AKRON, Ohio — The state has awarded $9.3 million in the Choose Ohio First grants to two Northeast Ohio universities. Choose Ohio First is a scholarship program that supports undergraduate and graduate programs that help strengthen the state's competitiveness in STEMM disciplines -- science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.

The University of Akron and Kent State University received the first- and fourth-largest awards in the state respectively, out of the 57 colleges and universities selected in the competitive award process.

The University of Akron received $5.8 million to support its STEMM-based Choose Ohio First Scholars Program. One of the largest in the state, the program aims to recruit students from backgrounds underrepresented in STEMM fields, the university said.

“From the beginning, we have been purposeful in our commitment to diverse recruiting in the broadest sense of the term,” said Academic and Retention Support Director Avis Brown in a release. “We look for promising students in Appalachia, in urban areas, from small high schools, from rural schools where the valedictorian’s ACT was in the mid-twenties. Many recruits are first generation.”

The program requires no minimum GPA or ACT score, he said. Students are given the academic support and services they need. As part of that support, the university offers a summer boot camp to help Choose Ohio students in challenging subjects, while internships and tutors are encouraged, he said.

At the end of each term, Brown and his team assess each student individually, reviewing their lives on and off campus, to provide individualized guidance. Brown said he and his team can relate first-hand to many Choose Ohio students’ backgrounds.

“We’ve been the only one of color, or the only one of a gender in a class, and that gives us insight that often resonates with our students,” he said.

Kent State University was awarded $3.5 million in the Choose Ohio First program.

Kent State launched its Choose Ohio program in 2008 as a way to increase the number of Ohio grads in STEMM majors statewide, the university said.

The university will divide the total award into two grants. Beginning this year, $1.1 million will be used over five years to recruit and support each cohort while the second grant of $2.4 million will go toward a four-year program helping previously recruited and enrolled Choose Ohio scholars complete their degrees.

“Our mission at Kent State is to provide access to higher education, independent of financial background,” Kent State President Todd Diacon said in a release. “Support from Choose Ohio First is essential to more broadly offer affordable higher education to students in Kent State’s STEM programs.”

Kent State offers four STEMM-based Choose Ohio programs, with mathematics and computer sciences; chemistry, biochemistry and physics; and bioengineering and life sciences at the Kent Campus, while mathematics and life sciences are offered at the Stark Campus.

Kent’s Choose Ohio students will be supported by teams of advisors, academic program leaders and faculty in their majors. The university will also organize events to bring the students together as a community to help strengthen their professional skills.

The university’s program works to retain graduates by helping connect them to full-time employment in Ohio through internships and career exploration services.