Program would reward new teachers for staying in Iowa

It’s not a shiny apple, but the University of Northern Iowa hopes a new program is the carrot needed to lure new teaching graduates to stay in the state. U-N-I Foundation Vice President Scott Leisinger says it’s called the “Teaching in Iowa Incentive Fund,” and will give awards to grads of the Cedar Falls school that take a teaching job in the state. He says of the challenges to keeping the best teachers in the state, is the debt load the students are building due to increasing tuition. He says they’ve heard students can find higher-paying jobs out of state. The incentive fund was started with a one-million dollar contribution from Rex and Kathy Eno of Cedar Rapids. Leisinger says there’s one other stipulation for new teachers to make them eligible for an award.He says only students who have financed their higher education costs in whole or in part through student loans will be eligible for an award. He says teachers who stay in the state can have their award renewed for a second year. Leisinger says the school plans to give awards to two students in 2005, and may be able to expand the number if the fund grows. He says the available funding each year will be subject to the amount of investment funding, but he says it’ll be roughly five-percent of the endowment principal. Rex Eno is the retired chairman of the Life Investors Insurance Company, and his wife Kathy is a U-N-I graduate.