ONU has received a Choose Ohio First grant for STEM student recruitment and retention. Totaling $952,000, the Ohio Department of Higher Education fiscal year 2023 grant funding will assist ONU students studying in STEM and health professions majors.
Scholarships will be awarded based on student merit, financial need and under representation as it relates to the overall student body including students of color, women, and students from rural areas. Adding 25 students through a $3,400 matched Choose Ohio First scholarship per year to the Ohio workforce pipeline is a tangible way for Ohio Northern to assist Ohio in helping the state to refocus on STEM and health sciences by preparing the next contingent of scientists and health care professionals. Recipients will then receive additional support in a variety of ways throughout their entire degree program, which will help them develop a sense of academic, professional and social belonging and purpose and acquire skills for lifelong success and service. Continuing scholars will serve as mentors to first-year COF scholars.
"Previous Choose Ohio First grants, received by ONU, have provided financial support for many students to be able to enroll in an ONU STEM degree program. For the past decade Ohio Northern has continually educated and graduated Choose Ohio First scholars who have made an impact in the state of Ohio," says President Melissa J. Baumann, Ph.D. in a press release. "We're honored that the ODHE has again chosen our institution to assist even more students, particularly as we continue to develop our strategic plan and support students in STEM and health care fields."
For this round of funding to begin in the fall of 2023, ONU is focusing the funding on students to increase the enrollment in STEM and health sciences fields that prepare professionals for in demand research and health care occupations in Ohio. Specifically, the proposal aims to increase enrollment at Ohio Northern University in biological sciences, biochemistry, chemistry, molecular biology, medical laboratory sciences, pharmacy, pharmaceutical biomedical sciences, nursing and the pre-professional preparatory fields for medicine, occupational and physical therapy and physician assistant occupations.
Ohio has committed more than $161.3 million over the past four years to STEM and STEM education scholarships.
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