Dr. Kohrt, a native of Illinois and a '65 graduate of Furman University, most recently served as Furman's Interim President from May 2013 to June 2014. He retired from Battelle in December 2008 after serving seven years as President and CEO. Battelle, a $4B+ international R&D institution, manages or co-manages several premier national research laboratories for both U.S. and foreign government agencies, and is known as a leader in the commercialization of technologies on behalf of a wide range of companies in the materials, energy, health, and defense industries. Prior to his joining Battelle in 2001, Carl spent a distinguished 29-year career at Kodak, retiring in 2000. He served in numerous senior executive, international, and technology positions, including Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.

Carl received his B.S. magna cum laude, in Chemistry from Furman University (1965), his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago (1971), and his M.M.S. in Management Science from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1991). He has served as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, a National Science Foundation Post-Doctoral  Fellow at the James Frank Institute, a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, a Sloan Fellow, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Science from both Furman University and Ohio Dominican University.

Coming from a family of educators, Carl has increasingly devoted his time to the improvement of math and science education in public schools. He is the founding Chairman of a not-for-profit company focused on teacher recruitment and training, as well as co-founder together, with Ohio State University, of a network of unique math and science public high schools in nine cities.

He and his wife, Lynne, are the parents of three sons, one a Furman graduate, and grandparents to ten grandchildren, three are Furman graduates. They reside on Lake Keowee in Salem, South Carolina.