Honoring

VADM Walter “Ted” Carter Jr., USN (Ret.)

6 p.m. Reception
7 p.m. Dinner and Program
Attire: Black tie (optional) or service equivalent

VADM Walter “Ted” Carter Jr., USN (Ret.), retired from active duty with 38 years of service and logged more than 6,300 flying hours. Carter flew 125 combat missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bosnia, and Kosovo. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross with combat distinction for valor and is a recipient of the Bronze Star. He holds the national record for carrier-arrested landings, with over 2,000 mishap-free landings. Admiral Carter led the U.S. Naval Academy as its longest continuously serving superintendent since the Civil War. During his tenure, the Naval Academy achieved multiple top national rankings while setting institutional records for student success.

VADM Carter also previously served as the 54th president of the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI, leading 1,600 in-resident and 100,000 distance education students pursuing graduate-level education. During his time on Naval Station Newport, he led the charge to establish the Advanced Studies in Naval Strategy Program and founded the Naval Leadership and Ethics Center on base.

In 2022, VADM Carter received the U.S. Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award, the highest honor bestowed upon academy graduates. Recognizing exceptional leadership and service, the award has been given to just 110 individuals, including former President Jimmy Carter and former Senator John McCain. He currently serves on the board of the American Council on Education and is a member of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Council of Presidents, the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, and the U.S. Council on Competitiveness. At the request of the Secretary of the Navy, he served in 2023 on the Naval Education Task Force, charged with delivering a strategic vision for the future of higher education in the naval service — including advancing the country’s leadership in cybersecurity.

VADM Carter currently serves as the 17th president of The Ohio State University. He began on January 1, 2024. As president, VADM Carter leads the state’s flagship public research university, with six campuses across Ohio and a student body of nearly 67,000. Ohio State’s largest campus is in Columbus, the state capital and one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Additionally, the university has campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark, and Wooster, as well as the nationally recognized Wexner Medical Center, a global research enterprise, and a leading athletics program.

Formerly, VADM Carter served as president of the University of Nebraska System, where he focused on increasing access and opportunity for the state’s students and families. He launched the Nebraska Promise, a financial aid program guaranteeing full tuition coverage for low- and middle-income students, and implemented a budget plan that included a two-year tuition freeze. Under his leadership, Nebraska saw system-wide growth in enrollment, including record-setting gains among underrepresented students. Also during his tenure, Nebraska was ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions for earning research patents and launched plans for a major expansion of programs at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, along with a significant enhancement of the medical center’s presence across the state.

VADM Carter earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and oceanography from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he played ice hockey for four years and served as team captain.

The son of an English teacher in rural Rhode Island, he met his wife, Lynda, at a hockey game while she was a student at the University of Maryland. The couple has been married for 42 years and has two adult children, Brittany and Christopher, and one grandchild.

Fireside Chat Moderator

Urban Meyer joined FOX Sports as a college football studio analyst prior to the 2019 season. He joins Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn, and host Rob Stone on the network’s college football pregame show, BIG NOON KICKOFF. Meyer is one of the most successful college football coaches of all time, having won three national championships in his career.

Meyer’s 17 seasons as a college head coach featured a record of 187-32 and positioned him with the third-highest winning percentage in college football history at .853, trailing only Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy. His teams were 12-3 in bowl games – second-best, all-time – and 27-3 in “rivalry” games.

Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes were, for seven seasons, on top of the college football world. The team won the inaugural College Football Playoff national championship in 2014 and won Big Ten Conference titles in 2014, 2017 and 2018. His teams were dominant in Big Ten games with a best-ever 7-0 record vs. Michigan and a 54-4 overall record in Big Ten games, including an NCAA record 30 consecutive conference victories.

A six-year run at the University of Florida was so successful that both The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated named Meyer “Coach of the Decade” in December 2009. He guided the Gators to national championships in 2006 and again in 2008 and to a record of 65-15.

Meyer started his coaching career at Bowling Green, where he turned a BGSU team coming off six consecutive losing seasons into a Top 25 program with back-to-back 8-3 and 9-2 seasons. He then moved on to Utah and went 22-2 in his two seasons there, including a 12-0 2004 campaign that was the first of two undefeated seasons for Meyer.

Meyer and his wife, Shelley, started the Urban and Shelley Meyer Fund for Cancer Research, which is a general cancer research support fund dedicated to advancing cancer research for all cancers. The fund helps recruit experts in the field of cancer research to The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Meyers have three children, Nicole (Corey) Dennis, Gisela, and Nate, and two grandsons, Troy and Gray.

2025 Sponsors

Commander in Chief

Trustee James Metcalf and Mrs. Renee Metcalf

Commanding Officer

Stephanie W. McLennan

Executive Officer

Mr. & Mrs. James L. Lanzillo

The Sand Foundation

Department Head

The Sand Foundation

About the Sentinel of the Sea Award:

The Sentinel of the Sea Award is the highest honor presented by the Naval War College Foundation to distinguished American citizens representing the traditions and values of the U.S. Naval War College. Recipients of the award exemplify the U.S. Navy motto, Non Sibi Sed Patriae / Not Self but Country. Awardees have demonstrated a sustained commitment to maintaining our Nation’s security, liberty, and strength.

For sponsorship information, please contact Alexa Waluk at alexa.waluk@nwcfoundation.org.