Eugene P Trani

After nearly two decades serving as the fourth president of Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Eugene P. Trani retired from the presidency on June 30, 2009. While serving as president of VCU, Dr. Trani served on numerous corporate, civic and state governing boards and commissions. From 1997 to 1998, he served as chair of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and from 2001 to 2004, he served as chair of Richmond Renaissance (now Venture Richmond), an organization devoted to downtown revitalization. Prior to coming to VCU in 1990, Dr. Trani served for four years as Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University of Wisconsin System and Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1980 to 1986, Dr. Trani was the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. From 1976 to 1980, he served as Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska. From 1967 to 1975, Dr. Trani served as a professor at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. In 1967, Dr. Trani was appointed Assistant Professor of History; in 1971, he was awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of History, and in 1975 was promoted to Professor of History. From 1965 to 1967, Dr. Trani was Instructor in History at The Ohio State University in Columbus. He spent the summers of 1965 and 1966 working as an Historical Researcher at the United States Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. Dr. Trani is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in history from Indiana University. Dr. Trani and his wife, Lois, have two children, Anne (born in 1963 and a graduate of the University of Kansas) and Frank (born in 1964 and a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law). Before coming to VCU, Mrs. Trani worked for 30 years in her profession as a registered nurse and as a nurse anesthetist. Dr. and Mrs. Trani, their children and their five grandchildren all reside in Richmond.