Sylvia Trent-Adams, the former University of North Texas Health Science Center president who resigned in January, will lead the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a Boston-based global organization.
She will become president and CEO of the not-for-profit health care institute July 14, about six months following her resignation from UNT. The UNT System Board of Regents last week named Dr. Kirk Calhoun, who is the center’s interim president, as the lone finalist for president.
“IHI has the courage to say that science matters. Evidence matters. Quality matters. Equity matters,” Trent-Adams said in a June 30 post on LinkedIn. “I believe this organization has the opportunity to be a change agent for the global community at a time when it is so greatly needed, and I’m grateful to be a part of it.
The institute provides tools, resources and workshops for professionals, hospitals and other health care organizations to enhance the quality and access to care.
Trent-Adams led the Health Science Center — which includes medical, pharmacy and nursing schools — from 2022 to 2025. She came to the Health Science Center in 2020 as executive vice president and chief strategy officer. Trent-Adams joined the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s board in 2022 and is a lifelong health care professional focused on public health.
“Sylvia has held many titles during her impressive career — nurse, soldier, researcher, rear admiral, acting surgeon general, university president — and we’re thrilled that she’s adding ‘IHI president and CEO’ to that list,” board chair Dr. Gerald Hickson said in a statement. “(We) know her to be a person of strong character, humility and integrity — an experienced healthcare leader, and a passionate advocate for safety and quality improvement.”
The Report requested an interview with Trent-Adams, and she was not available by deadline.
Her resignation from the Health Science Center came after an NBC News investigation about its Willed Body Program. After the investigation, the center suspended its BioSkills Lab and terminated program leadership. Trent-Adams was not directly implicated, which was started before she became HSC president.
In an email sent to Health Science Center faculty, staff and students soon after her resignation, Trent-Adams said leaving the Health Science Center was “personal” and done after “a great deal of thought and consideration.”
“Since my arrival in 2020, we have navigated the impact of a global pandemic and several crisis situations — all while continuing to fulfill our purpose of improving the lives of others by transforming the lives of those we teach and serve,” she said.
Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
