Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. (left) and Dr. Hiroyuki Fujita (right) at the Ohio State Board of Trustees meeting Aug.22. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor

Ohio State announced Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. as the university’s 17th president on Tuesday, beginning on Jan. 1 following his departure from the University of Nebraska system.

Carter, whose term is expected to run through Dec. 31, 2028, will start at Ohio State with an annual base salary of $1.1 million, over $100,000 more than his pay of $962,638 in Nebraska. In addition, the university’s president receives housing and $250,000 as a transition payment, according to Carter’s offer letter.

“The University is a complex and dynamic organization housing both the academic enterprise and a comprehensive health care system,” Hiroyuki Fujita, chair of the board of trustees, said in the offer letter. “The University’s potential to create meaningful change is unlimited, and we are confident that you will work with constituents across the University, Ohio, nation, and the world to enhance academic excellence, drive a culture of innovation, and ensure access and affordability to students and families of all backgrounds.”

In addition to Carter’s transition pay and base salary, the offer letter said he will be eligible for an annual performance award if he remains in his position through the last day of that fiscal year. The award can be up to 30 percent of the $1.1 million base salary, given “the achievement of the goals and objectives established by the Board, in consultation with [Carter], for the applicable fiscal year.”

Ohio State’s former president, Kristina Johnson, who officially left the position following spring commencement, earned a base salary of $927,000 in 2022. She also received a bonus of $263,500 the same year.

While Carter prepares for the transition, the university appointed Ohio State’s Executive Vice President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Peter Mohler as acting president until the end of the calendar year. In 2022, Mohler earned $186,918 as a professor in the School of Medicine and $420,378 in his position as vice president.

Once Carter begins his term, he can use the university’s membership at a local country club and will be reimbursed for any initiation fees and membership dues. The same costs will be covered for one additional social club the university agrees on for “fostering relationships for the benefit of the University,” the letter said.

According to the offer letter, the university will reimburse up to $45,000 of Carter’s relocation expenses, but Carter must reimburse the university if he leaves before his first or second year.

Carter will live in the university’s presidential residence, located on North Drexel Avenue in Bexley, which stands at 8,900 square feet and can seat more than 100 people for dinner, according to a university release. The residence also is on 1.3 acres of land.