Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff will explore their skills as middle level managers after securing places in an Australia-wide industry-based leadership training program. Mrs Debra Bell, from the Division of Human Resources at CSU in Wagga Wagga, and Ms Amanda Davies, from the School of Policing Studies at CSU in Goulburn, were awarded scholarships valued at $8 000 each in the Australian Applied Management Colloquium. As part of the six-month intensive management development program, the women will attend two residential schools at Thurgoona in May and again in October. Mrs Bell said, “I am excited to secure a place in the competitive program and to explore my middle management skills and gain further confidence with people from other organisations. Charles Sturt University has also supported staff involvement in the program.” Ms Davies said, “The opportunity to participate in this management development program complements the University’s commitment to support rural and regional communities, and enhance workplace management capacities.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host the 2011 Practice-Based Education Summit in two sessions at two venues in April. Professor Joy Higgs, the Director of CSU’s Education for Practice Institute, said the summit will hear from Australian and international experts, led by CSU Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Ian Goulter, including Professors Dave Boud, Stephen Billett and Peter Goodyear. “Higher education places a high priority on preparation of graduates for work and life,” Professor Higgs said. “This Summit provides a forum for those working in practice-based education to highlight challenges to the field, and contribute to its advancement by sharing good practice models and examples.” The first session of the Summit will be held at the CSU centre at 102 Bennelong Parkway, Sydney Olympic Park, on Thursday 7 April, and will be followed by a two-day residential forum at CSU in Bathurst on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 April.

One Charles Sturt University (CSU) student is holding onto her surf life saving club membership despite her move to inland Australia to complete her studies. Ms Bec Thomson, a Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science student at CSU in Wagga Wagga, is pursuing her chosen sport - surf life saving - with a passion, setting her sights on the coming national championships on the Gold Coast early next month. Originally from the small town of Ulverstone in northwest Tasmania, Ms Thomson transferred from a university in her home state to the medical radiation science program at CSU in Wagga Wagga in 2011. During the State Surf Championships held on Tasmania’s Clifton Beach on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 March, Ms Thomson won four out of the five individual races. They included the surf race, board race, ski and tube rescue races. Representing the Devonport Surf Life Saving Club, Ms Thomson also won the mixed double ski event and was a member of the winning relay teams. The CSU student took home eight gold and four silver medals. “Given that my sport is in the sea, I used to spend every day at the beach. So now being four hours inland has certainly been a bit of a change,” Ms Thomson said. “I swapped my surf ski for a kayak. I paddle with the Wagga Wagga Bidgee Canoe Club on the Murrumbidgee River three or four times a week. I also swim four times a week at the local aquatic centre.”

The second free seminar for participants in the 25th CSU Bathurst Half Marathon and 10 kilometre Run will be presented by Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Human Movement Studies lecturers at the CSU gym lecture room from 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday 5 April. CSU lecturer and seminar organiser Mr Peter Micalos said the two presentations at the seminar aim to provide runners with current scientific knowledge about how to enhance their performance. “This seminar offers presentations by Dr Eric Drinkwater and me,” Mr Micalos said. “Dr Drinkwater will examine why runners should add some weight lifting to their training regime, and I will highlight the current literature on the different types of dietary fats and their effect on health and performance.” The 25th CSU Bathurst Half Marathon and 10 kilometre Run on Sunday 1 May is staged over a flat, fast course on pathways and country lanes around the Macquarie River, and starts and finishes at the Bathurst Rugby Club in Hereford Street, Bathurst. The entry fee is $30 or $15 for students, and includes a free sausage sizzle at the presentation, and random-draw prizes.

An exhibition of contemporary Australian prints will be featured at Joyes Hall at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga during graduation week. The fair & square print exchange portfolio has been compiled by Melbourne artist Ms Rona Green and features prints from 44 artists. Ms Green asked other artists to create a new work and she’s given them to the CSU Art Collection through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program. CSU Art Curator, Thomas A. Middlemost, says it’s a snapshot of Australian printmaking. “The exhibition includes portraits, landscapes and abstract art,” he said. “The portfolio will give greater contemporary depth to the extensive body of printmaking in the CSU Art Collection.”  The CSU Art Collection is comprised of twentieth century Australian works used for research and teaching. The fair & square exhibition opening will be held at Joyes Hall CSU in Wagga Friday 1 April at 6pm. It will be on display to the public during graduation from Wednesday 30 March to Friday 1 April and throughout April by appointment with the CSU Art Curator on 02 6925 3666.

A leading international psychology and law expert is visiting Australia at the invitation of Charles Sturt University (CSU) and will present several seminars and workshops for policing and psychology students and practitioners. Professor Siegfried L Sporer, social psychologist from the University of Giessen in Germany, is the guest of CSU’s Australian Graduate School of Policing in Manly, and the School of Psychology in Bathurst. Professor Jane Goodman-Delahunty, Justice and Psychology researcher at CSU, said, “Professor Sporer will visit Charles Sturt University in Bathurst on Wednesday 30 March to present a four-hour workshop about meta-analysis for staff and students.  Head of the CSU School of Psychology, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology Michael Kiernan, will host this forum. On Thursday 31 March, Professor Sporer will present a colloquium hosted by the School of Psychology at CSU in Bathurst. The topic is ‘New Insights from recent meta-analyses on detecting deception: Why are people so bad at it, and how to make them better’.”

Students at Charles Sturt University in Albury-Wodonga will meld care for the environment with music when they stage the ‘Un-Earthed Hour’ event on the Albury-Wodonga Campus on Tuesday 29 March. CSU registered to take part in Earth Hour on Saturday 26 March and encouraged students and staff to support this initiative by turning off all non-essential lights and equipment when they headed home on Friday. To also celebrate Earth Hour, the CSU Division of Student Services and CSU Green supported a number of events around its campuses, and at CSU in Albury/Thurgoona there will be live acoustic music (‘Un-Earthed Hour’) and pizza on the oval between residences from 7.30pm on Tuesday 29th March. The University is attempting to measure its energy savings achieved during Earth Hour this year.

The nationally recognised Science in the Bush program coordinated by the Australian Museum will be hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) this week in Albury. During the two-day event, CSU staff will run three hands-on workshops on such topics as wetland bugs, funky feet and Darwin’s worms. “Science in the Bush recognises that in Australia we must do more to interest kids in science”, CSU's Dean of Science, Professor Nick Klomp said. “We want them to feel the excitement of science and discovery so we can produce our fair share of scientists in inland Australia.” High school students from the Border will attend the event at the University's Thurgoona site, starting at 9.30am on Tuesday 5 April, while primary school students will visit CSU on Wednesday 6 April.

A two-day residential forum at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 April will hear from Australian and international practice-based education experts led by CSU’s Professor Joy Higgs and Professor Stephen Kemmis. The forum is the second part of the 2011 Practice-Based Education Summit, and follows a one-day session at Sydney Olympic Park last week. Professor Joy Higgs, the Director of CSU’s Education for Practice Institute, said, “Higher education in general, and Charles Sturt University in particular, places a high priority on preparing graduates for work and life. The Summit will enable practice-based education experts to illustrate challenges to the field, and contribute to its advancement by sharing good practice models and examples.” Visiting experts include Associate Professor Laurie Grealish (Canberra University), Ms Carol-Joy Patrick (Griffith University) and Adjunct Associate Professor Jan Orrell (Flinders University).