Legacy

Gene Trani served almost two decades as president of Virginia Commonwealth University. The eye cannot miss his legacy. During his years the school became a far more visible and active member of the community. A genuine campus formed. The school's growth has enhanced Richmond. Trani set necessary priorities.

VCU's student body is the biggest in the commonwealth. The university boasts acclaimed departments and attracts significant research investment. Different colleges serve different purposes; different students have different interests and needs. There is a place for Stanford, a place for Notre Dame, a place for Oklahoma State, a place for East Overshoe. Not everyone seeks the four-year, age 18 to 22, on-campus ivied-wall experience. Some students combine work with study, either out of necessity or preference. Many commute. Trani has steered VCU as it has adapted to new trends in higher education.

Relations between town and gown always have their ups and downs. "Wary affection" often describes the sentiments of residents not affiliated with the hometown school. Things were rocky when Trani arrived. The atmosphere soon improved, in large part because Trani welcomed outside input. Difficult moments have occurred, too. Those living in the shadow of any massive institution directly feel its effects for better or for worse. In the inevitable disputes of Trani's tenure, VCU was sometimes right and sometimes wrong. It handled some incidents well, others poorly. Often the situation recalled Sidney Hook's Pragmatism and the Tragic Sense of Life, which examined the difficulties inherent in choosing between two competing, and perhaps irreconcilable, goods. VCU lists Richmond's ambience among its attractions. The school benefits from the scene, and changes it.

To call Trani an energetic administrator is to understate the case. He probably works while sawing logs. In addition to managing a school with thousands of students and employees, he has overseen a medical complex -- and has played an active role in the community, a role we hope he continues. He had visionary ideas regarding life sciences and biotech; he also reserved time for personal scholarship. While his academic interests were eclectic, a focus fell on diplomatic history. Trani contributed guest columns to

The Times-Dispatch. We recommend his biography of Warren Gamaliel Harding. On Jan. 20, 2008, the Sunday Commentary section published a "conversation" in which Trani, Gary Rhodes (president of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College), and members of the Editorial staff discussed initiatives to encourage students from Richmond's public schools to take advantage of the opportunities available at VCU and J. Sarge.

Rodney Monroe's faux degree proved a nightmare; VCU's reaction to the reaction dismayed. The situation may have reflected management flaws, but it does not invalidate Trani's overall record. An urban university, particularly one in a state system, will not resemble an ivory tower, but there is much to be said for keeping the political citadels and their inhabitants at a distance.

College presidents have styles and themes, just as corporate presidents (and U.S. presidents) do. Some delegate authority; others centralize it. The nation itself goes through periods when it looks outward, and periods when it looks in-. And if the hour has arrived for VCU to decentralize, to consolidate gains, and to examine itself, then that healthy process will have been made possible by an era dominated by Gene Trani.