[1] Trani began his academic career in the Department of History at Ohio State University, teaching there from 1965 to 1967.
From 1967 to 1976, Trani was a faculty member in the Department of History at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and was tenured there in 1971, becoming full Professor in 1975.
In 1980, Dr. Trani was appointed Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and served in that position until 1986.
Trani is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London.
After his retirement as President, along with teaching in VCU's Honors College and continuing his research and writing, Trani created an independent, nonprofit think tank, Richmond's Future.