University's president resigns after reporting 'inappropriate relationship'
The Ohio State University’s president, Walter “Ted” Carter Jr., resigned after disclosing an inappropriate relationship that involved someone seeking public resources for a private business, signaling a leadership and ethics breach at a major public university. He informed the board of trustees of his error and stepped down voluntarily, effective immediately, with his spouse at his side. The move follows a high-profile tenure marked by stewardship of a multi-billion-dollar budget and comes as the university navigates a leadership vacancy left by a prior unexplained mid-contract departure. The event underscores how personal misconduct can trigger governance upheaval at large, research-intensive institutions with significant public and donor scrutiny, and it points to an ongoing search for stable leadership and trust restoration. The university’s forward path will likely involve governance reforms, a new interim or permanent president, and continued focus on ensuring access to resources while upholding integrity.
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Carter, 66, resigned after disclosing an inappropriate relationship with a person pursuing public resources for her private business, and he stated he had made a 'mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership.'
He told the university’s board of trustees about the error, and will leave the role with his wife, Lynda, by his side in what was described as a voluntary departure.
The Ohio State University, a major public research institution, operates a FY2026 budget totaling $11.5 billion in revenues and $10.9 billion in expenditures, framing the scale of the leadership responsibilities involved.
Carter joined OSU in 2023 after a career as the U.S. Naval Academy superintendent and a record of carrier-arrested landings, highlighting a high-profile leadership journey prior to his Ohio tenure.
The resignation follows the filling of a vacancy created by the mid-contract departure of President Kristina Johnson, who had joined the university in 2020 after serving as chancellor of New York’s public university system, signaling broader governance changes around the campus.