Jump to full article: Style Weekly, 2008-05-28
Author: Chris Dovi and Amy
Intro: Eugene Trani's connection to the tobacco industry runs deep.
The New York Times reported last week that Virginia Commonwealth University inked a controversial research deal with Philip Morris USA in 2006. The deal prohibits researchers at the public university from publishing their findings without a longer-than-usual review process from the company. Between the restricted contract and other moneys, Philip Morris gave $1.3 million to VCU last year.
But Trani, VCU's president, has gotten more from the tobacco industry than a million bucks. In fact, Trani is the tobacco industry.
As a member of the board of directors of Universal Corp., Trani receives an annual retainer of $40,000, including stock options. He also receives a fee of $2,000 for each board of directors' meeting he attends and another $1,500 for attending committee meetings. . . .
"I don't see any connection between these two," university spokeswoman Pam Lepley says. "And his being on the board doesn't really pertain to the university."
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