COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The next president of Ohio State University will be a veteran higher education leader with extensive military experience as the school filled its leadership vacancy Tuesday as students returned for the first day of classes at one of the largest universities of the country. universities.
Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. is the current system president of the University of Nebraska. He begins his new role at Ohio State on January 1, with Executive Vice President Peter Mohler serving as an acting role until then.
Carter has led a period of growth in enrollment in Nebraska, including record gains among underrepresented students. He launched the Nebraska Promise, a financial aid program that guarantees full tuition coverage for low- and middle-income students, and introduced a budget that froze tuition for two years.
Prior to overseeing the 70,000 students, faculty, and staff of another Midwestern land grant institution with a major medical center, Carter led the U.S. Naval Academy as the longest-serving superintendent since the Civil War. The retired vice admiral attended the Navy Fighter Weapons School, better known as Top Gun, and he holds the national record for aircraft carrier landings with more than 2,000 landings without accidents.
He fills a vacancy at Ohio State created by President Kristina Johnson’s interim resignation in November 2022, which has remained largely unexplained. The engineer and former undersecretary of the US Department of Energy was chancellor of New York’s public university system before joining the Buckeyes as president in 2020. Her tenure ran until the end of last school year.
The university’s trustees voted Tuesday to nominate Carter as president, with school leaders praising him as known for his strategic resourcefulness and collaborative leadership style.
“President Carter brings an unparalleled combination of strategic leadership and genuine service, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him and his family to the state of Ohio,” said Board Chairman Hiroyuki Fujita, PhD, chair of the Presidential Selection Subcommittee.
Carter said Ohio State is known around the world for its research, teaching and dedication to service.
“The work being done in Ohio and beyond to shape the future of research and innovation, workforce development, the arts, healthcare, college affordability and college athletics is remarkable,” he said. “These are areas I have a particular passion for, and I can’t wait to begin my journey as a Buckeye.”
Carter received a bachelor’s degree from the Naval Academy in physics and oceanography and served for 38 years, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star. He logged more than 6,300 flight hours, including during 125 combat missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bosnia and Kosovo.
He and his wife Lynda have been married for 41 years and have two adult children.
