LINCOLN — Ted Carter thought he was done with higher education in May when he stepped away from the superintendent position at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Now in October, he’s standing as far from an ocean as possible, just 30 days away from becoming the president of the University of Nebraska system.

“I saw what they were looking for in their nine leadership pillars, when I saw what they had already done - what Hank Bounds had done as the president, what Interim President Susan Fritz had done to keep the train on the tracks and keep it going - I thought this might be a fit for me,” Carter said.

His list of accolades is long: Naval Academy Grad, TOPGUN grad, aircraft carrier commander, a United States record 2,016 carrier-assisted landings… which is a big deal.

“There’s been about 500 aviators that have made 1,000 carrier landings, that’s about the equivalent of getting 3,000 hits in baseball," Carter said.  "Nobody’s ever gone over 2,000… I’m that one that did.”

He also completed the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program, which he calls life-changing.  He was President at the US Naval War College for one year before his five-year stint leading the Naval Academy.

Now he’s excited for a new chapter outside of the military.

“Ultimately, we want to take the wonderful work that's already been done and take it to a higher level of performance, raise the brand,” Carter said.  "I'm excited to be part of it.  I'm just excited to come here and be a part of the team."

You can count the Search Committee Chairman and NU Regent Jim Pillen among those who’s excited.

“With his leadership we'll create so much energy and enthusiasm that we will grow our student population, we will grow our number of graduates and we will grow the states economy,” Pillen said.

Copies of Carter's application materials are available in hard copy form at Varner Hall and can be found online at this link.  University officials are inviting Nebraskans to share feedback on Carter's candidacy throughout the public vetting period through the website linked above.