Mohammed Al-Hayaza

Mohammed bin Ali Al-Hayaza is a Saudi chemist and politician, who has been the president of Alfaisal University since 1 March 2015. During his term as president, Alfaisal University has risen from one of the Top 800 to one of the Top 300 (2020) universities in the world according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, though the university has faced criticism for its claims of being the best University in the Arab world and in Saudi Arabia.

Alhayaza also serves as the Chairman of Misk schools board, a member of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) board of trustees, member of the first universities affairs council and member of the education and training evaluation commission board. Prior to joining Alfaisal, Al-Hayaza served as the vice president for post Graduate Studies and Research in King Khalid University from 2002-2007 and the president of Jazan University from 2007 to 2014. At the time of his appointment, Jazan University had only three colleges and 3,000 students, but expanded to 40 colleges with an enrollment of 70,000 students during his presidency. Later, he was appointed as health minister in 2014. In 2015, Al-Hayaza was appointed to the Shoura Council, where he served until 2016.