UNIVERSITIES in regional towns are a vital part of the community and its economy, according to one lecturer at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Orange campus.
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CSU celebrated its 25th year of providing tertiary education to rural students at six campuses across the state yesterday, with students and staff at Orange enjoying an informal ceremony and cake, including an indigenous performance from Ray Hampton and Lewis Burns.
Lecturer Sid Parissi, who represented head of Orange campus Heather Robinson, who was unable to make it to yesterday’s celebrations, said CSU played an important role in the development of Orange.
“A lot of communities wish for a university. A university raises the status, or if you like profile, of the town. It’s important to have tertiary education institutions to give opportunities to the younger and older people in the town,” Mr Parissi said.
“We all need doctors, dentists, teachers and nurses, as well as rural agricultural professionals. Marketing, businesses, all of those things are needed in regional communities, and CSU produces a lot of those.
“Educational institutions are also important for a town’s economy. CSU provides a lot of employment opportunities to the people of Orange. There are about 1200 students here on campus and they all contribute to the local economy too.”
The Orange campus began in 1973 as the Orange Agricultural College to offer courses directly related to the management of agricultural businesses. It was then linked to University of New England from 1990 to 1994, before becoming a part of the University of Sydney.
In 2000, the Orange Agricultural College was dissolved while still remaining part of the University of Sydney, before September 8, 2006 when Orange campus was officially opened as a campus of CSU.
Orange CSU now offers many other courses aside from agriculture, including clinical sciences, pharmacy, physiotherapy and dentistry, and Mr Parissi said the values the Orange campus had when it began are still relevant today.
“It’s an opportunity for rural and remote students to gain professional education and experience, to be able to go back into the community and work there,” Mr Parissi said.
“That’s the core idea behind CSU as a regional university.”
