UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth names administrator as finalist for president

Sylvia Trent-Adams, the executive vice president and chief strategy officer at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, has been named the finalist for HSC president, the UNT System Board of Regents announced Friday.

Trent-Adams will succeed Dr. Michael R. Williams, who became chancellor of the UNT System on Jan. 1. State law requires a 21-day waiting period before the board of regents makes a permanent appointment. The board is expected to vote the week of Sept. 12, the university said in a statement.

“Sylvia Trent-Adams is one of the most accomplished, admired and effective leaders in higher education and specifically, health care,” Williams said in the statement. “This is a pivotal moment for HSC — one full of extraordinary possibilities to pursue new knowledge, serve the community, and enhance education and health care — but also a time of unique challenges in an ever-changing higher education landscape. Such an era calls for skillful leadership, strategic thinking and disciplined execution. Dr. Trent-Adams will provide just that.”

Trent-Adams has served as HSC’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer since 2020.

“I am humbled and honored by the opportunity to lead this remarkable institution — and to succeed Dr. Williams,” Dr. Trent-Adams said in the statement. “The HSC I have known has always stood for innovation, collaboration and an unwavering devotion to a values-based culture. Arm-in-arm with the community and our outstanding faculty, staff, and student body, I’m excited to hit the ground running and keep HSC moving ambitiously forward.”

Before joining HSC, Trent-Adams was principal deputy assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.