On Jan. 1, Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. started his tenure as Ohio State’s 17th president.
As president, Carter will lead Ohio State’s six campuses in Columbus, Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark and Wooster, which include over 65,000 students and 45,000 staff members who call themselves Buckeyes. He will also guide Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, research enterprise and athletics programs.
“This is the greatest honor of my career, to be appointed president of this great university,” Carter said when hired in August 2022. “Ohio State is a land-grant institution. It is a state flagship. The university’s motto is ‘Education for Citizenship.’ This speaks to service for the greater good. In education, we provide discoveries and make partnerships with families, organizations and communities.
“Throughout my career, I have been driven by a sense of service at the highest level. I was drawn to Ohio State because it operates at the highest levels in academics, research, scholarship, clinical care, the arts, athletics and more.”
Carter, 64, had been Nebraska’s president since Jan. 1, 2020. He previously served as the 62nd superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and the 54th president of the U.S. Naval War College. A 1981 graduate of the Naval Academy, where he studied oceanography and lettered four times in ice hockey, Carter was a designated naval flight officer in 1982. Three years later, in 1985, Carter graduated from the Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (TOPGUN), where he earned the call sign and nickname “Slapshot.”
A native of Newport, Rhode Island, Carter commanded several squadrons in his naval career from 1981-2019 and achieved the rank of vice admiral. He accumulated 6,150 hours in the back seat of F-4, F-14 and F/A-18 aircraft and accompanied pilots in 2,016 carrier-arrested landings – a record among all active and retired U.S. Naval Aviation designators. Carter also flew on 125 combat missions in American military operations in Bosnia, Kuwait, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
As president of the University of Nebraska system, Carter oversaw four campuses of almost 70,000 students, faculty and staff, including an academic medical center. While in Lincoln, Carter launched the “Nebraska Promise” initiative, a financial aid program guaranteeing full tuition coverage for low-income and middle-income students. He also implemented a budget plan that included a two-year tuition freeze.
At Ohio State, Carter will look to launch several new initiatives in partnership with Ohio State's Board of Trustees.
“This university is ready and well-positioned to be the very best in higher education in the United States and the world,” Carter said. “At a time that is so critical in our nation, where people are questioning what the value of higher education is, I believe The Ohio State University can answer that question and go well beyond, operating at the highest levels of academics, research, scholarship, service, health care, the arts and athletics. Buckeyes have a strong passion for service, and I am proud to be part of that.”
In addition to his new responsibilities at Ohio State, Carter serves as chair of the board of directors for the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. He also serves on boards for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation and the American Council on Education, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Council of Presidents, the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness.
Carter met his wife, Lynda, at a hockey game while she was a student at Maryland, where she graduated with a degree in sociology and statistics. In 2019, she received the Distinguished Public Service Award from former Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer for her decades of contributions.
The Carters have been married for 41 years and have two adult children, Brittany and Christopher, and one grandchild.
