Ohio State names interim executive VP of university research, innovation and knowledge

Ohio State University has named an interim executive vice president of research, innovation and knowledge.

The university announced Tuesday morning that Peter J. Mohler, who currently serves as Ohio State's vice president for research and chief scientific officer at the Wexner Medical Center, will transition into the role under the leadership of current executive vice president Grace Wang.

Wang, who had led the university's research enterprises since December 2020 following an organizational restructuring by Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson, announced in November that she would become the next president at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. Mohler will assume the interim title on March 1, Wang's last day at Ohio State, pending approval by the board of trustees at its February meeting.

“We are excited to have Dr. Mohler lead the university’s Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge," Johnson said in a prepared statement. "Ohio State continues to show incredible momentum toward the goal of doubling research expenditures over the next decade to address societal challenges and improve people’s lives and Peter has played a critical role in that progress."

Under Wang's leadership, Ohio State consolidated its Office of Research, Corporate Engagement and Technology Commercialization offices, the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship and the West Campus Innovation District to create the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge.

Wang played a pivotal role in executing Johnson's ambitious goal of doubling Ohio State's research expenditures in the next decade, including setting a record-breaking $1.236 billion in research and development expenditures during the last fiscal year and overseeing ongoing development of the West Campus Innovation District, now called Carmenton.

Ohio State ranked 12th among all universities in overall research expenditures in fiscal year 2021, jumping a dozen positions from a ranking of 24th in the previous fiscal year. Ohio State’s ranking also increased among public colleges and universities, moving up from 15th to seventh during the last fiscal year.

Mohler has been at Ohio State since 2011, when he joined the university as director of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute. He subsequently served as chair of the department of physiology and cell biology in the college of medicine. Mohler was previously vice dean of research in the college of medicine.

“Dr. Mohler is an exceptional research leader who has spent more than a decade in the university’s proud culture of excellence,” Wang said. “He has been capably leading the Office of Research and will continue our mission to achieve the transformative impact of research, creative expression, innovation and knowledge to advance our society, and further serve our community through partnerships and entrepreneurship.”

Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for her Mobile Newsroom newsletter here and Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.

shendrix@dispatch.com

@sheridan120