Ohio State Is Left Stunned After the Resignation of Its Top Official

The school's president sudden exit came after handing over his notice of resignation to the Board of Trustees over the weekend.

Ohio State President Ted Carter speaks during his investiture ceremony at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on Nov. 8, 2024. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Columbus got rocked on Monday, after a scandal was revealed involving Ohio State’s top official. 

Now, the largest university in the state of Ohio will be looking for a new president. 

Walter “Ted” Carter resigned as president of Ohio State over the weekend after disclosing an "inappropriate relationship” to the school’s board of trustees.

“Please accept this as official notice of resignation as President of The Ohio State University, effective March 7th, 2026,” wrote Carter in his resignation letter, delivered to the Board over the weekend. “I am grateful for my time at Ohio State and appreciate the Board’s understanding.”

Turner’s letter forced the Board into an extraordinary three-hour session on Saturday, with the reason stated as  "solely for the purpose of conducting an executive session to consult with legal counsel on pending or imminent litigation and to discuss personnel matters regarding the appointment, employment and compensation of public officials," according to WOSU. The Board took no immediate action. 

According to a statement put out by the university on Monday, “The president recently disclosed to trustees that he had an inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business, and offered to resign.”

Why did Carter resign?

In the school’s statement, Carter was cited as saying, “For personal reasons, I have made the difficult decision to resign from my role as president of The Ohio State University. I disclosed to the board of trustees that I made a mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership.”

Carter’s sudden exit comes at a critical time for Ohio State, when the institution has come under pressure to remove the name of Ohio-native Leslie Wexner from university buildings, including Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center.

The school is also dealing with lawsuits filed by survivors of former Ohio State team Dr. Richard Strauss who sexually abused OSU athletes years ago. Ohio State has settled with about half of the plaintiffs, according to WOSU.

Carter was named Ohio State’s President on August 22, 2023, officially beginning his tenure on January 1st, 2024. His contract was set to run through the last day of December, 2028.

Carter now becomes the latest Ohio State President to leave the school abruptly, as former President Kristina Johnson also resigned unexpectedly in 2022, just two-and-half years into her five-year contract. 

Before arriving in Ohio State, Carter served as the President of the University of Nebraska System.

The Ohio State University has not announced an interim president, following Turner’s resignation.