2006-10-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

Stanford University announced Wednesday a $20 million program to encourage graduates to become teachers by paying off their student loans.

The loan-forgiveness program applies to graduates of the Stanford Teacher Education Program, a yearlong master's program for K-12 teachers at the university's School of Education.

Under the program, STEP graduates will have half of their student loans forgiven after they teach for two years; the remainder will be forgiven after they complete four years of teaching.

To fund the program, the university matched a $10 million gift from Judy Avery, a Stanford alumna who chairs the Durfee Foundation of Santa Monica.

The program was inspired by research showing that teachers who teach for at least three years are more likely to stay in the profession, university officials said.

"This new program will permit Stanford to support visionary and committed young people who want to undertake one of the most important roles we have in our society," Stanford President John Hennessy said in a statement.

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