North Columbus News

The Ohio State University is beginning the new academic year with a stable outlook, according to President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. Carter spoke at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, addressing both the challenges facing higher education and the university’s preparedness.

“It is a turbulent time for higher education. I’ve been very public on this,” Carter said. “Most of our colleagues, the other members of the Association of American Universities, those top 71 campuses across Canada and the United States, they are all feeling it at different levels. But I will tell you, for all the challenges that are out there, whether it be fiscal, money coming in grants for research, whether it be decreasing enrollment, international student challenges, we are entering into this new academic year in a position of strength.”

Carter participated in an hour-long discussion with Sheridan Hendrix from The Columbus Dispatch during an event hosted by the Columbus Metropolitan Club. The club regularly brings together community leaders and experts for discussions on current topics.

During his remarks, Carter cited strong student enrollment numbers, productive research efforts, and financial stability as key reasons for optimism at Ohio State.

“Let me be clear about this. The mission of Ohio State is to do world-class teaching and learning, provide the best clinical care that we can through our medical center, and to do research that changes and saves lives,” he said. “That’s the mission. So we’re focused on the mission.”

Carter addressed various topics including student housing and athletics. He highlighted Ohio State’s AI Fluency initiative as part of its approach to prepare students for changing technology needs.

“The real thing is, we are going to integrate AI fluency throughout all of our faculty and all of our staff, and we're going to invest in our educational programs to make sure they’re available to businesses and the public,” Carter said. “On top of that, we will involve ourselves in the research that will get after everything from the ethics of AI to energy usage. So we are taking the most comprehensive approach to AI and AI fluency than any other institution.”

He also spoke about adapting athletic programs amid policy changes allowing direct payment to athletes while affirming support for maintaining 36 sports programs.

Carter commented on former President E. Gordon Gee returning as an advisor: “I called him and I said, Gordon, I don’t know what you're planning to do in retirement, but we’d sure love to have you on campus,” Carter said.

In response to questions about ensuring continued educational quality at Ohio State beyond graduation rates or retention statistics alone:

“To me, what we should be looking at when we start trying to measure is how good are we in the classroom at teaching and learning? Are we instilling the type of culture that creates a curiosity for lifelong learning?” he said. “Are we instilling in our students the ability for them to leave this institution, at the undergraduate level, and go on to be great citizens for Columbus, Ohio, and the nation?

“Are we paying attention to what types of jobs our students get after leaving here? We have a tendency to only measure the thing that’s right in front of us. We have a tendency not to measure the next level of outcome. We’re going to be paying attention to that here at Ohio State.”