Trending
MARIETTA -- Marietta College will receive a $1,051,500 Choose Ohio First Grant to support students in science, including the health professions, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The award is divided between two grants, a five-year grant to recruit and support new cohorts of students, and a four-year grant to support previously enrolled Choose Ohio First scholars through the completion of their degrees, Chancellor Randy Gardner of the Ohio Department of Higher Education said.
"As part of the largest number of institutional grantees in COF history, (Marietta's) proposal to provide S.T.E.M. scholarships will help improve Ohio's workforce capacity to innovate and grow our economy," Gardner said.
Choose Ohio First is an initiative of the Ohio Department of Higher Education to increase support for the next generation of Ohio S.T.E.M. scholars and industry leaders.
Participating institutions, such as Marietta College, award scholarships to students from Ohio based on need and merit. The initiative awarded grants to 60 institutions of higher education this year, up from 35 in 2020.
"Marietta College is committed to educating Pioneers who will blaze new trails in these critical fields," college President William N. Ruud said. "One of the biggest challenges for students in Ohio is affording the cost of college. The COF scholarship will give us the leverage we need to attract the most qualified students to our S.T.E.M. programs, regardless of their ability to afford a private college."
While this is the largest Choose Ohio First award Marietta College has received to date. The college has received grants since 2011.
The funds have allowed Marietta College to provide scholarships for more than 260 students in its petroleum engineering, geology and physician assistant programs.
According to the Bureau for Labor Statics, employment in S.T.E.M. occupations is projected to grow 8 percent between 2019-2026, more than twice the national average of non-S.T.E.M. occupations in the same time period.
The trend matches employment projections for Ohio. According to the Department of Job and Family Services 2026 Ohio Job Outlook Employment Projections, Ohio is expected to add 253,000 new jobs between 2016-2026 with approximately 60 percent of those jobs being in S.T.E.M. fields.
According to a recent report done by the Marietta College Career Services Center, the Mid-Ohio Valley also shows continual job growth for individuals with S.T.E.M. degrees. The top occupations include physicians, surgeons, physician assistants, general and operations managers, physical therapists, industrial engineers, speech and language pathologists and accountants.
Healthcare and social assistance account for 15.4 percent of the jobs in Washington County, followed by manufacturing (14.6 percent), professional, scientific and technical jobs (3.5 percent), logistics (4.8 percent), public administration (5.3 percent), finance and insurance (3.3 percent), and mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction (2.3 percent).