Grant Rohan
NEWS EDITOR
with reporting from
Kamrin Baker
EDITOR IN CHIEF
The NU Board of Regents voted today to appoint Walter “Ted” Carter, VADM (Ret.), as the eighth president of the University of Nebraska system.
The president-elect will begin transition work on Dec. 16 and assume full leadership on Jan. 1, succeeding Interim President Susan Fritz, Ph.D.
His election ends a candidate search launched in April, and was unanimously supported by a 23-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee along with votes of support from each NU student body president.
“I’m humbled to even have been considered for the University of Nebraska presidency- a job that I believe is one of the best in American higher education,” Carter said.
The Board of Regents have offered Carter a five-year contract with a yearly salary of $934,600, which would make him the highest-paid president in NU history, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
Carter, 60, served as superintendent (equivalent to university president) of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., from 2014 to 2019. During his tenure, he created the nation’s first accredited cyber operations program, achieved a record-high graduation rate of 90% in 2019 and earned the Naval Academy the distinction of being ranked the nation’s No. 1 public university by Forbes Magazine.
“When we looked at the qualities we were seeking in the next university president, Ted Carter checked every box,” Board of Regents Chairman Tim Clare of Lincoln said. “He puts students first and values academic excellence. He is a champion of diversity and inclusion and is a skilled relationship-builder. His character is second to none.”
An inclusive leader, Carter has advanced the Naval Academy’s Class of 2023 to include 28% women and 40% ethnic minorities. This is the first time in the academy’s 173-year history where white men are no longer the majority.
“I pledge to do all I can to make the University of Nebraska the best it can possibly be – an institution that stays true to its missions of access and academic excellence, that puts the success and well-being of students first, that celebrates the rich diversity that makes us great, and that works every day to demonstrate accountability to those who entrust us with their precious resources,” Carter said.
