BIKE CHICKS CYCLE SCHOOL ‘A Cycling Development Program for Women’ ________________________________________ M EDIA RELEASE Bike Chicks – Development Program Launch The Rockhampton Cycling Club’s Bike Chicks Development Program will commence on Wednesday 21st June with a launch of the program at Central Queensland University at 5.45pm in the Building 18 lecture theatre (Nursing Building).

Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music lecturer Kim Kirkman has been recognised as an 'Outstanding Professional' at the recent Arts Queensland, Art Is In Art Awards.

Mr Kirkman's award was in recognition of his outstanding community service through the musical direction of the 2005 performance of the 'Proms' (Mackay Choral Society), 'The Messiah' (December 2005) and the '4MK Community Christmas Carols by Candlelight'.

CQU Mackay is in the last stages of recruiting for two Accelerated STEPS classes which will commence on July 10.

The Accelerated STEPS program varies slightly from the normal STEPS program in that it runs for 12 weeks, classes are intensive and fast-paced, and it requires a four-day per week commitment of Mackay students.

CQU's commitment to being part of the Elite Athlete Friendly University Network was recognised this week when Queensland Academy of Sport Athlete Career and Education Program Advisor Geoff Cox formally presented a plaque to Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Angela Delves.

The Elite Athlete Friendly University (EAFU) Network has been established by the Australian Institute of Sport.

Dr Judith Wake, a Mackay-based member of CQU's Centre for Environmental Management, presented findings from an interim report, 'Re-sampling of Mangrove Health in the Pioneer Estuary 2005/06', at the Healthy Waterways Forum in Mackay on May 30.

The report, funded by the Mackay Whitsunday Natural Resource Management Group and undertaken by Dr Wake, contributes to building a broader understanding of mangrove and ecosystem health in the Pioneer River Estuary.

The Queensland Government is developing a research project with CQU's Institute for Sustainable Regional Development (ISRD) to help small business in regional and rural areas cope with drought.

Small Business Minister Chris Cummins this week announced that Queensland will share the research results with other Australian jurisdictions.

CQU Bachelor of Business graduate Mark Shield is Australia's only referee at the FIFA World Cup, and the youngest of the 23 referees chosen for the largest event on the planet.

He officiated in the Group H 2-all draw between Tunisia and Saudia Arabia on June 15 in Munich.

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Education this week farewelled the Master of Learning Management coordinator for CQU Mackay, Mr Ray Clarke.

Mr Clarke, an employee of Education Queensland, has been working one day a week at CQU to coordinate the MLM program in a partnership between Education Queensland and CQU Mackay.

CQU Plant Sciences PhD student Shamsa Syeda was successful in winning the 2006 Ernest Jackson Memorial Research Grant awarded by the River Basin Management Society (RBMS).

According to Professor David Midmore, Director of the Plant Sciences Group, the successful proposal on the impacts of acid mine drainage on the integrated ecological health of the Dee River, fitted very well into the RBMS mission statement to "establish a balanced approach to land, water and natural resource management on a catchment basis".

CQU Bundaberg has launched the locally-produced 'Sweet Sounds of a Sugar Town' CD and DVD (on Thursday, June 15).

'Sweet Sounds of a Sugar Town' is a collection of musical and audio-visual compositions inspired by the soundscapes and rhythms of the Bundaberg sugar Industry.