UA leader makes four commitments: develop leaders, drive research, strengthen communities and steward resources with greater discipline and transparency
The University of Alabama has a clear call: become a future-ready flagship institution. During spring campus assembly, UA President Peter J. Mohler outlined his vision for the campus, anchored by three priorities and four concrete commitments meant to guide the institution in the years ahead.
Over months of listening sessions with faculty, staff, students, alumni and other constituents, Mohler, who became UA’s president in July 2025, asked a direct question: “What would you do if you were president for the day?”
“The expectations around higher education are shifting,” he said. “The workforce across Alabama and across the nation and the world is evolving. Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace.”
Mohler’s answer to that shift is a vision he described as the University not just of Alabama, but “for Alabama, for leaders, and for the future” — three intertwined priorities that should reshape how the campus approaches its work.
Four Commitments
Mohler organized his remarks around four commitments: to develop, to discover, to serve and to steward, framing each as a “promise about what we will prioritize” and a standard against which the University will measure itself.
Develop. The first commitment centers on preparing students not merely with knowledge but with the skills to apply it, think critically and lead. The president pointed to existing examples of that preparation: internship partnerships with Mercedes-Benz in Vance, and hands-on student research led by faculty such as Dr. Mercy Mumba, whose work focuses on substance use and mental health.
Mohler also noted the newly established School of Leadership and Policy, which will enroll its first students in the fall, and highlighted the Smith Family Center for the Performing Arts set to open next year as evidence of the University’s commitment to the arts, humanities and social sciences.
“The arts, the humanities, and the natural and social sciences are not separate from this direction; they make it possible,” he said.
Discover. The second commitment addresses research and innovation. Mohler said UA should be advancing work “at the intersections of fields,” pointing to efforts such as the Wiregrass Hub for Water Research in southeast Alabama, the COMPASS Brain Health Initiative, and engineering faculty tackling supply chain challenges.
He also announced the UA AI Experience, a new initiative designed to ensure students, faculty and staff across the University are prepared to use artificial intelligence tools with “judgment, accountability and clarity.”
“Our role is to understand it, to apply it effectively, and to lead in how it is used.”
Serve. The third commitment focuses on the University’s responsibility to the state as UA expands access to healthcare, education and economic opportunities through workforce pipelines and partnerships. Mohler reiterated plans to more than double the number of nurses the Capstone College of Nursing produces, addressing a critical shortage across Alabama.
He also highlighted Crimson Compass, providing free access to ACT coursework and preparation resources to high school students across the state. The Division of Student Life’s engagement tracking system, the UA REAL List, documents student involvement in leadership, service, research and campus life.
Steward. The fourth commitment addresses fiscal and operational discipline to align UA resources to its mission and to compete at the highest level. Mohler pointed to Capstone Convergence, an initiative consolidating 81 separate systems into a single integrated enterprise platform covering finance, human resources and operations.
“This transformation will reduce duplication, improve the speed of decision-making, and allow our faculty and staff to spend less time navigating systems and more time focused on what matters most,” he said.
He also addressed the changing landscape of collegiate athletics, calling for investments that are “focused and intentional” and aligned with the University’s broader mission.
A Unified Direction
Mohler framed all four commitments as connected expressions of a single institutional direction: “Developing the leaders and workforce of the future, driving research and innovation that solve real problems, and strengthening communities across the state and beyond.”
He was direct about resource management. “We are going to manage every dollar like it matters, because it does.”
Acknowledging the road ahead requires broad partnership and shared ownership across the institution, he emphasized, “This is not the responsibility of any one office or any one group. It belongs to this University. This work is already happening across this University, and it is happening because of you.”