Officials on Thursday confirmed a career military man and former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy as the president of the University of Nebraska system.
The university Board of Regents confirmed Walter “Ted”Carter as president, succeeding interim President Susan Fritz. Regent Elizabeth O'Connor of Omaha was the only dissenting vote in the 7-1 confirmation.
Officials began the search for a new president after Hank Bounds left the position in mid-August, leaving Fritz to oversee the system until a permanent replacement could be found.
Carter, 60, had been superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, from 2014 until this year. In that role, he led 4,400 students and 1,500 faculty.
“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 in a statement.
Carter and his wife, Lynda, will move to Nebraska from Suffolk, Virginia. He will begin as president on Jan. 1 and will be paid a base salary of $934,600 with additional pay if he meets performance goals. The NU Foundation will provide the Carters a home to live in and a country club membership. The complete compensation package is estimated at nearly $1.2 million annually.
"I pledge to do all I can to make the University of Nebraska the best it can possible be," Carter said in the statement. "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."
Confirmation by the regents followed the board’s unanimous nomination of Carter as the priority candidate in October.
Read Carter's full statement here.
Becca Costello contributed to this report.