Walter Edward "Ted" Carter Jr. (born 4 November 1959) is an American academic administrator and retiredUnited States Navyvice admiral. He has been serving as the 17th and current president ofThe Ohio State University since January 2024.[1]
Carter previously served as the 8th president of theUniversity of Nebraska system from 2020 to 2023, the 62ndsuperintendent of theUnited States Naval Academy from 2014 to 2019, and the 54th president of theUnited States Naval War College from 2013 to 2014.
He has a record number of flights with carrier-arrested landings for his role as anaval flight officer infighter-bombers and other aircraft in operations in Bosnia, Kuwait, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Carter was born on 4 November 1959, and raised inBurrillville, Rhode Island. He graduated from theUnited States Naval Academy in 1981, was designated a naval flight officer in 1982, and graduated from theNavy Fighter Weapons School in 1985. While at USNA, Carter majored in oceanography, lettered in ice hockey 4 years (team captain in 1981), and was editor in chief of the USNA satirical magazine,The LOG, from 1979 to 1981. He is a graduate of theAir War College intermediate course, as well as the Armed Forces Staff College.[2]
His career as a flight officer includes sea assignments inFighter Squadron 161 (VF-161) on boardUSSMidway (CVA-41) inCarrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) and in theVF-21 "Freelancers" on boardUSSIndependence (CV-62) withCarrier Air Wing Fourteen (CVW-14). He commanded theVF-14 "Tophatters", and served as Executive Officer ofUSSHarry S. Truman (CVN-75), culminating in command ofUSSCamden (AOE-2) andUSSCarl Vinson (CVN-70). His subsequent fleet-command assignment was commander of theEnterprise Carrier Strike Group /Carrier Strike Group Twelve (CSG-12) duringBig E's final deployment as a 51-year-old aircraft carrier.[2]
Carter accumulated 6,150 flight hours in the back seat ofF-4,F-14, andF/A-18 aircraft during his career and safely accompanied pilots in 2,016 carrier-arrested landings, the record among all active and retired U.S. Naval Aviation designators. He also flew on 125 combat missions in support of joint operations in Bosnia, Kuwait, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.[2]
Shore assignments include instructor duty inVF-124 "Gunfighters"; chief of staff for Fighter Wing Pacific; executive assistant to the Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command; chief of staff for Joint Warfighting Center,United States Joint Forces Command; and commander, Joint Enabling Capabilities Command where he also served as lead for the Transition Planning Team during the disestablishment of U.S. Joint Forces Command. Prior to becoming president of the Naval War College, Carter led Task Force RESILIENT as director, 21st Century Sailor Office (N17). He became the 54th president of theNaval War College on 2 July 2013.[2]
On 23 July 2014, Carter relieved Vice AdmiralMichael H. Miller, becoming the 62nd superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy.[3] He was succeeded bySean Buck on July 26, 2019.[4]
After retiring from the Navy in 2019, Carter became the 8th president of the University of Nebraska System on January 1, 2020.[5] During his short four-year tenure at Nebraska, he increased enrollments by making more financial aid available to low- and middle-income Nebraskans and implemented a multi-year budget plan that included a two-year, across-the-board tuition freeze.[6] When he left, the university was faced with a $58 million shortfall by the end of fiscal year 2024.[7]
On 22 August 2023, Carter was announced as the 17th president of TheOhio State University. His tenure began on 1 January 2024.[8] He is the first Ohio State president in nearly 70 years who does not hold either a doctorate or medical degree.[7]
Carter was criticized for his selection of Chris Pan as commencement speaker after he gave a speech that was characterized by multiple media outlets as "bizarre" and dubbed by at least one as the worst ever.[9][10] Pan encouraged the audience to sing-a-long to multiple songs, was booed when he told students to buybitcoin,[11] and staged a magic trick in which Carter transformed a quarter into a bitcoin. The speech was widely panned, and received additional attention after Pan posted onLinkedIn that he wrote the speech while high on a hallucinogen, specificallyayahuasca.[12] The speech generated further controversy when it was revealed that Carter picked Pan despite the fact that Pan had not been on the selection committee's list of recommended speakers that year.[13][14] Further controversy ensued after it was revealed that Carter was on the board of a crypto mining company, though Carter denied that this played any part in either Pan's selection or the focus on crypto during the speech.[9]
On 29 April 2024, after theGaza Solidarity Encampment on Ohio State's campus, Carter released a campus statement saying that, in part, "What occurred on our campus on April 25 was not about limiting free speech. It was an intentional violation of university space rules that exist so that teaching, learning, research, service and patient care can occur on our campuses without interruption."[15] In anop-ed, former OSU Professor Dr. Keith Kilty made a number of criticisms against Carter including suggesting he resign immediately.[16]
Under Carter's leadership, the university has been criticized for its handling of theOhio State University abuse scandal. The documentarySurviving Ohio State noted that victims have been offered lower settlement compensation amounts than victims in other large university sex abuse cases. Survivors criticized the university in an op-ed for trying to intimidate them and stated that the university was still failing them.[17]The Columbus Dispatch also published an op-ed which criticized Carter for failing to distance the university from sex abusers by defending donors with ties toJeffrey Epstein.[18]
In April 2023, Carter was named as a Commissioner for the Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset.[19]
In March 2023, Carter was elected to theAmerican Council on Education's Board of Directors.[20]
In 2022, Carter was named to the Executive Committee of theCouncil on Competitiveness.[21]
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In 1999, Carter was awarded the Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale Award for Inspirational Leadership.[2]
In 2008, Carter was appointed an Honorary Master Chief by the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.[2]
In 2009, Carter received the U.S. Navy League's John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership.[2]
In 2014, Carter was inducted into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame.[22]
In 2015, Carter was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.[23]
In 2019, Carter received the USS MIDWAY's Patriot Award in honor of the 50th Anniversary of TOPGUN.[24]
In 2022, Carter received the U.S. Naval Academy’s Distinguished Graduate Award.[25] He is one of the youngest graduates to receive the award since its inception.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromVice Admiral Walter E. Carter, Jr.United States Navy.
Media related toWalter E. Carter Jr. at Wikimedia Commons
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Peter J. Mohler | 17th President ofOhio State University 2024 – Present | Incumbent |
