Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a political forum as part of the Political Market Day for students on its Bathurst Campus from 10am to 2pm on Wednesday 7 March. The political forum is organised by the University’s Student Representative Council (SRC) in consultation with the Head of Campus at CSU Bathurst Professor Greg Walker. It will include a cross section of representatives of political parties including Liberal, Labor, Nationals, Democrats, Socialist Alliance and Greens. “CSU supports and encourages informed debate on a range of social and political issues and given that this is an election year, we consider it important for our students to engage with and participate in the election process,” Professor Walker said. The event will include information stalls, speeches by politicians and candidates, live music and a barbeque.

University students from around Australia will gather for five days at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga next month to discuss the future of food, water and climate for a sustainable world. The 2011 Students of Sustainability (SoS) conference will be held from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 July. The annual event includes forums and workshops on various sustainability topics which will demonstrate how theory and practice can be used to make positive social and environmental changes. Other topics to be covered include anti-nuclear developments, and the Australian Student Environment Network. Conference activities also include hands-on workshops, updates on current campaigns, Do-It-Yourself sustainability skill sharing, music performances, lectures and local excursions. This year is the twentieth anniversary of the SoS conference, and the first time it has been held in a regional city since 1997.

The main medical research agency in the United States, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will be a highlight of a two week trip to the USA by 15 health students from Charles Sturt University (CSU). As part of CSU’s international study experience program, the group will visit New York City and Washington DC from Sunday 3 July. The students will also visit the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, the AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, Columbia University, the Shock and Trauma Center at the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Museums complex. “This trip will expose the students to a variety of universities and research facilities to see how they go about their business,” said Dr Chris Blanchard from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. “We encourage our students to have an international perspective during their studies and in their future careers.” The internal and distance education students from Australia and New Zealand are enrolled in a variety of allied health courses including medical science, pharmacy, forensic biotechnology, complementary medicine, and nutrition and dietetics. The students are supported by CSU Global through $500 Vice-Chancellor Travel Grants.

After 10 years in the role, Professor Kevin Parton will step down as Head of Campus at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange at the end of the month, and staff will acknowledge his contribution to the campus at a lunch on Wednesday 29 June. Professor Parton will return to his substantive role as University Professor within the School of Business and his research work with the Institute of Land, Water and Society. “I have enjoyed assisting in the development of individual staff members of the campus in Orange, of the University generally, and people beyond the University,” Professor Parton said. This last 10 years has seen massive change at the Orange Campus in both courses of offer and in infrastructure developments. New courses include pharmacy, dental science, physiotherapy and clinical science, together with a reorganisation in area of agricultural business. The infrastructure changes include new student accommodation, extensions to the learning commons, a new lecture theatre, a cycleway from the city, significant improvements to the sporting facilities, many new teaching classrooms, together with new laboratories, the dentistry complex and physiotherapy building. “Before I left Canada to come to Orange, I was attracted to the role as a leader of change. University planners 10 years ago had foreseen some of the changes that are going on today. Likewise, some of the changes will take another 10 years to unfold and are now on the drawing board,” Professor Parton said.

A motivated young man will move closer to realising his dream of becoming a teacher when he graduates from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Ontario  on Friday 17 June. Mr Chad Pilon, who uses a wheelchair, will be awarded his Bachelor of Primary Education Studies  from CSU. Mr Pilon said graduation is an important milestone both professionally and personally. “I truly believe that disability is a state of mind. There are challenges but I always look forward to meeting them head on,” he said. “I'd like to thank Charles Sturt University for creating an inclusive environment which has allowed me to succeed.” Mr Pilon said the CSU teaching program has prepared him for the classroom. “The program equips us with proven teaching strategies that in some cases are just now being implemented in schools. I really feel ready to face all of the challenges of the teaching profession.”

The Chancellor of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Mr Lawrie Willett, AO, and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Goulter, will introduce and welcome Professor Andrew Vann as the recently-announced new Vice-Chancellor of the University at a media conference at CSU in Bathurst at 10.30am Thursday 30 June. Professor Goulter announced late last year that he would leave CSU at the end of 2011. Professor Vann, who is presently Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor of James Cook University in north Queensland, was chosen as his successor following an international recruitment search. He will take up his appointment in January 2012. Staff of CSU, representatives of media organisations, local government councillors, and members of parliament are invited to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) researchers are asking beef producers to help them find out more information about a condition affecting up to 10 percent of calves. Researchers from the Fred Morley Unit are undertaking one of the first studies of the impact of scours (diarrhoea) in calves in Australian beef herds. It is the most common symptom of illness in young calves reducing growth rates and causing death in a small number of cases. Senior lecturer with the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Dr Jan Lievaart said,  “Most of the research into calf scours in beef cattle has been done in Northern America and this project aims to get hard data for the Australian situation to see if there are any differences”. Surveys have been sent to 1 000 beef producers in the Hume Livestock Health and Pest Authority area and researchers hope to follow up by collecting samples from affected animals to identify the types of pathogens causing the infection. Producers who return their surveys will receive free entry to the EH Graham Centre  Beef Field Day on Thursday 4 August.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) veterinarian said the Hendra virus is very unlikely to pose an immediate risk for horse owners in southern NSW. However, senior lecturer in Equine Medicine with the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences Dr Kris Hughes, said a confirmed case of the Hendra virus at Wollongbar on the north coast does serve as a warning for all horse owners, veterinarians and other individuals dealing with horses in the region to be vigilant. “The risk is very low given our geographical location, but people should be aware of any changes in their horses’ behaviour, neurological signs and respiratory signs,” he said. The Hendra virus is transmitted to horses by flying foxes and is known to emerge only in autumn and winter in Queensland and northern NSW. In rare cases it can be transmitted from horses to humans and four of the seven people ever diagnosed with the virus have died. Dr Hughes hopes a vaccine being developed by the Australian Animal Health Laboratory will be available and widely distributed next year.

University students committed to the environment will put their ideas on show in the main street of Albury this week as part of the Students on Sustainability (SoS) conference being staged at Charles Sturt University (CSU) until Sunday 10 July. A stall will be set up in Dean Street in central Albury to allow the residents of Albury-Wodonga to be photographed in front of artwork highlighting the importance of healthy water futures, allowing them to add messages of support, starting Wednesday 6 July. These photos will then be displayed to the public on Friday 8 July from 6.30pm to 7.30pm at the University. Event co-organiser and CSU environment student, Ms Meryn Shaw, said the students wanted to involve the community in the activities, with around 400 students expected to gather for the five day event. The local Wiradjuri community and CSU Dean of the Faculty of Science, Professor Nick Klomp, will welcome participants to the SoS conference from 9am to 10.30 am on Wednesday  6 July.