Donna E. Shalala

An accomplished scholar, teacher, and administrator, former University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala personifies outstanding leadership and dedication to public service. During her tenure as president, the University of Miami advanced into the top tier of U.S. research universities.

Shalala received her A.B. degree from Western College for Women and Ph.D. degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She served as president of Hunter College from 1980 to 1987 and as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1987 to 1993.

Shalala was assistant secretary for policy development and research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Carter administration. In 1993 President Bill Clinton appointed her U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Shalala was appointed by President George W. Bush to co-chair with Senator Bob Dole the Commission on Care for Returning Wounded Warriors, and in 2008 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. In 2009, she was appointed chair of the Committee on the Future of Nursing at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.