Breaking news. Eugene Trani has announced that he will step down from his position as president of Virginia Commonwealth University on July 1, 2009, a year earlier than previously planned. Recovering from quintuple coronary bypass surgery, Trani made the decision over the weekend, reports the Times-Dispatch. He will remain employed with the university as a professor.
The decision comes at a time the university is under fire for the handling of the Rodney Monroe degree scandal and the university’s relationship with tobacco giant Philip Morris USA. VCU Rector Thomas G. Rosenthal insisted that the decision was entirely health related and had nothing to do with the recent controversies. “Zip, zero, zilch.”
No surprise. As I asked about three weeks ago, “Has Trani Stayed On Too Long?“
Update: In a press conference today, Trani reiterated that he was retiring early for personal reasons related to poor health. He did add one interesting, if cryptic, note: “If I have one regret about what’s gone on this summer, it is there is an air of fear and intimidation at VCU. That’s not the VCU I know.”
It’s not clear from his statement who he believed was intimidating whom. But Trani’s detractors have often accused him, or his administration, of intimidating dissenters. If he was thinking otherwise, I would like to know.
