The Biography of Walter "Ted" Carter

The Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to share the biography of our Keynote Speaker for the 101st Annual Meeting:

Walter "Ted" Carter, 60, recently accepted the position as the eighth President of the University of Nebraska system. Before accepting the position with the University of Nebraska system, Carter was superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., from 2014 to 2019, the longest continuously serving superintendent in Annapolis. As superintendent – the Naval Academy’s equivalent of a university president – Carter led 4,400 students and 1,500 faculty and staff and oversaw a $500 million budget.

The Naval Academy’s Class of 2019 achieved a record-high graduation rate of 90 percent. Carter also significantly advanced diversity and inclusion there; of the Class of 2023, 28 percent are women and 40 percent are ethnic minorities, meaning white men are no longer the majority for the first time in the academy’s 173-year history.

Additionally, Carter formed the nation’s first accredited cyber operations program, and during his tenure, the Naval Academy was ranked the nation’s No. 1 public university by Forbes Magazine. In 2018, the academy enjoyed a record-high 69 percent winning percentage across all sports.

Carter, a Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star recipient, brings extensive military service, having graduated from the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) in Miramar, Calif. He was commander for the Carrier Strike Group Twelve, in which he commanded 20 ships, two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and two carrier air wings that were deployed to Afghanistan and the Arabian Gulf. He is a naval flight officer with more than 6,300 flying hours, and has completed 2,016 carrier-arrested landings, an American record.

Carter earned his bachelor’s degree in physics and oceanography from the U.S. Naval Academy. He also has educational credentials from the 18-month-long Navy Nuclear Power School, the U.S. Air Force Air War College, the Naval War College and the Armed Forces Staff College.

Carter was raised in Burrillville, R.I., a rural, one-high school town. The Carters have two adult children.

Ted Carter will certainly be an interesting keynote speaker and we are proud to present our members with the opportunity to hear him speak. If you would like to attend our 101st Annual Meeting, follow this link to purchase your tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/101st-kearney-area-chamber-of-commerce-annual-meeting-tickets-85123973095?aff=ebdssbeac