The Ohio State University announced that President Ted Carter has resigned after having an "inappropriate relationship" with a woman seeking to do business with the college. Many students on campus say they are fed up with the administration.
"This isn't shocking to me," Marin Funderburg, an OSU sophomore, said. "We've consistently been let down by leadership."
She and fellow second-year Anoushka Dubey are demanding change after Carter's sudden resignation over the weekend.
"Students should not be ashamed of university leadership here on campus," Dubey said.
Carter, who has only been president for the last two years, decided to step down on Saturday.
"I disclosed to the board of trustees that I made a mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership," Carter said in a statement.
University spokesperson Ben Johnson said that it was an “inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business,” but wouldn’t provide many more details.
"I don't know if it was sexual or not," Johnson said. "I know the board determined it was an inappropriate relationship."
A whistleblower went to the board with concerns, and when they asked Carter about it, he resigned, Johnson said. They are looking into whether OSU money ended up in the wrong hands, he added.
"The university will investigate potential concerns regarding public resources," the spokesperson said.
Johnson said the university is handling the investigation. Neither Columbus nor campus police are involved.
"Is it ethical for the university to be investigating the university?" I asked Johnson.
"We have an Office of Compliance and Integrity, and I don't know that it's that unusual..." he responded. "People report concerns about any number of types of misconduct, and they are investigated by the university. That's fairly normal."
Ohio State has been in the media constantly over allegations of inappropriate relationships.
RELATED: After deposition, U.S. House Democrats accuse Les Wexner of lying about Epstein ties
"OSU has been going through some different scandals: if we look at this, we can look at Les Wexner, we can look at [Richard] Strauss. What do you have to say to the people who are either going to be sending their kids here or to students here, about why OSU is constantly in the news for this kind of thing?" I asked Johnson.
"Well, first of all, I think it's important to make clear that this did not have anything to do with Les Wexner. It didn't have anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein. It didn't have anything to do with names on buildings. It didn't have anything to do with Richard Strauss. It didn't have anything to do with the Chase Center," he responded. "What I can tell you is that the university's been in the news a lot, the university is often in the news a lot. There are thousands of people here doing exceptional work every single day: students, faculty, staff. This is a community of more than 100,000 people."
RELATED: In new documentary, former Ohio State wrestlers say U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan knew about Strauss abuse
Carter was seen as an ally to Statehouse leaders, like state Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), who said he worked with the former president on Senate Bill 1, his college education overhaul bill. The news is incredibly disappointing, Cirino said.
"His leadership was being well received, I think, at Ohio State since he got there," Cirino said during an interview Monday morning. "I think that the university has been making progress in a number of areas."
Cirino feels like, now, the board needs to make sure that money is protected. He is also frustrated that OSU will need to go through another lengthy transition process.
"We're going to have to start over again with somebody with the whole recruitment process that the board will have to undertake," Cirino said. "We'll have to make sure that we find the right person that's going to take over here at our flagship university."
Some people don't understand that being a public official isn't for personal gain, Cirino added.
"It's not difficult to follow the ethical guidelines for elected office or appointed office, in his case," Cirino said. "It's really not difficult to stay within the guidelines of ethical conduct, as long as you do not put your personal interests first, and unfortunately, a lot of people often do make that mistake, and when they serve their personal interests instead of their constituency, that's when they run into problems."
Some students worry OSU won’t hold Carter accountable, but Funderburg said a lesson can be learned from this — including more vetting of leaders.
"This is the time to make a change," she said. "Obviously, it will be unstable for a little bit, but we have an opportunity to grow as a university and really make something of Ohio State."
OSU doesn’t have a timeline for their replacement, but students hope they will get more transparency on what happened soon.
Read Carter's full statement:
"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.
“I believe we have made much progress during my time at Ohio State, and I’m sorry I’m not able to remain your president longer. The students, faculty and staff at this university are among the very best in the world, and the Education for Citizenship 2035 strategic plan has Ohio State poised to succeed for years to come.
“I have enjoyed a strong working relationship with the board of trustees, and I’m grateful for their support and guidance.
“Lynda and I leave Ohio State with gratitude and appreciation for this wonderful community. It has been an honor to serve as this university’s 17th president, and we wish the university ongoing success.”
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
