Malone, Mount Union awarded state grants to provide STEM scholarships

Canton Repository
·2 min read

Two Stark County universities are getting STEM grants from the Ohio Department of Higher Education to support students.

Malone University in Canton has been awarded approximately $1.09 million while the University of Mount Union in Alliance will receive about $881,000.

The funds will help the universities provide scholarships to financially disadvantaged students interested in STEM careers.

All of the dollars come from Choose Ohio First, a program within the state department, which is part of Ohio's plans to develop talent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. More than $200 million has been committed to STEM and STEM-education scholarships, according to a news release.

More: Mount Union, Walsh and Malone appear on U.S. News America's Best Colleges rankings

“We’re thrilled that the Ohio Department of Education has awarded this generous scholarship funding to us,” said Christina Schnyders, Malone provost, in a statement. "We believe that our Christian worldview prepares compassionate healthcare practitioners, wise stewards of God’s creation, and empathetic educators across STEM and other disciplines.”

Sandra Madar, co-vice president for academic affairs at Mount Union, said the COF scholarship funding would allow them to "accelerate our efforts to mitigate the significant staffing shortages of physicians in regional ERs by continuing to produce physician's assistants that serve in that setting, and by attracting students to our new, first-in-Ohio MSN ER nurse practitioner program in fall of 2024."

Malone students will be eligible to receive up to $8,000 in additional scholarship funding.

Undergraduate programs that are eligible for support includebiochemistry, biology, environmental studies, mathematics, nursing, and zoo & wildlife biology. Graduate programs that are eligible for support include clinical mental health counseling and the master of science in nursing. Priority is given to those who indicate interest by Feb. 1.

"Having campuses on our list of Choose Ohio First awardees for the first time is a testament to the success - and the importance - of this program," said Chancellor Randy Gardner. "I am pleased to have Malone University as a new Choose Ohio First partner and know it will do great work in preparing its STEM scholars."

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Malone University, University of Mount Union get STEM grants