The University of Queensland has appointed Professor Peter Høj as its new Vice-Chancellor and President.

Professor Høj is the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of South Australia and his previous roles include Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Research Council and Managing Director of the Australian Wine Research Institute.

He was selected from a highly-competitive field of candidates.

Professor Høj said he was honoured to be granted the opportunity to lead a research-intensive institution of UQ's stature.

“I look forward to working with UQ staff, students and alumni to further enhance the University's already excellent global reputation for learning, research and outreach activities across a full spectrum of academic disciplines,” he said.

Professor Høj has a Master of Science, PhD and Honorary Doctorate from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

He has served on the Prime Minister's Science and Engineering Innovation Council, and his many awards include the Boehringer-Mannheim Medal from the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

In addition to his Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, he was recently appointed as a Foreign Member (Natural Sciences Class) of The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.