportunity to increase their understanding of relevant professional development topics, and it fosters a sense of community among administrative staff who normally would only be interacting between campuses via phone and email.” The two-day conference will include talks by professional educator and director of Keys to Success, Ms Mary Brell, and the Deputy Chancellor of the CSU Council, Ms Kathryn Pitkin.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) reputation for training professionals for inland Australia is attracting some of the nation’s most prestigious employers. In coming weeks, graduate recruitment sessions at the University’s Waaga Wagga Campus will see organisations, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA), Commonwealth Bank, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Westpac Banking Corporation, ComSuper, Smart Teachers and Select Education, outline employment opportunities for 2008 to final year CSU students. CSU Manager for Student Access and Work, Paul Worsfold says interest among graduate employers is high and to facilitate this, the University’s Careers Service has introduced an employer “portal” on its CareerHub website.  Graduate employers can now post jobs and employment information onto a database accessible to all CSU students.   

The use of virtual reality is pivotal to training future police officers in NSW, according to Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic, Ms Amanda Davies, course director of the Associate Degree in Policing Practice at the School of Policing Studies. Ms Davies will explain how simulation and virtual reality is used in teaching policing studies in a case study titled ‘The Role of Virtual Reality in Connecting Students to their Profession’ to be presented at the National Curriculum Innovation and Quality Forum 2010 in December. “Our students use virtual reality to practice management of events that could happen as part of their policing duties,” Ms Davies said. “The way this course is delivered is a good example of how virtual reality can assist in the practical learning and training involved with certain professions, and I look forward to sharing that knowledge with my colleagues at this conference.” The National Curriculum Innovation and Quality Forum 2010 aims to develop and strategies for education and training providers.

School children in Orange will get hands-on experience in the world of science at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange next Monday 29 November. Around 75 students in Year 5 at St Joseph’s Primary School will divide into small groups to conduct experiments which include the search for the elusive sea monkey, how trees breathe, building a home-made battery, and extracting DNA from fruit. Academics from the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences will spend the morning with the students in the University’s science laboratories. The aim of the workshop is to inspire children to enjoy the world of science. “We want to show the children how fun and fascinating science can be,” science lecturer Mr Gregg Maynard said. “It’s an opportunity to pass on knowledge and introduce children to the University campus.” This workshop builds on previous workshops offered to Borenore Public School and Orange Christian School in 2008 and 2009. With the success of these workshops it is hoped that the program will extend to local high schools in 2011.

Society has been transformed by computing and data transfer technology in the last two decades. The success of Charles Sturt University (CSU), which was established in 1989, owes much to the innovation and capacity of its Division of Information Technology (DIT) which celebrates its 20th anniversary with a staff barbeque on Friday 26 November. DIT Executive Director, Mr Garry Taylor, said, “Charles Sturt University was created as part of the Dawkins-era reform of the Australian higher education sector, and the University’s success is partly due to the early and deliberate priority to develop technology to ensure success. We were one of the first universities in Australia to adopt video conferencing technology, and we now have more than 100 terminals, which is important for teaching, learning and collaboration, as well as reducing the need to travel which is important for the environment. In 1990 Charles Sturt University was one of the first regional universities to connect to the Internet, and at one stage our website had the most ‘hits’ of any website in Australia in 1995-96. We also had a world-first enterprise-wide Online Learning Environment in 1997. We now have the fastest single and direct internal network link in regional Australia and the largest wireless network in the Southern Hemisphere.”

About 50 prospective Indigenous students from all over NSW and two from Queensland are participating in the three-day Darrambal Skills Assessment Program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst this week. Mr Ray Eldridge, Manager of CSU’s Indigenous Student Services, said, “Darrambal is an innovative skills assessment program designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The program compares participants’ existing skills and abilities with the entry requirements for their preferred courses at CSU, and assesses their potential to succeed in university study. Darrambal allows participants to attend university-style classes, learn skills needed for success at university, and meet lecturers and other staff in a supportive environment. Those who successfully complete Darrambal may be offered a place at CSU to study their preferred or an optional course. Alternatively, they may be encouraged to first undertake some other course of study.” More information can be found here, or phone Wammarra Indigenous Student Service Centre at CSU in Bathurst on mobile 0457 866 905.

A visit to the small, historic village of Brungle near Tumut, NSW, is on the itinerary for international historians visiting the region next week for a conference organised by academics from the School of Education at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. The 2010 Australian and New Zealand History of Education Society (ANZHES) conference has attracted about 50 historians of education from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA from Monday 6 to Thursday 9 December. “One focus of the conference is on Indigenous people’s educational histories in Australia, New Zealand and North America, highlighted by a keynote address by CSU’s Foundation Professor of Indigenous Studies, Professor Jeannie Herbert, at 8.30am on Wednesday 8 December,” conference co-convenor Dr Peter Rushbrook said. “As a part of this focus, the historians will visit Brungle Public School near Tumut from 12.30pm to 6.30pm on Wednesday 8 December. The school, established in 1868, is known for its excellent Indigenous education program, and a paper about the school’s history will be presented to the conference delegates on the coach on the way to the school.”