Eugene P. Trani
Encyclopedia
Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D. is the former president of Virginia Commonwealth University
in Richmond
, Virginia
. He held this position from 1990 until July 1, 2009.
in 1961. In 1963, he was awarded a Master of Arts in history from Indiana University
and a Ph.D. from Indiana University in American history in 1966, where he was a student of Robert H. Ferrell
. While in graduate school, he served as a grading and teaching assistant from 1961 to 1964, held a fellowship in 1964-65 from the Russian and East European Institute at Indiana University, and was elected to membership in Phi Alpha Theta
, the National History Honor Society.
Dr. Trani was elected to permanent membership in the Council on Foreign Relations
, New York, in 1979. Through its meetings and publications, and the activities of its 2,000 individual members, the council has played a major role in shaping American foreign policy over the last half century. Dr. Trani is also a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies
, London; Phi Kappa Phi
; the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
; the Organization of American Historians
; and the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
; and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Grenville Clark Fund at Dartmouth College
. He has served as a consultant and outside evaluator for a number of university presses, journals, and governmental and grant-awarding agencies, such as the National Endowment for the Humanities
. In 1989, he served as an advisor to the governor of Louisiana
and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
on the organization of the higher education systems in those two states. In 1991, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Virginia Union University
in Richmond.
Dr. Trani established an active administration at VCU. Among his first initiatives was to formalize relationships with the Richmond area through a number of community programs. These programs placed VCU Police in the troubled corridor of Grace Street next to the Monroe Park Campus and led to the establishment of the Community Advisory Boards for both campuses. Their centerpiece is the Community Service Associates Program, which pairs VCU faculty with members of the community on special projects designed to benefit from academic expertise.
During his VCU tenure, Dr. Trani also guided the development of “A Strategic Plan for the Future of Virginia Commonwealth University,” which produced significant organizational changes in programs and administration, including a comprehensive administrative streamlining report; a new framework for establishing interdisciplinary centers that combine VCU’s strengths in teaching, research, and service; a new faculty roles and rewards policy and a companion review process for VCU’s promotion and tenure policy; a master planning effort that incorporates new architectural guidelines into the development of the campuses in a way that complements their surroundings in the community; and a comprehensive technology plan developed in collaboration with area businesses for the entire institution.
Among the strategic plan’s important areas of focus has been enhancing VCU’s growing importance to economic development in Virginia. Dr. Trani spearheaded the development of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, which has attracted the biotech industry to Virginia, serving as Chair of the Research Park Authority Board. The plan also brought the development of a new engineering school,
Throughout his tenure, Dr. Trani directed VCU’s efforts to internationalize its campuses. During his presidency, he established significant linkages with universities in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, South America, India and China. Currently, VCU has developed significant university-wide partnerships with 15 universities around the world, most with academic medical centers. One of the most notable international partnerships established under Dr. Trani’s leadership resulted in the creation of the VCU School of the Arts in Doha, Qatar in 1997.
Dr. Trani also spearheaded a 1.2 billion investment in the institution’s infrastructure. More than $100 million has been invested in construction on Broad Street – Richmond’s main thoroughfare – which has attracted over $100 million in new business activity to the area. A recent master site plan, VCU 2020, identifies approximately $1 billion in capital projects, and includes new academic, medical, recreation, student housing and parking facilities. In all, the plan includes more than 40 new facilities between the two main campuses. Highlights include a new School of Medicine building, a new School of Nursing building, and a critical care bed tower on the MCV Campus; and on the Monroe Park Campus, the schools of Business and Engineering come together on a new residential campus to foster interdisciplinary teaching, research and public service.
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...
in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He held this position from 1990 until July 1, 2009.
Education and early career
Dr. Trani received a Bachelor of Arts in history, with honors, from the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in 1961. In 1963, he was awarded a Master of Arts in history from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
and a Ph.D. from Indiana University in American history in 1966, where he was a student of Robert H. Ferrell
Robert H. Ferrell
Robert H. Ferrell is an American historian and author of several books on Harry S. Truman and the diplomatic history of the United States. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during the Second World War and was an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He received a B.S...
. While in graduate school, he served as a grading and teaching assistant from 1961 to 1964, held a fellowship in 1964-65 from the Russian and East European Institute at Indiana University, and was elected to membership in Phi Alpha Theta
Phi Alpha Theta
Phi Alpha Theta is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history.The society is a charter member of the Association of College Honor Societies and has over 350,000 members, with about 9,500 new members joining each year through 860 local chapters.-...
, the National History Honor Society.
Dr. Trani was elected to permanent membership in the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
, New York, in 1979. Through its meetings and publications, and the activities of its 2,000 individual members, the council has played a major role in shaping American foreign policy over the last half century. Dr. Trani is also a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies is a British research institute in the area of international affairs. It describes itself as "the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict"...
, London; Phi Kappa Phi
Phi Kappa Phi
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the "unity and democracy of education"...
; the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
The Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies is a scholarly society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about the former Soviet Union and Eastern and Central Europe...
; the Organization of American Historians
Organization of American Historians
The Organization of American Historians , formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S...
; and the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations
The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations is the leading learned society for the academic study of the history of United States foreign policy....
; and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Grenville Clark Fund at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. He has served as a consultant and outside evaluator for a number of university presses, journals, and governmental and grant-awarding agencies, such as the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
. In 1989, he served as an advisor to the governor of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education is the agency of the government of Oklahoma that serves as the governing body of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, which is the largest provider of higher education in the state of Oklahoma...
on the organization of the higher education systems in those two states. In 1991, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Virginia Union University
Virginia Union University
Virginia Union University is a historically black university located in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It took its present name in 1899 upon the merger of two older schools, Richmond Theological Institute and Wayland Seminary, each founded after the end of American Civil War by the American...
in Richmond.
President of Virginia Commonwealth University
Dr. Eugene P. Trani was appointed the fourth president of Virginia Commonwealth University on July 1, 1990. He also served as President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the VCU Health System and holds a tenured appointment as Professor of History.Dr. Trani established an active administration at VCU. Among his first initiatives was to formalize relationships with the Richmond area through a number of community programs. These programs placed VCU Police in the troubled corridor of Grace Street next to the Monroe Park Campus and led to the establishment of the Community Advisory Boards for both campuses. Their centerpiece is the Community Service Associates Program, which pairs VCU faculty with members of the community on special projects designed to benefit from academic expertise.
During his VCU tenure, Dr. Trani also guided the development of “A Strategic Plan for the Future of Virginia Commonwealth University,” which produced significant organizational changes in programs and administration, including a comprehensive administrative streamlining report; a new framework for establishing interdisciplinary centers that combine VCU’s strengths in teaching, research, and service; a new faculty roles and rewards policy and a companion review process for VCU’s promotion and tenure policy; a master planning effort that incorporates new architectural guidelines into the development of the campuses in a way that complements their surroundings in the community; and a comprehensive technology plan developed in collaboration with area businesses for the entire institution.
Among the strategic plan’s important areas of focus has been enhancing VCU’s growing importance to economic development in Virginia. Dr. Trani spearheaded the development of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, which has attracted the biotech industry to Virginia, serving as Chair of the Research Park Authority Board. The plan also brought the development of a new engineering school,
Throughout his tenure, Dr. Trani directed VCU’s efforts to internationalize its campuses. During his presidency, he established significant linkages with universities in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, South America, India and China. Currently, VCU has developed significant university-wide partnerships with 15 universities around the world, most with academic medical centers. One of the most notable international partnerships established under Dr. Trani’s leadership resulted in the creation of the VCU School of the Arts in Doha, Qatar in 1997.
Dr. Trani also spearheaded a 1.2 billion investment in the institution’s infrastructure. More than $100 million has been invested in construction on Broad Street – Richmond’s main thoroughfare – which has attracted over $100 million in new business activity to the area. A recent master site plan, VCU 2020, identifies approximately $1 billion in capital projects, and includes new academic, medical, recreation, student housing and parking facilities. In all, the plan includes more than 40 new facilities between the two main campuses. Highlights include a new School of Medicine building, a new School of Nursing building, and a critical care bed tower on the MCV Campus; and on the Monroe Park Campus, the schools of Business and Engineering come together on a new residential campus to foster interdisciplinary teaching, research and public service.