Ohio State University President Ted Carter said OSU is keeping tabs on the news about Ohio billionaire Les Wexner and his connections with Jeffrey Epstein.
Carter said on WOSU's All Sides with Amy Juravich on Thursday he's been reading the news about Wexner and the Epstein files. Wexner was named as a co-conspirator of the convicted sex offender in recently unredacted files released by the U.S. Department of Justice. He's set to be deposed before the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 18.
Wexner has denied any knowledge of the convicted sex offender's crimes. Wexner has donated hundreds of millions to Ohio State and he remains the chair of the Wexner Medical Center Board of Trustees.
Carter said he takes Wexner being mentioned more than 1,000 times at face value, but that there's no reason not to believe Wexner's denials.
"The co-conspirator word is alleged co-conspirator. We have to remember that. He's never been indicted. He hasn't been arrested. So we take all this very seriously," Carter said.
Carter said Wexner and his wife, Abigail, have been "wonderful philanthropists" for the university and that he's met the billionaire on a few occasions.
Carter also addressed dozens of requests to rename buildings that are named for Wexner, such as the Wexner Medical Center and the Leslie Wexner Football Complex at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. He said he takes these issues seriously and that the university will take these requests through its official process.
"It's very defined. It involves the board, and we just follow that process. So we'll follow that. We've got to let the Department of Justice and House do their work, and will be paying close attention," Carter said.
Carter said he doesn't necessarily agree with former Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee, who called attempts to remove Wexner's name "cancel culture" on All Sides in late January.
"Gordon and I don't agree on everything. And this is a case where, you know, I would not have used the words that he did," Carter said. "I appreciate his opinion, but I'm gonna live on the facts. And he has his opinion from his time. And I think I'm just going to leave it at that."
Carter also addressed a viral video posted this week by the Ohio political blog "The Rooster" that showed Ohio State Assistant Professor Luke Perez assaulting a citizen journalist who was attempting to interview Gee.
Ohio State put Perez on paid administrative leave pending a police investigation. Carter said he wants the facts to play out, but there could be consequences for Perez.
"I want your listeners to know that I was disturbed by it. That's not representative of who we are as faculty or staff or even senior administrators. We put that faculty member on administrative leave immediately," Carter said.
Perez was recently hired to work for OSU's Salmon P. Chase Center, which was mandated by the Ohio Legislature to quell what some lawmakers believe is a liberal bias on college campuses.
Carter defended the Chase Center and said he hopes the center can be somewhere where the entire political spectrum can be part of the conversation. Gee had said on All Sides that he agrees with the Ohio Legislature that there is a liberal bias on campus.
"This isn't just about whether we're trying to create a center that opposes some type of liberal bent versus a conservative bent. This is about intellectual diversity, and the Chase Center can have that conversation across the entire spectrum, not just in what will be viewed as conservative thought," Carter said.
When asked, Carter didn't say whether he thinks Gee needs bodyguards after what happened with Perez.
