The university has been granted $1.19 million to distribute as Choose Ohio First scholarships to STEM students over the next five years.

The new transfer agreement, which took effect with the Fall 2024 semester, creates a pathway for students who want to pursue engineering at Ohio University.

The college’s $780,000 in funding will go toward scholarships for students who are pursuing STEM education.

James Mitchell has pledged to pay for tuition, fees, and books for any student who wishes to attend the McArthur Center at Rio Grande Community College/University of Rio Grande.

The grant comes from the ARC’s POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) initiative to diversify the region’s economy after coal-related industry job losses.

The grant is from the Choose Ohio First initiative, which provides funding to Ohio colleges and universities to support students who want to pursue a STEM education.

If the program receives final approval by the Higher Learning Commission, it will launch with the Fall 2025 semester.

The program began with the Fall 2024 semester and is an offering of the school’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The new degree completion programs join a handful of options offered by the university to adult learners to enhance the regional workforce, a main goal of the university’s Calvin's Vision 2030 strategic plan.

A federal government funding bill signed in March 2024 has been earmarked for the GLWI to help fund an environmental laboratory for use by Alma College students, as well as students from other partner institutions.