The Ohio State University Board of Trustees on Thursday morning will name Executive Vice President and Provost Ravi V. Bellamkonda as the university's 18th president, a university source told WOSU Wednesday night.
Bellamkonda will replace former president Ted Carter, who resigned over the weekend after acknowledging he had an inappropriate relationship.
Bellamkonda has been the university's chief academic officer since 2025. He also leads the Office of Academic Affairs. A bioengineer and neuroscientist, he came to Ohio State from Emory University in Atlanta, where he served as provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Before his time at Emory, he was the dean at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering and was a professor and chair of the department of biomedical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.
He received a National Institutes of Health Director’s Transformative Research Award in 2021 for his work designing a “tractor beam” to treat pediatric brain tumors.
Carter, 66, resigned after he disclosed that he had an inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business.
Someone from outside the university told the board about the relationship.
The board of trustees held a three-hour executive session this past Saturday, just two days after its regular meeting. Carter submitted his resignation that day. The university announced it on Monday.
The nonprofit economic development corporation JobsOhio said Carter's resignation was possibly connected to a relationship between Carter and the host of "The Callout," a podcast for veterans. Carter was a guest on multiple episodes of the podcast.
Krisanthe Vlachos is the host of that podcast, which was produced in the WOSU Public Media studios. WOSU News has asked the university for the contract between WOSU and Vlachos.
Vlachos registered her Vet Earn USA LLC with the Ohio Secretary of State's Office in December, using WOSU's address at 1800 N. Pearl St.
Johnson said that the Vet Earn USA LLC business filing is part of the university's investigation regarding public resources.
Vlachos has not responded to WOSU's requests for comment.
Carter was appointed as the university's president in August 2023, and began his tenure in January 2024
