Ohio State's former president didn't just cross a line, investigators say, he repeatedly bent his office around one woman. A university report released Tuesday outlines how Walter "Ted" Carter Jr., who resigned last month, used his position to make "wide-ranging and extensive" efforts on behalf of Krisanthe Vlachos, a podcast producer with whom he acknowledged an "inappropriate relationship." The married ex-Navy admiral met Vlachos in 2023 while leading the University of Nebraska system, then allegedly arranged backdoor access to his Ohio State office, fabricated a business purpose for at least one shared trip, and traveled with her to cities including Las Vegas and Orlando, the New York Times reports.
Investigators say Carter pushed Ohio State staff and partners to assist Vlachos's podcast, relocate her work to Columbus, find her a job, secure space for a play she produced, and drum up backing for a veterans' app she was pitching for $2.9 million. Tech reviewers and state officials found the app unimpressive and largely conceptual, the university's report notes. The report says Carter discussed funding the app with $100,000 in unrestricted donations to the university.
- Concerns surfaced after Carter and Vlachos were spotted outside a Philadelphia hotel before dawn last November, suggesting "the possibility of an inappropriate relationship," a witness told investigators. Carter declined to be interviewed for the inquiry; Vlachos did not respond to investigators.
"Carter put his own interests and those of Vlachos before the university's interests," the report states. "Carter's actions betrayed Ohio State's Shared Values and violated university policy." The report raises the possibility that Carter violated state ethics laws involving conflicts of interest and public contracts, the Columbus Dispatch reports. Ohio Ethics Commission communication manager Susan Willeke tells the Dispatch that the commission hasn't determined its next steps yet. "We are going through this for the first time and reading it," she says of the report.
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