Ohio State University released a report Tuesday detailing an “inappropriate relationship” that led the university’s former president, Walter Carter Jr., to resign last month.
Mr. Carter, who is known as Ted and is married, acknowledged the relationship with a female associate of his, Krisanthe Vlachos, when he resigned. The report concluded that the former president used his position to make “wide-ranging and extensive” efforts to assist her both inside and outside the university.
Mr. Carter, a former Navy admiral, apparently met Ms. Vlachos in 2023, while he was still president of the University of Nebraska system, the report said. After joining Ohio State, he allowed his ongoing relationship with her to influence his actions and impair his judgment, according to the report, developed by two internal Ohio State offices at the direction of the university’s general counsel.
Mr. Carter declined a request for an interview with investigators, the report said, while Ms. Vlachos did not respond to investigators. The New York Times could not immediately reach them for comment.
The report said that Mr. Carter made arrangements several times for Ms. Vlachos to bypass normal channels to visit his office, entering through a garage. It also described at least five trips the two took together — to Richmond, Va.; Orlando, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Las Vegas.
The report found that the university did not pay Ms. Vlachos’s expenses, but that, in one case, Mr. Carter had fabricated a business reason for a trip in order to travel with her. Concern about the relationship arose after Mr. Carter was seen with Ms. Vlachos outside a Philadelphia hotel in November 2025, the report said. The early morning encounter “suggested the possibility of an inappropriate relationship,” a witness reported.
Ms. Vlachos, who produces a podcast about veterans, planned to move her operations from her home in St. Louis to Columbus, Ohio State’s location, according to an email from Mr. Carter, who asked an Ohio State employee for assistance in finding her a job.
“Forwarding this resume for any potential job opening,” the email said. “She is planning to move to Columbus immediately (from St. Louis) and is looking for a full time position. She tells me she is open to any opportunity that fits her skill set. Think she would be a good fit for anyone’s team.”
The report described how Mr. Carter also sought resources from the university making “wide-ranging and persistent efforts,” to help Ms. Vlachos. He also sought help from key university partners for Ms. Vlachos’s podcast. WOSU, the public media station connected to Ohio State, provided physical space. And he asked staff to find a location for a play she was producing.
He also helped introduce her to state partners that might fund an app she was proposing to assist veterans in locating job training, the report said.
While Mr. Carter was promoting Ms. Vlachos’s app to JobsOhio, a state economic development incubator, the organization’s “tech staff were not impressed at all with the technology” and did not plan to get involved, the report said.
Mr. Carter also promoted the application to Major General John C. Harris Jr., head of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services.
Ms. Vlachos was seeking a $2.9 million investment in the app. While General Harris told investigators he was initially excited about the idea, he described Ms. Vlachos’s presentation as “poor and awkward,” the report said.
“Vlachos could not get an online connection for the App, so the demo was just a PowerPoint presentation. He realized that the App was more of a concept than a real product,” the report said.
Mr. Carter called General Harris and encouraged him to support the app.
“Harris noted that at this point he was starting to wonder a little about Carter’s relationship with Vlachos,” the report said.
Stephanie Saul reports on colleges and universities, with a recent focus on the dramatic changes in college admissions and the debate around diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.
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