Records show Ted Carter tried to get podcaster an NU job during his tenure

Former University of Nebraska President Ted Carter tried to get a job at NU for a woman he later admitted he was having an “inappropriate relationship” with, according to a records request obtained Wednesday by Nebraska Public Media News.

Carter last month resigned from his position as Ohio State University president, which he held since January 2024, because of “an inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business.” Carter abruptly left for OSU after leading NU from 2020 to 2023.

Records made available by NU show that in April 2023, Carter requested the same woman, who has been identified as podcaster Krisanthe Vlachos, be considered for a position at the National Strategic Research Institute that operates for the NU system in Omaha. University leaders told Nebraska Public Media News last week that they would review internal records after the OSU report was published.

NU emails show Carter sent Vlachos’ resume to Rick Evans, executive director of the National Strategic Research Institute and a retired major general in the U.S. Air Force. Evans responded, saying “her skills are probably best aligned to the Contracts and Business Operations Coordinator position you approved us to hire.”

He went on to say the position would be based in Omaha, and thanked Carter for the tip. Carter responded that he believed Vlachos “is more than willing to relocate to Omaha.” It’s not known if Vlachos was ever considered for that job or any other one at NU.

Carter also forwarded Vlachos’ resume to a member of the University of Nebraska Foundation on May 10, 2023.

The next time there was email communication between Carter and Vlachos via the university email system was July 2023. It was a quick note from Carter saying, “Sorry to be out of touch for a bit.” He then gave his phone number, which was redacted.

The university said in a statement that it does not see the need for further review.

“The University of Nebraska has reviewed emails and other records potentially relevant to the report released by the Ohio State University earlier this month,” the statement said. “From this review, several emails were discovered and have been shared upon request from media. The university does not see need for further review at this time.”

Carter appeared to have first met Vlachos while at NU during a Veterans in Energy forum in Washington, D.C. in March 2023, the OSU report said. The report further details that while at OSU, Vlachos had “extraordinary access” to Carter, including at least 24 meetings with him and five trips together.

The report also said at least 14 OSU employees received direct requests from Carter to assist Vlachos. One employee who did help was Chris Kabourek, former NU chief financial officer and former NU interim president.

Kabourek had left NU for Ohio State in the fall of 2024. Kabourek resigned earlier this month and has since been hired as vice president and chief financial officer at West Virginia University.