A Charles Sturt University (CSU) vet is warning horse owners to protect their animals from mosquitoes in light of a suspected outbreak of viral neurological disease across three states. More than 135 cases have been reported in horses in NSW and 16 of those have died or been put down. Senior Lecturer in equine medicine with the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences,  Dr Kris Hughes, said eight cases have been investigated by staff at the Veterinary Clinical Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga over recent months. He says Industry & Investment NSW is testing samples from affected horses to determine the exact cause of the condition but it is believed to be a mosquito borne virus. “Affected horses can demonstrate an exaggerated and weak limb movement, lack of coordination, muscle tremors, exaggerated response to stimuli including touch and sound, facial paralysis and behavioural changes,” he said. Dr Hughes recommends rugging, fly veils and using licensed insect repellant treatments along with removing stagnant water where horses are housed to help reduce exposure to mosquitoes.

There is high praise for the professionalism of one pharmacy graduate from Charles Sturt University (CSU). The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) – NSW Branch has named graduate Ms Sally Whiting as the 2010 NSW Intern of the Year. Ms Whiting received the honour during the Society’s 2011 March Weekend Conference held in Sydney on Saturday 26 March. Ms Whiting was awarded her Bachelor of Pharmacy Class 1 Honours  at CSU in Orange in 2010. She completed her 12 month internship, which is required for national registration, at Rozanna’s MediAdvice Pharmacy in Mudgee. Ms Whiting is now employed as a pharmacist at Blooms the Chemist in Orange. In a statement, the PSA said Ms Whiting “quickly established an enviable reputation for her passion in her chosen career which was demonstrated by her compassionate manner, exceptional knowledge and customer service skills”. She was also praised for her proactive management of patient medication and for “assisting them in helping to achieve their quality of life, confidently embracing the expanding role of the pharmacist in providing professional patient-focused services.” In congratulating Ms Whiting, Program Leader of Pharmacy at CSU, Mr George K John said, “It is students and future leaders like Sally that Charles Sturt University and the pharmacy profession are proud of, and would like to have engaging with the community”.

One of the loudest applause during the recent graduation ceremonies at Charles Sturt University (CSU) was saved for lecturer Mr Bruce Gater from the Faculty of Arts at CSU in Wagga Wagga. He was awarded a Master of Visual and Performing Arts on Thursday 31 March by the Chancellor Mr Lawrence Willett, AO. A lecturer for the past nine years, Mr Gater received his postgraduate degree in front of about 30 of his former students in the Bachelor Arts (Television Production) course. Other academics from the Faculty of Arts in Wagga Wagga to be awarded postgraduate degrees on Thursday 31 March were: Dr Karen Bell with a Doctor of Philosophy; Associate Professor Jennifer McKinnon with a Doctor of Philosophy; Mr Damian Candusso with a Master of Arts Practice with Distinction; and Ms Kim Hardwick with a Master of Arts Practice. During an inspirational occasional address, Macau-based General Stage Manager of the world’s largest aquatic show, The House of Dancing Water, Ms Anna Robb reminded the graduates of their fortune and urged them to take risks. Click here to read the speech.

Close collaboration between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and TAFE NSW now enables students to gain computing qualifications from both institutions during three years of full-time study. After completing pilot courses in Albury and Wagga Wagga, the joint program, which incorporates subjects from TAFE NSW’s Diploma of Technology (Networking) and CSU’s Bachelor of Information Technology, is being extended across NSW, with CSU units available via distance education. “This totally integrated approach allows students to study concurrently at both institutions to combine the practical industry experience presented by TAFE NSW with the theoretical rigor of CSU subjects. These students will become even more employable and better qualified in a very competitive industry,” said CSU’s Sub Dean of Information Technology, Dr John Atkinson. Dr Atkinson will meet with TAFE NSW’s Program Manager in Telecom and Networks, Franco Salaun at the Albury campus of TAFE NSW Riverina Institute on Thursday 8 March to discuss further developments in the joint program.

The newly-completed dental clinic at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will commence operation on Monday 18 April. Dr Amelia Foster, the dentist-in-charge of the clinic and a tutor at the CSU School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, said staff are now taking appointments for the state-of-the-art equipped facility which was completed in late 2010. “After a preparatory period for the new staff, we are delighted that this wonderful clinic will soon be open and operational as planned,” Dr Foster said. “This is an exciting milestone for CSU and for the people of Bathurst and the region. While we will not have CSU dental students here gaining practical experience until 2012, the clinic will operate from Monday to Friday, depending on my tutoring commitments.” The dental clinic operates as a private dental clinic, not a public or hospital dental clinic. As in all private dental clinics, fees will apply. Members of the public who wish to make an appointment should phone 1300 278 642.

Improving the physical health and mental well-being of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students and staff is the aim of new walking tracks that have been developed around the University’s Thurgoona site. “Members of the wider Thurgoona community can also use the tracks for exercise in a beautiful bush setting,” said Ms Sue Moloney, the new Head of Campus, Albury-Wodonga. The longest track, which runs for 1.2 kilometres through bush on the eastern side of the site, will be officially launched tomorrow, Tuesday 19 April, with CSU staff and students taking part in an Easter egg hunt along the track. “With nearly 300 students living on campus and a major suburb growing up around the site, these tracks will become important to providing for the health and well-being of the Thurgoona community,” Ms Moloney said.

A visiting decision-making expert from the United Kingdom will present a seminar for psychology academics and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 20 April. The organiser of the seminar, Dr Stephanie Quinton, a psychology lecturer at the CSU School of Psychology in Bathurst, says that guest lecturer Dr Mandeep K Dhami, who lectures at the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, will present a series of studies whose findings have implications for the psychology of decision-making as well as the criminal justice system. “Dr Dhami’s presentation, titled Simply Criminal or Legally Simple?, will argue that generally accepted perspectives on crime and justice - which assume that people use compensatory decision strategies that weight and integrate all of the available and relevant information in order to make a decision - may be wrong,” Dr Quinton said. “She will assert that the decision-making of both offenders and court judges, by contrast, can be best described as ‘non-compensatory’; that is, they rely on simple ‘fast and frugal’ personal investigative methods that ignore much of the available and relevant information, and base decisions on one piece of information alone.”

Graduation time and celebrations are ever growing on the Border, with Charles Sturt University (CSU) this year for the first time holding four graduation ceremonies in Albury-Wodonga commencing Thursday morning, 28 April. Over 820 graduates will be eligible to receive their doctorates, degrees, diplomas and certificates from CSU’s Chancellor Lawrie Willett, AO, with over 600 actually attending their ceremonies, together with more than 1 800 family and friends. Highlighting the growing importance of research at CSU at Albury-Wodonga, this year 13 Doctors of Philosophy will be awarded to researchers from the University’s Faculties of Business, Education and Science. Three ceremonies, including the first-ever evening event for graduates from the University’s Melbourne Study Centre, will be held on Thursday 28 April, with a morning ceremony on Friday 29 April. All ceremonies will be celebrated in the Albury Entertainment Centre, Swift Street, Albury.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is taking a closer look at garbage as part of an annual environmental scorecard tracking resource use and greenhouse gas emissions from the institution. The scorecard is produced by CSU Green , and this year’s features more information about waste at the University. The report found almost 16 000 cubic metres of waste was produced in 2010 and more than 75 per cent went into landfill. Acting Manager of CSU Green, Mr Edward Maher, says in the past waste was viewed simply as a cost for the organisation. “A lot of hard work has gone into understanding more about where the waste is coming from and what types of materials it contains,” Mr Maher said. “From here there is real scope to implement avoidance, reuse and recycling initiatives that will ultimately result in less waste to landfill.”   CSU has set a target for 2014 to recover 70 per cent of its solid waste rather than send it to landfill. The environmental scorecard also shows that despite construction of new facilities, CSU’s greenhouse gas emissions are steady and water consumption is nearly half that used in 2006.