Under Ohio State University Ted Carter's leadership, campus is in full swing again for the new academic year.
Classes started last week and Buckeye football starts this Saturday against the Akron Zips. It's a big year as the university adds a new intellectual diversity center, possibly awaits more protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators and looks to hire a new provost and a new police chief for it's police department.
To say the least, it will undoubtedly be an eventful academic year.
Carter speaks on Buckeye football, has confidence in coach Ryan Day.
Carter spoke with Anna Staver on WOSU's All Sides talk show Thursday about what's coming up. With the Buckeye's first game a mere 72 hours away, football was a key topic.
Carter said with the expansion of college football's playoffs to 12 teams starting this season, it will be important for the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten conference championship.
"So as I look at it, this is not just college football as we know it. This is a little bit of, the taste of March Madness at the at the end and then a little bit of what would be required to win the Stanley Cup and ice hockey, because I think the team that is going to be not just the most talent, but the healthiest at the end of the season, has got the best chance to win," Carter said.
OSU is expected to make waves in college football this year and the university is incentivizing good play in the contract for head Coach Ryan Day. The Buckeye's coach is going to get bonuses for getting into the playoffs and the bonuses tier up to Day getting a whopping $1 million if he brings us a national championship.
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"I just want to say just how proud I am of coach Day. I've gotten to know him very well over the summer and I'm just really proud he's our football coach," Carter said.
With three of Day's career losses as head coach coming against the Michigan, he is under pressure to win against the team up north.
"I'd like to sit here and tell you that's not going to happen... But I don't make guarantees," Carter said.
Carter also responded to allegations made in a Netflix documentary about former Michigan football staff member Connor Stallions. Stallions denies the NCAA allegations that he lead an illicit in-person scouting operation, but his attorney also alleges that Ohio State had a role in illegally obtaining his client's personal information.
Carter said he doesn't intend on even watching that documentary. He also denied those allegations by Stallions' lawyer.
"I've followed all of this story just like everybody else. I've seen nothing. Absolutely nothing that goes even show an iota of accuracy in some of these conspiracy theories about where Ohio State might have been involved," Carter said.
Carter said he is looking forward to the Buckeyes' first-ever west coast Big Ten conference game against the Oregon Ducks on Oct. 12. He said the game against the visiting Iowa Hawkeyes is also one to keep an eye on.
Protests, new hires and more await next academic year
A big item on Carter's to-do list is hiring a new provost, who oversees the various academic college deans at Ohio State. He also has to hire a new campus police chief following the departure of Kimberly Spear-McNatt to Clemson University.
Carter said the hiring process for a new police chief is just starting, but the hiring of a provost is nearing the finish line and an announcement is coming soon.
"We're close, as I said, we're going to get there. And I'm looking forward to make an announcement," he said.
Carter was also questioned about the university's response to protests where dozens of Ohio State University students, faculty and staff and other Ohio residents were arrested on campus. The pro-Palestinian protesters demanded the university disclose investments in Israel and companies that support Israel, and then stop investing in those funds.
"I'm not happy that we had to do that. I want students to have their First Amendment rights exercise, I believe, in the First Amendment," Carter said.
Carter said he had to balance that with the safety and well-being of people on campus. He claimed protesters having encampments led to unrest and violence against protesters on many college campuses.
On many college campuses last semester like UCLA and Columbia University, police attempted to break up protesters that camped on university grounds. Protesters became combative against police and also attempted to take over university buildings.
At other points, counter-protesters also caused violence at protests, targeting the pro-Palestinian protesters.
Carter said Ohio State's policy has not changed and the space rules used to arrest people last year are still in effect.
"So we didn't get to that point is where I'm going on this. Yes, that day on April 25th, after hours and hours and hours of warning our students and whoever else was there from not Ohio State, that at some point they were going to have to break up those tents," Carter said. "And it was clear that there was some small group that wasn't going to do that. That's when we had to physically remove that. And that's unfortunate."
The president said a change they are trying to enforce more is that protesters will not be allowed to occupy buildings.
Carter said campus police patrols will also increase. Ohio State also has more surveillance cameras — more than 5,000 — on campus and law enforcement have license plate readers. He said these aren't specifically used for protesters, but for general campus safety.
Commencement Speaker Controversy and Tragedy
At the end of the last academic year, Ohio State's spring graduation ceremony was marred by an unpopular and bizarre commencement speaker and Bitcoin investor Chris Pan, and a woman tragically taking her own life before the ceremony at Ohio Stadium
Carter said the university is always evaluating safety at the stadium.
"I can just say very confidently that our stadium is very safe. This was a very difficult effort for somebody that decided to take their life. And it's a sad situation. And again, my heart goes out to that family," Carter said.
Carter also owned up to being the final decision-maker on inviting Pan to give a speech.
"I own it. I'm the one that invited him," Carter said.
Carter also promised the next commencement speaker will be better.
"All I'm going to say to your listeners is we intend to do even better, much better this next go around with our speakers," Carter said.
