Political scientist, educator, and cabinet officer, born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Of Lebanese descent, she took her BA from Western College for Women (Oxford, OH) (1962), then spent two years with the Peace Corps in Iran. She then earned her MA and PhD (1970) from Syracuse, and while there participated in programmes that taught foreign students and Peace Corps staff. She taught at Bernard Baruch College (NYC) (19702) and then at Teachers College of Columbia (19729), and also served with the Municipal Assistance Corp (19757) which helped restore financial stability to New York City. She was assistant secretary for political development and research in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (197780). In 1980 she became president of Hunter College (part of the City University of New York City), becoming the youngest woman ever to head a major college. She greatly increased its endowment, enlarged its faculties, upgraded its student body, and enlarged its building programme. In 1988 she moved on to become the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, only the second woman (after Hanna Holborn Gray at the University of Chicago) to head a major American research university; she also became a professor of political science and educational policy studies. One of her most publicized programmes there was the so-called Madison Plan to deal with racism on campus. President Clinton appointed her secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in 1993.
Donna Shalala|
|
|
| 6th Secretary of Health and Human Services | |
|---|---|
| In office | |
| 1993 – 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Louis W. Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Tommy Thompson |
| Born |
February 14, 1941 Cleveland, Ohio |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Religion | Catholic |
Donna Esther Shalala (born February 14, 1941) is the current president of the University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, Florida.
Prior to her appointment as University of Miami President, she served as Bill Clinton's Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Early life
Shalala was born in Cleveland, Ohio to James and Edna Shalala.
Teaching career
After obtaining her doctorate from Syracuse University in 1970, Shalala taught politics at Baruch College (part of CUNY).
While still a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, she served from 1977 to 1980 as the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Carter administration.
Secretary of Health and Human Services
President Bill Clinton appointed Shalala United States Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1993.
In this role, Shalala frequently drew criticism from political conservatives and moderates for her liberal positions.
However, Shalala was also known for her fervent anti-drug stance, saying "marijuana is illegal, dangerous, unhealthy, and wrong," though a number of conservatives considered the Clinton administration's anti-drug policies weak. Shalala also expressed reservations about Hillary Clinton's health care reform plan, saying “I didn’t come here to set up a new regulatory bureaucracy in Washington.”
University of Miami
Academic ratings
Shalala was appointed President of the University of Miami in 2001.
Under Shalala, football program's deterioration
The university's football team, once a dynasty and helpful to the university in generating positive national attention, prestige and alumni giving and other funds, has deteriorated completely under Shalala's leadership.
The university won four national championships in the 18 years prior to Shalala's arrival, more than any other Division I program. While UM did win the national championship in 2001 (Shalala's first semester as UM President), it has deteriorated substantially since, losing the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl in 2002 and, since then, attending mostly second-tier bowl games (the Orange Bowl in 2003, and, in 2004 and again in 2005, the Chick-fil-A Bowl), losing the 2005 Chick-fil-A-Bowl game 40-3, the team's worst loss in seven years.
Failing to act on custodial wages, prompting a strike
In early 2006, under Shalala's leadership, the university was involved in a hugely controversial custodial workers' strike, a dispute between the university's then non-unionized custodial workers (now represented by the SEIU labor union) and the university's contractor, UNICCO.
It should be noted that Shalala did not posses direct control over any of the issues for which the UNICCO workers protested, and that some workers chose not to protest at all.
Personal
Shalala is a Lebanese-American.
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