Les Wexner steps down from university medical board, remains as chair emeritus

Reegan Davis
Tue, 25 Aug 2026 04:18:10 +0000
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Les Wexner speaking during a Board of Trustees meeting in 2018 at the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital. Credit: Kevin Stankiewicz | Lantern File Photo

Les Wexner has stepped down as chair of the Wexner Medical Center Board, but is not entirely leaving the Board of Trustees.

Wexner will stay on the board as chair emeritus – meaning he will remain on the board without being a voting member, university officials confirmed. The move follows months of public scrutiny involving Wexner’s relationship with deceased sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein, and calls to remove the Wexner name from Ohio State buildings, including the medical center.

Robert Schottenstein replaced Wexner as chairman of the board, CEO and president. Schottenstein is the chair of M/I Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in the United States.

“New board chairs always refresh the committee structure and appointments,” university spokesperson Ben Johnson stated in an email. “As part of that process, Les Wexner has stepped back from his role as chair of the Wexner Medical Center Board. Les and Abigail have been great supporters of the university for many years, and we appreciate his ongoing service on the committee.”

The last time Wexner attended a board meeting was May 2025, according to multiple news reports. The meetings and dues bylaw for the board says that attendance is not required for continued membership but is encouraged.

Schottenstein served as a trustee of the university board from 2005-2014 and was chairman of the university board from 2012-2014, according to the board website. Schottenstein also served as a member of the board of LBrands and Bath & Body Works, Inc. Wexner founded and served as CEO of both of these companies, the trustees website states.

Wexner has faced public and judicial scrutiny after his relations with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, per prior Lantern reporting. His name appears in the Epstein files over 1,000 times and he was named as a co-conspirator of Epstein by the FBI.

Former university president Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. said in a Lantern interview in Jan. 2026 that he did not forsee Wexner’s name being removed from the buildings.

“I don’t want to speculate because we don’t know what’s coming or is going to happen, right?” Carter said. “There is a process for any kind of name changes. So we’ll follow all the processes that we have, but I don’t anticipate anything there.”

The university has received nearly 500 requests to review Wexner’s name on campus buildings. Wexner and a legal representative of Wexner denied any claims of wrong-doing or knowledge of his connection to Epstein, per prior Lantern reporting.

“The Assistant U.S. Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was being viewed as a source of information about Epstein and was not a target in any respect,” the representative said. “Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again.”

Wexner has donated over $200 million to the university over 30 years, according to the medical center. His name appears on the university’s medical buildings, including branches around Ohio, the Wexner Center of the Arts — which is named after Wexner’s father, Harry L. Wexner — and the Wexner Football Complex within the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, per prior Lantern reporting.

This article was updated at 2:35 p.m. to change the quote from Carter discussing Wexner’s relations with Epstein to Wexner’s legal representative, who said the quote.?