The 56 papers in this volume address issues central to the preparation of graduate teaching assistants (TA) as both scholars and future professors. It is noted that the majority of TA programs are infrequent workshops with either limited or no follow-up, and that the task of preparing the next generation of professors appears to be more complex that ever before. In Section I, the reader is urged to consider the TA position and the context in which the teaching assistant operates. The recent development of a significantly diverse student body in higher education is the focus of Section II. Ways of approaching TA training, both campus-wide and discipline-specific, are described in Section III. Section IV focuses on some of the appropriate strategies, tools, and resources which will prepare teaching assistants to interact effectively with undergraduates. Given that the teaching assistantship remains primarily an apprenticeship learning model, Section V deals with supervision issues and relationships. Section VI covers some of the special needs of international teaching assistants as they attempt to teach in a second culture using a second language. References accompany many of the papers. Among paper topics are the following: a proactive training approach; gender bias; TA training on a shoestring budget; training TAs to teach writing; a peer consultation program; TA training materials; the TA role in the interactive classroom; language proficiency legislation; international TAs and cultural differences. (JB)