Photo by Ben Conley Ben Conley/The Dominion Post Chris Kabourek addresses the WVU Board of Governors during its April 17 meeting.

MORGANTOWN – On April 17, four days after Chris Kabourek resigned as Ohio State University’s senior vice president for administration and planning, West Virginia University President Michael Benson introduced him to the WVU Board of Governors as the university’s new vice president and chief financial officer.

Benson noted Kabourek’s significant experience in higher education, explaining, “I did my research on him. I talked to a lot of people that served with him in Nebraska and to a person, they said this is a home run hire for us.”

On April 20, OSU released the findings of an internal investigation into the “inappropriate relationship” between former OSU President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. and Krisanthe Vlachos.

Kabourek’s name is all over the report, appearing 95 times in 47 pages.

Per the report, the investigation confirmed Carter, who resigned the day before the OSU Board of Trustees initiated the investigation, misused his position as the university’s president to seek resources for Vlachos from the university and key university partners due to their close personal and business relationship.

It also states that Kabourek was designated by Carter as Vlachos’ primary point of contact at the university and was the “one exception” among university employees in regard to interactions with Vlachos, explaining, ” … no other university employee acted similarly to Kabourek in assisting Vlachos for Carter, and significant, consistent evidence shows that all other employees followed required standards and did not extend favors to Vlachos or offer to assist her inappropriately.”

Immediately prior to Ohio State, Kabourek worked closely with Carter during Carter’s four-year tenure leading the University of Nebraska.

His resignation from Ohio State came less than 18 months after he was hired by Carter in October 2024. In July 2025, he was promoted to senior advisor to the president in addition to his role as senior vice president for administration and planning.

Under the heading “No additional personnel actions are recommended,” the report notes Kabourek had already left his position with the university, stating, “Kabourek went far beyond any other employee in supporting Carter’s efforts to assist Vlachos, both inside and outside the university; he failed to stop or report those efforts himself; and he failed to appropriately address concerns raised to him by other employees.”

The report later continues, “In the context of all the facts, Kabourek’s statements seeking to diminish his role, knowledge, and personal efforts with and on behalf of Vlachos were not credible, nor was his claim that he did all that he reasonably could have done to limit Carter’s efforts for Vlachos.”

The Dominion Post reached out to WVU to ask if the university was caught off guard by Ohio State’s findings and if Kabourek’s hiring was under additional review in light of the report.

“WVU officials are aware of the Carter report,” WVU Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing Shauna Johnson said. “As announced last week, Mr. Kabourek’s official start date at West Virginia University in the role of vice president and chief financial officer is June 1.”