The investigation into former OSU President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr.’s inappropriate relationship has taken another turn, with new key details revealing the involvement of additional board members. The senior vice president, Chris Kabourek, played a rather significant role in their relationship. Kabourek abruptly resigned on the 13th of April, after trying to erase his participation in facilitating Vlachos’ access to the university.

Over two years of Carter’s tenure, his focus was to help out podcaster Krisanthe Vlachos rather than the duties imposed upon him. That is what ties the new report directly to why he stepped down. As per the investigation report, Carter directly contacted at least 14 university employees to help Vlachos. Investigators also found that he spread those requests across different people over a long period, which kept the full pattern from being obvious until the review pulled it together.

Kabourek and Carter had a long history of working together, bumping into each other during their time at the University of Nebraska. Kabourek also handled his duties for a brief period after OSU hired Carter, and then followed him all the way to OSU. He resigned from OSU a month after Carter’s resignation. West Virginia University hired Kabourek as Vice President on April 16, but more details emerged after his departure on his active role in the Carter-Vlachos Scandal.

Investigators said Kabourek was Vlachos’ main point of contact at Ohio State and that he did more than any other employee to move Carter’s requests forward. The report also says he did not stop the conduct, did not report it, and did not properly respond when other staff members raised concerns. Kabourek had it all covered for Vlachos, from her workspace at WOSU to getting her connection to leaders at Columbus State regarding the podcast.

“At Carter’s direction and encouragement, and unlike all other employees, Kabourek made substantive efforts to support Carter’s efforts on behalf of Vlachos both inside the university and with key university partners, and he admitted when interviewed that Carter frequently checked in with him on progress,” the report said.

Records show Kabourek repeatedly went out of his way to support Krisanthe Vlachos’ app project. In one case, he edited a university agenda to replace her name with “Veterans Affairs” for a discussion with Walter ‘Ted’ Carter Jr. He also rearranged senior colleagues’ schedules at her request. At Carter’s urging, Kabourek organized multiple meetings with university officials and JobsOhio to explore backing the app, which aimed to help veterans access education and employment. Despite concerns from Ohio State University and JobsOhio about the proposal’s lack of detail, Kabourek even drafted a $200,000 pilot plan for the project.

One detail that strengthens the resignation angle is that many of Carter’s efforts still failed. The report states Vlachos was never officially hired, never received university money, and was never given improper campus space, even though Carter kept pushing for help inside and outside the university.

Ted Carter’s inappropriate relationship

The story of Ted Carter and Krisanthe Vlachos bloomed when they met in 2024 at the Veterans in Energy Leadership Forum in DC, which eventually turned into an enormous scandal. The retired US Navy three-star admiral put everything on line, from his position as the president of a university to his marriage of 45 years.

He misused his powers to benefit Vlachos’ business and resigned on March 7, which began the investigation of the ‘inappropriate relationship.’ He allegedly went against OSU policy to help a woman he was secretly seeing get a job and contacts. The investigation’s findings were “deeply disappointing.”

“Carter’s actions betrayed Ohio State’s shared values and violated university policy,” the report said. “Carter had a close personal and business relationship with Vlachos, and he allowed that relationship to improperly influence his actions and impair his judgment.”

“Carter sought resources for Vlachos from state government departments, corporate partners, and a national veterans’ organization for her business ventures. They also falsely represented or exaggerated to others Carter’s engagement of university donors to support her business projects,” the report states. “These efforts to support Vlachos with these external parties were discordant or in conflict with ongoing university projects and priorities.”