Sylvia Trent-Adams Appointed President of the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth

The University of North Texas System board of regents has named Sylvia Trent-Adams as the seventh president of the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. She is the first Black woman to lead a health science center in Texas.

“From the first time I set foot on the HSC campus in January 2020, I could feel the energy and tell that there was something different about this university,” Dr. Trent-Adams said. “It’s the desire to make a difference in people’s lives, and it’s the reason I came to HSC. From its founding, HSC set its sights on making a difference, and more than 50 years later, the HSC community continues to change the world every day through world-class research, teaching, patient care, and service. What is special about HSC is that it does this with an uncommon mix of innovation and compassion. I look forward to working with faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to build on this inspiring legacy and shape HSC’s next great chapter of working toward the public good.”

Before joining the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth in 2020, Dr. Trent-Adams was the first Black woman to serve as Deputy Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps., then the first Black woman to rise to the level of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health. Prior to joining the U.S. Public Health Service, Dr. Trent-Adams was a nurse officer in the U.S. Army and a research nurse at the University of Maryland.

Dr. Trent-Adams received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Hampton University in Virginia. She holds a master’s degree in nursing and health policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.