A new program aimed at enhancing the teaching skills of graduate students was announced at the Graduate Student Senate meeting Monday night.

“Preparing Future Faculty” has been implemented in over 300 institutions nationwide, said Donna Kienzler, assistant dean in the English department.

“It’s designed to supplement education,” she said. “The departments teach research and study, but this program gives you extra credentials for your graduate career.”

The program is held on a semester basis, with seminars on topics from grant writing to legal issues.

Mentoring also plays a large role, giving each student a mentor in addition to their major professor, Kienzler said.

“We try to give information that will apply to a lot of different disciplines,” she said. “Learning style is something we think people benefit from again and again and again.”

Senator Brooke Edmunds, graduate in plant pathology, introduced a bill to revise guidelines for child care reimbursement.

The new bill allots reimbursements of up to $40 per day, per family, for a maximum of four days for expenses beyond normal daycare incurred by graduate students attending professional meetings. The bill passed unanimously.

Dee Egdorf, president of the Graduate Student Senate and graduate student in human development and family studies, encouraged graduate students to voice their opinions on tuition increases at the Oct. 16 and 17 Board of Regents meeting in Cedar Falls.

“We need to work to personalize this, to make it work for graduate students,” Egdorf said. “Unless [the regents] know what’s needed, they can’t address the issues.”

Senator Daniel Leeds, graduate student in mathematics, told the group Buchanan Hall will remain closed for the next two years due to an increase in renovation costs.

Heather Cole, graduate student in human development and family studies, resigned from her position as secretary. Senator Heidi Kratsch, graduate in horticulture, was elected to fill that vacancy.

Applications for the spring session of Preparing Future Faculty are due October 28.

More information can be found at http://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/about/pff.html.