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Incoming OSU President Ted Carter's offer letter details $1.1 million salary and benefits

OSU's 17th President Walter "Ted" Carter sits at a Board of Trustees meeting
George Shillcock
/
WOSU
The Ohio State University announced University of Nebraska President Walter "Ted" Carter as its 17th president on August 22, 2023.

Incoming Ohio State University President Ted Carter will make over $1 million annually with hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional benefits, according to his signed offer letter.

Carter's offer letter stipulates he will make a base salary of $1.1 million annually, but the additional perks and benefits could bring that total closer to $2 million per year. Carter will serve as president from January 2024 until the end of 2028, unless he gets an extension or leaves early.

His benefits include a $50,000 allowance for a car, personal travel and other personal benefits. Carter will also get allowances for entertainment and membership at at least two social clubs.

He is coming to Columbus from Nebraska where he has served as the president of the University of Nebraska system since 2020. Before taking the Nebraska job, Carter served as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and president of the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island.

Carter currently makes $1.2 million in total pay and benefits at the University of Nebraska.

Carter will get a transition benefit worth $250,000 on top of a $45,000 relocation reimbursement. Carter is also eligible for an annual performance award worth up to $330,000 a year.

If Carter leaves in the first year of his employment, he would be required to repay both the transition and relocation benefits in full.

Carter will be living in the president's mansion in Bexley, which is 8,900 square feet and was built in 2000.

Carter's predecessor, Kristina Johnson, who left OSU at the end of the previous academic year, made just over $900,000 a year.

Johnson and the university reached a mutual separation agreement, under which she is required not to make any critical statements about the university. As part of the agreement, Johnson will receive one year's salary worth over $900,000 and an additional one-time payment of $278,000.

George Shillcock is a reporter for 89.7 NPR News. He joined the WOSU newsroom in April 2023 following three years as a reporter in Iowa with the USA Today Network.