We get it. Ohio State University wants to move on quickly from an embarrassing scandal revealed when the years-long “inappropriate relationship” between its former president and a podcaster sponsored by JobsOhio was exposed by a tipster.
That can’t happen.
There are far too many unresolved questions about the university’s actions — or inaction — and potential illegal acts former President Ted Carter may have engaged in during his entanglement with Krisanthe Vlachos of the Callout Podcast.
Things have moved swiftly since Carter met on March 7 with Ohio State trustees who questioned him about his relationship with Vlachos and his possible improper use of public resources, allowing him to resign instead of being fired.
Days later and with no public input, the board of trustees unanimously promoted new provosst Ravi V. Bellamkonda, to the presidency. He’s the third president in five years.
The board also ordered an internal investigation that was conducted in just six weeks and released April 21, concluding there were no systematic failures that helped give the scandal more life.
We disagree.
The relationship went unnoticed for two years
It is illogical to conclude that everything worked as it should. If it had, why did it take nearly the entire time of Carter’s tenure as president to expose his alleged misdeeds?
“For almost two years, Carter used the authority of his position to make wide-ranging efforts to assist (Krisanthe) Vlachos both inside and outside the university,” OSU’s report reads.
While the report is appropriately thorough and documents Carter’s many inappropriate actions and failures to help Vlachos, it’s conclusions gloss over documented lapses where employee concerns about the president’s abuse of power were not properly investigated.
Yes, it’s good Ohio State did not hire Vlachos or give her $100,000 despite Carter’s efforts, but he still enlisted 14 employees, university resources and outside groups to help her while abusing his valuable time and influence.
Still, the university’s press statement tried to assure us all was well.
“While our internal systems held strong, the circumstances disclosed in the investigative report underscore the need to continually examine and make adjustments accordingly,” Ohio State Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Gates Garrity-Rokous said in a press release issued with the report.
That’s right, folks. While it could have been worse, there’s nothing to see here. Move along. Case closed.
Ohio laws may have been broken
The report, completed by OSU’s compliance and integrity office and its department of internal audit, cannot possibly settle things in the public’s mind.
Only an external investigation from a truly independent body could do that. Only then can any appearance of failures or criminality be resolved.
No state agency is known to be investigating the case. In the name of the public’s trust and money, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Ohio Auditor’s Office, the Ohio Ethics Commission or the Ohio Inspector General’s Office must step in.
Susan Willeke, communications manager with the Ohio Ethics Commission, told The Dispatch that her department is reviewing Ohio State’s report.
In their report, investigators explicitly question whether Carter broke Ohio laws related to conflicts of interest and public contracts through his relationship with Vlachos.
OSU’s team lacked the power to determine if Carter and Vlachos had a financial or business relationship, a critical unanswered question.
They ask:
An abuse of influence and authority?
The report says Carter, a retired vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, made up business reasons for trips with Vlachos.
He used his influence and authority to help Vlachos and promote her app and/or veterans’ podcast to a wide variety of institutions and businesses, including JobsOhio, Anduril, the Ohio Department of Veterans Services, Student Veterans of America and the Ohio National Guard, according to the report.
This includes helping Vlachos secure a $60,000 JobsOhio sponsorship for her podcast and a contract with WOSU to record episodes.
Besides Carter, one other university employee — Chris Kabourek, Carter’s designated “primary point of contact” for Vlachos — resigned.
Carter began helping Vlachos develop her app, “Connect to Power,” in May 2025.
According to the report, he suggested to Kabourek, then-senior vice president for administration and planning, that $100,000 in unrestricted donations to the university be used to fund the app.
Among a host of highly questionable things, Carter allegedly forwarded Vlachos’ resume to OSU’s senior vice president for talent, culture and human resources in 2024, asking that she be considered for “any opportunity that fits her skill set.”
The conflict of interest provisions in Ohio’s ethics law, Ohio Revised Code 102.03 (D) and (E), read:
Did Carter cross these legal lines?
There must be accountability
The recommendations at the end of Ohio State’s report related to the university’s travel policy, leadership practices, ethics for senior leaders, culture and shared values and cooperation with state and federal agencies fall short of what is needed to restore trust and gain accountability.
The university and the public should urge the Ohio Attorney General’s Office or the Ohio Ethics Commission to investigate for legal wrongdoing. And an external audit of the financial resources directly at Carter’s control should be conducted.
There also should be a deeper, independent investigation into how the president of one of the nation’s largest universities was able to carry on such an inappropriate relationship for nearly two years under the nose of trustees.
Staff members close to Carter told investigators that Vlachos was overly “persistent,” “unsophisticated, “weird,” and clearly out of her depth, but nothing was done. The university must stress anti-retaliation protections and urge employees to voice concerns about the president and other senior leaders.
As much as university officials may want it to be, this cannot be easily swept away.
This piece was written by Dispatch Opinion Editor Amelia Robinson on behalf of the editorial board of The Columbus Dispatch. Editorials are fact-based assessments of issues of importance to the communities we serve. These are not the opinions of our reporting staff members, who strive for neutrality in their reporting.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OSU scandal must be investigated by law enforcement | Our view
Reporting by Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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