COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The president of Ohio State University suddenly resigned Monday, leaving many wondering what the process of finding a new president will look like.
Ted Carter resigned after more than two years on Monday after disclosing an “inappropriate relationship” with a podcaster who “sought public resources to support his personal business.”
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The relationship is believed to have occurred with podcaster Krisanthe Vlachos, whose sponsor JobsOhio went public with his relationship with Carter.
Vlachos is the host of “The Callout Podcast.” She is also the owner of Veteran USA LLC, whose business address is registered at WOSU Studios on the Ohio State University campus.
Vlakos has interviewed Carter multiple times on podcasts and has posted online that he is Carter’s friend and mentor.
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Although Veteran USA LLC was registered at the WOSU building in late December, the zip codes on the registration did not match; instead, the registration form listed a St. Louis zip code.
NBC4’s sister station in St. Louis visited a home in Flachos where a man claimed to be her brother-in-law. He said Flakos moved away a year ago and that he had not kept in contact with her.
NBC4 attempted to contact Vlachos for comment but has not yet received a response.
Looking for a new president
The search process that led to Carter’s job lasted about nine months, with the school hiring an outside search firm for about $500,000. People with ties to the university are closely monitoring the search for the next president.
“We all care deeply about this place, and if they want us to really be a part of it, that’s easy to do, but they have to want that,” said Pranav Jani, an associate professor of English at Ohio State.
In the past, OSU established a presidential search committee, which was then divided into two subcommittees: a presidential search committee composed of trustees and a university advisory committee composed of faculty, staff and students. Each subcommittee works together to identify a candidate, who is then recommended to the Board of Directors by the Search Committee.
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“I think everyone knows it’s not business as usual this time,” Jani said.
Jani also serves on the board of directors of the American Association of University Professors at OSU. He feels the community hasn’t received enough input in the past and hopes this time will be different.
“I would just say that we really hope that this moment of crisis for any university actually becomes a moment of self-reflection and a moment of transparency that we can follow our shared values and use an inclusive, democratic and transparent process to select a new president,” he said.
Jani said the AAUP has sent a letter to the board expressing these concerns.
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