Ohio State names provost as new president after predecessor’s abrupt resignation

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State elevated its chief academic officer to president Thursday, acting swiftly to move past the abrupt resignation of former President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. following revelations about his “inappropriate relationship” with the female host of a podcast for military veterans.

Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Executive Vice President and Provost Ravi Ballamkonda as Carter’s successor, bypassing the traditional nationwide search, to name its fourth president since 2020.

The board of trustees want what’s best for the university, chair John Zeiger said, and “the answer to this all-important test is close at hand.”

“The right leader is already at our university,” he said during a special board meeting, “and his vast experience, his personal values and management skills, his strong record here at Ohio State and his ability to inspire excellence in all those around him give this board great confidence that Dr. Ravi Bellamkonda is the right person to lead this university into the future as our president.”

Just five days earlier, the board of trustees confronted Carter about a tip from outside the university. He disclosed that he had “made a mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership,” according to his public statement, and submitted his resignation. The retired Navy vice admiral was just two years into a five-year contract under which he made more than $1.1 million a year, plus bonuses and residency at Ohio State’s president’s mansion.

Expressing surprise and disappointment, Zeiger accepted his resignation Sunday and the university said it was investigating Carter’s “inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business.”

JobsOhio, the state’s privatized economic development office, said Carter’s resignation was “possibly connected” to his relationship to Krisanthe Vlachos, host of what was supposed to be a four-episode veterans’ podcast pilot, The Callout, for which it paid in full at $15,000 an episode. It’s now moving to claw back its $60,000, the office said.

“Ohio State is a trusted partner and Admiral Carter, sharing our passion for military and veterans, recommended The Callout Podcast as an opportunity to build and engage a military and veteran audience in Ohio,” the office posted on X, “and connect them to the massive job opportunities coming to Ohio’s super sectors like advanced aerospace/defense and energy.”

Vet Earn USA LLC, an Ohio business registered by Vlachos on Dec. 19, is part of the investigation, said Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson.

Vlachos was also paid $10,000 by JobsOhio toward a theater production for veterans called “Last Out” Elegy of a Green Beret,” the office said. It was part of JobsOhio’s Hometown Heroes program, which brings free programming to military, veterans and their families.

The university brought Carter on board in 2023 from the University of Nebraska system. He is also a former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and he attended the Navy Fighter Weapons School, known as Top Gun. He holds the national record for carrier-arrested landings with over 2,000 mishap-free touchdowns.

Ballamkonda, a bioengineer and neuroscientist, joined the university after holding leadership, research or teaching positions at Emory University, Duke, Georgia Tech and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He earned his Ph.D. in medical science and biomaterials at Brown.

In remarks following his appointment, Ballamkonda pledged to redouble the university’s commitment to excellence.

“Looking ahead, knowing our collective strengths, I promise you this: Together we will take on hard things that are worth doing,” he said. “Hard things that are worth doing in athletics, in healthcare, in education, in fact in all the things we do. We will lead and we will not be afraid to lead.”