Peter Mohler, Ph.D., has been named the 30th president of the University of Alabama. He will assume the role on July 21.
Mohler comes to UA from Ohio State University, where his 20 years of experience includes serving as executive vice president for research, innovation and knowledge and chief scientific officer of OSU’s Wexner Medical Center. He also served as acting president in 2023.
“Dr. Mohler is uniquely equipped to build upon the University of Alabama’s strong foundation and lead this institution into an even brighter future,” said Sid Trant, UA System chancellor.
In his current role at Ohio State, Mohler is tasked with building strategic partnerships with government and industry leaders to foster innovation and fuel economic and workforce development. To that point, under his leadership Ohio State has risen in national research rankings and research and development expenditures have increased by around $600 million annually — topping $1.5 billion. He has supported more than $100 million in gifts and led academic efforts to establish transformational academic centers and initiatives on campus.
“UA stands as a national leader in higher education, and I look forward to working collaboratively across campus, the UA System and the state to expand our impact and build on the university’s remarkable momentum,” Mohler said.
Mohler is an accomplished researcher who has authored more than 275 peer-reviewed publications. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including being named a Pew Scholar, an Outstanding Investigator of the American Heart Association and an inaugural NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute Outstanding Investigator.
A native of Colorado, he earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and his doctorate in cell and molecular physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He performed his postdoctoral fellowship in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University before being appointed to the faculty at Vanderbilt University and later the University of Iowa.
Mohler and his wife, Nancy, have three children, Eleanor, Caroline and John.
