University releases investigation report on circumstances surrounding Carter resignation

University releases investigation report on circumstances surrounding Carter resignation

Investigation overseen by the Office of University Compliance and Integrity

The Ohio State University released today the findings of an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the resignation of former-President Walter "Ted" Carter Jr.

The investigation, requested by the Ohio State Board of Trustees immediately following Carter's resignation, was conducted jointly by the Office of University Compliance and Integrity and the Department of Internal Audit at the direction of the General Counsel. These offices are independent functions for the university reporting to the Board of Trustees' Legal, Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.

"We are grateful for the careful and comprehensive work that went into finalizing this report," said John W. Zeiger, chair of the board. "Its findings regarding our former president are deeply disappointing, but it is gratifying the university's systems and processes - and the people charged with implementing them - prevented misuse of Ohio State's resources."

"Thanks to the strength of the university family's commitment to our mission and values, these events, while unsettling, have not distracted from Ohio State's forward momentum and accelerating excellence."

The full report and associated records are available publicly on the investigation webpage.

Broadly, the report concludes that: Carter misused his position as Ohio State's president to seek resources from the university and key university partners for a personal associate; university processes and decisions by employees prevented those efforts from succeeding within the university; and Carter's actions further impacted several key university partners.

In addition, the report found that no additional personnel actions are recommended following Carter's resignation and the April 14 resignation of Senior Vice President Chris Kabourek, and that the university will continue to respond as appropriate to state and federal inquiries.

Finally, the report provides several recommendations.

These recommendations include: maintaining the processes of the Office of the President and the independence of the Board of Trustees office in reviewing travel and expenditure requests submitted by the president; reviewing practices on leadership requests for assistance within university units; and considering revisions to ethics and insider threat training for senior leaders while reinforcing the importance of culture and shared values.

"While our internal systems held strong, the circumstances disclosed in the investigative report underscore the need to continually examine and make adjustments accordingly," said Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Gates Garrity-Rokous. "Most important is a strong adherence to our values as a basis for all decisions and actions."

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