Eugene P. Trani

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Eugene P. Trani (born November 2, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York) is a historian, educator, academic administrator, and fourth president of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, serving as president from 1990 - 2009.

Trani received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Notre Dame in 1961. He earned a Master of Arts in 1963 and Ph.D. in 1966, both from Indiana University; his doctoral advisor was the historian Robert H. Ferrell.^[1] Trani began his academic career in the Department of History at Ohio State University, teaching there from 1965 to 1967. From 1967 to 1976, Trani was a faculty member in the Department of History at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and was tenured there in 1971, becoming full Professor in 1975. From 1976 to 1980, Trani served as Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska. In 1980, Dr. Trani was appointed Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and served in that position until 1986. From 1986 to 1990, Trani was Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University of Wisconsin System, and a tenured Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1981, Trani served as Senior Fulbright Lecturer at Moscow State University in American History.

Trani became Virginia Commonwealth University's fourth president in 1990, and served as President of VCU and the VCU Health System until 2009. Trani had four short-term visiting research leaves during his presidency: at the University of London in 1995, at St. John's, Cambridge in 1998, at University College Dublin in 2002, and at Lincoln College, Oxford in 2005. The research focus of the leaves was twofold: research on his books on American foreign policy, and also the intersection of university and community outreach around economic development.

Trani is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London. In 1991, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Virginia Union University, Richmond, VA; in 2009, the Honorary Doctor of Science Degree, St. Petersburg University, Russia, 2009; and in 2009, the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree, Virginia Commonwealth University.