Students attending Ashland University in the fall of 2010 will be eligible to receive "Choose Ohio First" scholarships, thanks to a collaborative program with three other educational institutions in the region.

The "Choose Ohio First" program is a scholarship program funded by the state to encourage talented Ohio residents to study in science, technology, engineering and mathematics or "STEM" programs, at Ohio colleges and universities.

The first scholarships to Ashland University were awarded this fall. Ashland University is the lead university in the northeast initiative, and will partner with the Ohio State University Agricultural Institutes, North Central State College and Lakeland Community College to attract and graduate more than 50 students in the STEM fields of clinical, biomedical and environmental research and agricultural biosciences over a five-year period.