Another Big Ten university is looking into Ted Carter’s actions after Ohio State University released an internal report detailing the former president’s sudden resignation.
The University of Nebraska confirmed it is also conducting a review of Carter, who led that university system for three years prior to starting at Ohio State.
Ohio State’s 47-page report detailed the investigation into Carter’s downfall and included new details about Carter’s relationship with Krisanthe Vlachos, a military podcaster that Carter tried to benefit by leveraging his position.
The report revealed that Carter and Vlachos appear to have met at a Veterans in Energy forum in Washington, D.C., in March 2023, earlier than initially reported. Carter was president of the University of Nebraska System at the time and a keynote speaker at the conference, according to the report.
“The University of Nebraska is aware of the report and is reviewing records for potentially related materials from President Carter’s tenure at Nebraska,” a University of Nebraska spokesperson said.
Carter “misused his position” as president to benefit “a personal associate” and “impacted several key university partners,” but the internal report says university processes and decisions by employees prevented Carter’s actions from further harming Ohio State. The investigation, requested by Ohio State’s Board of Trustees immediately following Carter’s resignation, was conducted jointly by the Office of University Compliance and Integrity and the Department of Internal Audit.
“Carter put his own interests and those of Vlachos before the university’s interests,” Ohio State’s report read. “Carter’s actions betrayed Ohio State’s Shared Values and violated university policy.”
Another Nebraksan was also implicated in Ohio State’s report.
Chris Kabourek, former senior vice president for administration and planning and senior adviser to the president, joined Ohio State in November 2024, following Carter, his friend and former colleague, to Columbus. He spent 27 years at the University of Nebraska, serving as the university system’s chief financial officer and a brief stint as interim president.
According to the report, Carter introduced Vlachos to at least 14 university employees in an effort to help her build or fund an app she was developing to benefit veterans. Kabourek, who also served as Carter’s senior adviser, was Vlachos’ “primary point of contact” at the university as designated by Carter.
“Kabourek went far beyond any other employee in supporting Carter’s efforts to assist Vlachos, both inside and outside the university,” the report states.
West Virginia University announced April 16 that it hired Kabourek as its next vice president and chief financial officer. Kabourek resigned from his position as Ohio State’s senior vice president for administration and planning two days prior.
A Nebraska spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about whether the university is also reviewing Kabourek’s actions. A West Virginia spokesperson did not answer specific questions by The Dispatch about Kabourek’s hiring, only affirming his start date and saying, “WVU officials are aware of the Carter report.”
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Nebraska to review Ted Carter’s past after Ohio State report
Reporting by Sheridan Hendrix, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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