Good morning!
Spring has really sprung, and by that I mean my seasonal allergies are also in full bloom. My thoughts and prayers are with all of my comrades with itchy eyes and scratchy throats right now.
It’s been another busy week on the education beat. Let’s get into it.
Review Session
Just over a month since former Ohio State University President Ted Carter’s sudden resignation and the whirlwind drama that followed, the university released a report April 21 summarizing its findings in its investigation into Carter.
The 50-page report detailed the investigation into Carter’s downfall, included new information about Carter’s relationship with military podcaster Krisanthe Vlachos and outlined a set of recommendations for how the university should proceed.
After just over two years on the job, Carter resigned from the university March 7 after admitting to the board of trustees that he had an inappropriate relationship. An unnamed source told the board that Carter was having an “inappropriate relationship” with “someone seeking public resources to support her personal business,” according to a university statement.
Ohio State also released thousands of pages of public records related to Carter and Vlachos.
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,” the report read. “Carter’s actions betrayed Ohio State’s Shared Values and violated university policy.”
We learned that Carter met Vlachos earlier than first reported when he was still president of the University of Nebraska System. We learned that Carter gunned for Vlachos to get a job at Ohio State within months of starting his tenure. And we learned more about the business venture Carter and Vlachos spent nearly a year working on together, during which Carter used his position as president to try to benefit Vlachos’ ventures..
The report offered a lot of answers, but it also left us with plenty of lingering questions, namely why Ohio State investigated itself rather than use an external party, if Carter could face legal charges and what comes next for the university.
Catch up on the report’s findings at this link and be sure to check back as my colleagues and I sort through the thousands of documents released by Ohio State.
Extra Credit
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Take care,
Sheridan Hendrix
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OSU report on Carter leaves lingering questions
Reporting by Sheridan Hendrix, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
