OT - aOSU acquires former Nebraska president Walter "Ted" Carter from transfer portal

Submitted by kehnonymous on August 22nd, 2023 at 3:37 PM

Per forum title

Walter "Ted" Carter , Jr.

COLUMBUS, OH (OPE) - Walter "Ben" Carter was announced today as the 17th president of An Ohio State University, replacing former president Kristina Johnson who resigned in the wake of the university's humiliating 45-23 annihilation by The University of Michigan football team.  A spokesperson for Ohio State declined to comment about the reason for Johnson's departure, but multiple sources close to the situation stated that the Board of Trustees asked for her resignation, in part because of multiple allegations that she abused her staff worse than Michigan wide receiver Cornelius Johnson (no relation) abusing Ohio State cornerback Cam Martinez on a double move route.

Carter arrives to Columbus with an exhaustive military resume, having served as a U.S. Navy flight officer with over 100 combat missions in Bosnia, Kuwait, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.  "As you know, I've had extensive combat experience in multiple theatres of war, and seen some of the worst of humanity in some of the most blighted conditions known to man" he said during a press conference at the third base of Ray Fisher Stadium.  "I think all of this has been mere baby steps towards engaging with Buckeye Nation's fanbase, and I look forward to meeting that challenge.  There's no one cooler than they are, if you know what I mean."

Other

Michigan Arrogance

August 22nd, 2023 at 3:51 PM ^

This was good lol, but on a serious note, the exiting pre at OSU was a recent hire and well received I thought. I wonder why the change after such a short tenure.

Who was on the board that said they had a FR at OSU they just moved into the dorms this week?

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kehnonymous

August 22nd, 2023 at 4:00 PM ^

For real, Kristina Johnson was fairly well-regarded but she also was asked to resign by the Board (coincidentally after The Game, but the only meaningful bit there was that that was a good a time as any to bury a press release)

No one seems to know exactly why and the OSU BoT ain't telling, but the scuttlebutt ranges to anything from staff not liking her to Les Wexner not liking her.  I personally wouldn't put too much credence in either without knowing more - being a hard-ass to subordinates is hardly a firing offense at any high level organization, and while it's true that Les Wexner wields a lot of influence in town, to some extent he's kind of a Mr Burns-type bogeyman so YMMV regarding any rumors you hear about him.  One thing I do think is that while the OSU BoT felt it had no choice to fire her, there likely wasn't any personal animus like there was with our BoT and Schissel where the BoT went out of its way to twist the knife to humiliate him.

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PopeLando

August 22nd, 2023 at 7:20 PM ^

They’ve lost multiple Presidents due to the BoT insanity at MSU. Didn’t their previous president call them out specifically when he quit?

They’re probably looking for another Engler. You know, to show up, bully victims of sexual assault, rob the place blind, and peace out before any misconduct/embezzlement investigation can catch up.

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Leaders And Best

August 22nd, 2023 at 4:15 PM ^

The college president carousel is almost as crazy as the college football head coaching one. MSU is the market for a new one, and part of the Pac-12 disintegration was fueled by the fact there was so much recent turnover leading to lack of institutional knowledge among their presidents.

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evenyoubrutus

August 22nd, 2023 at 6:08 PM ^

having served as a U.S. Navy flight officer with over 100 combat missions in Bosnia, Kuwait, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. 

He should fit right in. All that experience in the military industrial complex and then going straight into the college football industrial complex. Good choice for that program.

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Markley Mojo

August 22nd, 2023 at 10:24 PM ^

Meanwhile, how's former osu prez Gordon Gee doing, who once said of Tressel, "I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me?"

Within a year of 'retiring,' in 2014 Gordon became president of West Virginia University, promising that WVU would have 40000 students by 2020, and planned spending in anticipation. Instead, in 2023, WVU student count is under 30k and falling, so WVU faces a projected budget deficit of $45 million.

Luckily, Gordon has a plan to correct his mistake: eliminate languages, cut humanities ... and eliminate graduate studies in math ... and even cut engineering(!), just in time for him to step down and teach law starting in 2025.

Higher ed has plenty of problems and it's not a great time to be a university president anywhere, but it irks me that some just bumble along in mediocrity, even when their actions can negatively affect a lot of people.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/west-virginia-university-looks-to-cut-nearly-3-dozen-academic-programs-inc/690709/

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