Moods were high at all Charles Sturt University campuses on July 17 as students and staff celebrated 30 years of the educational institution.
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From humble beginnings, the university has grown into a six campus educational machine, educating students in a wide range of areas from health to the social sciences.
Locally, Charles Sturt has had a presence in Port Macquarie since 2012, starting with 22 students and two part-time degrees based at Rydges Port Macquarie in the main CBD.
The university has now been at their current location on Major Innes Road since 2016 and is currently expanding as construction begins on stage two of the campus development.
Charles Sturt deputy vice-Chancellor Professor Heather Cavanagh said it was an exciting day for the university and Port Macquarie.
"Since we began we have established new campuses in Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Wagga Wagga, Canberra and Port Macquarie - the baby of the family," professor Cavanagh said.
"We are offering higher education in fields critical to our regions, we have launched engineering, dentistry and soon to be offering medicine.
"We also have a strong track record in Indigenous education and are proud to graduate the most Indigenous students in Australia."
Professor Cavanagh said the university was also proud to continually be ranked high among students and always look for ways to connect with the local community.
"We also contribute enormously to the sustainability of the regional centres of which we are based and we hope to continue to do that into the future," she said.
At Foundation Day in Port Macquarie two student won a $500 scholarship thanks to scholarship partners Sovereign Hills. The scholarships were awarded as part of games played during Foundation Day and recipients Matthew Thompson (Education) and Pardeep Singh (Masters of IT) will use the money to help pay for study expenses.
Vice-chancellor Andrew Vann said he was delighted to be able to share in Charles Sturt's 30 year celebrations.
"I've been incredibly lucky to be part of the Charles Sturt University family for almost eight years," Mr Vann said.
"The wonderful thing about working for Charles Sturt University is that although we have challenges in our regions, there is always a new opportunity to meet those challenges through our research and our education."
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