University of Alabama Trustees Appoint Interim Chancellor to Full-Time Job

The trustees of the University of Alabama System voted to appoint their interim chancellor to the full-time role, promoting Sid Trant almost a year after he took the reins from departing leader Fess St. John.

The chancellor is chief executive of the entire system - the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama in Huntsville as well as the UAB Health System.

In a Friday announcement, a UA spokesperson said Trant will oversee an almost $7 billion annual budget which brings more than $18.6 billion back to the state each year.

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“Sid Trant has demonstrated exceptional leadership over the past several months, proving his ability to advance the University of Alabama System’s mission while strengthening its foundation for future success,” said Trustee Karen P. Brooks, who led the chancellor search. “His intricate understanding of the UA System combined with his proven experience and passion for higher education and health care make him uniquely qualified to lead the UA System into the future. He is a tested and trusted leader who will ensure the UA System continues to thrive and reach new heights.”

Since St. John stepped down 10 months ago, Trant has seen the UA System acquire Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System and "bolstered institutional neutrality," UA said in their announcement.

“It is an incredible honor to serve as chancellor of the University of Alabama System,” said Trant. “I am deeply committed to the University of Alabama System’s mission of improving the lives of Alabamians and all those we serve through teaching, research and service. I am grateful to the Board of Trustees for entrusting me with this responsibility, and I look forward to working with our institutional leaders and all members of the UA System community to build upon our momentum and achieve even greater success.”

Trant is an attorney who spent 30 years at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP before joining the UA System in 2017 to serve as general counsel and senior vice chancellor before he was named interim chancellor last year.

"Sid Trant is a leader of unparalleled integrity and expertise, with the ability to navigate both the opportunities and challenges facing higher education and health care today with clarity and purpose,” said Board of Trustees President Pro Tempore Scott Phelps. “His steady leadership and strategic approach have already strengthened the University of Alabama System, and he has a clear dedication to the success of our universities and health system and to those we serve. The Board is confident that the UA System will continue to expand its impact and set new standards of excellence under his leadership.”

UA said Trant has deep roots in the system as a first-generation alumnus whose two children are also both graduates and earned his juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986.

UA said before becoming a lawyer, Trant worked as a legislative assistant to former Senator Howell Heflin and was a judicial clerk for the late Judge Sam C. Pointer Jr.

Now-chancellor Trant lives here in Tuscaloosa with his wife, Angel. The announcement also noted he is a member of several distinguished professional organizations and chairs the Freshwater Land Trust Board of Directors.

For more coverage of news in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.