Peter Mohler named new University of Alabama president

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees on Monday appointed Peter J. Mohler as the next president of the University of Alabama.

Mohler comes to the role from Ohio State University where he served as executive vice president for research, innovation and knowledge and as chief scientific officer of the Wexner Medical Center. He also served as Ohio State’s acting president in 2023.

He will assume the role at the University of Alabama on July 21. He will be the university’s 30th president.

Mohler will replace President Stuart R. Bell, who announced his retirement in January.

“Dr. Mohler is uniquely equipped to build upon The University of Alabama’s strong foundation and lead this institution into an even brighter future,” UA System Chancellor Sid J. Trant said in a statement about the selection. “He is a champion for the power of public higher education to transform lives and communities through teaching, research and service, and he will advance our flagship mission through his bold, student-centered and visionary leadership.”

Mohler joined Ohio State in 2011 as the director of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute and subsequently served as chair of the department of physiology and cell biology, vice dean of research in the College of Medicine, and vice president for research for the university.

Mohler has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and a doctorate in cell and molecular physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served on the faculty at Vanderbilt University and the University of Iowa.