Lincoln – Officials 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 of Nebraska Board of Regents confirmed Walter “Ted” Carter as president last Thursday. He will succeed interim President Susan Fritz, who stepped in after Hank Bounds left the position in mid-August.

Carter, 60, was 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.

As the University of Nebraska’s president, Carter will be the CEO of the four-campus system. The president carries out the strategic priorities of the regents and is the primary advocate to the Nebraska Legislature and other constituencies. Direct reports to the president include the campus chancellors and NU-wide chief business, academic, legal and information technology officers.

“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.

Confirmation by the regents followed the board’s unanimous nomination of Carter as the priority candidate in October. Nebraska law permits the regents to publicly identify only their priority candidate for the position.

Regents Chairman Tim Clare said Carter “checked every box.”

“He puts students first and values academic excellence,” Clare said in a release. “He is a champion of diversity and inclusion and is a skilled relationship-builder. His character is second to none.”

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.

The Daily Record’s Scott Stewart contributed to this report.