COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University President Ted Carter spoke out for the first time Wednesday about the school's unconventional commencement address that's been widely talked about online.
Ohio State alum Chris Pan delivered the speech at commencement on Sunday, drawing boos from the crowd when he mentioned the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
When asked about the speech, Carter described it as very nontraditional and said he'd never met Pan before.
"I did not review his speech. I did not know what he really was going to speak about, and again, it wouldn't matter because once he gets the microphone, he's got the microphone. It was certainly an interesting speech. I would say very nontraditional. There were some that liked it and a lot that didn't," Carter said.
Pan is a social entrepreneur and the founder of MyIntent, which sells bracelets and necklaces with inspirational words or phrases. He led students on a sing-along and had Carter help him with a magic trick.
Pan wrote on his LinkedIn page that he got some help from psychedelic drugs to write the commencement speech.
Carter said the selection process was underway before he became president, adding that Pan had been on the list of recommended commencement speakers since 2019.