Shalala Returns to Roots to Lead University of Miami

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala announced Saturday that she will become president of the University of Miami after eight years in President Clinton’s Cabinet.

“I welcome the opportunity to get out of government and get back to higher education,” said Shalala, who was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin before she joined the Clinton administration.

She replaces Edward T. “Tad” Foote II, who is retiring after 19 years.

University search committee member Charles Cobb, ambassador to Iceland under former President Bush, said he first contacted Shalala about the job about 45 days ago. Negotiations ended Friday, but no contract details were disclosed.

Shalala, 59, has led HHS since Clinton took office in 1993 and is the department’s longest-serving secretary. The first Cabinet member to announce post-administration plans, she will remain until the president’s term ends Jan. 20.

“She is a talented manager and an energetic leader who will bring great experience to the task of leading the university, its students, its faculty and its alumni,” Clinton said in a statement from Vietnam, where he is wrapping up a trip.

“I have no doubt she will be a real asset to the university and its community,” he said.

Shalala, a native of Cleveland, was president of Hunter College in New York before going to Wisconsin in 1987.

The University of Miami is a private school with 13,963 students and four campuses.

Shalala said she accepted the university’s offer “because they have the best and most energetic students in the country.”

“I now understand why the University of Miami is so good at football,” she said. “They know how to recruit.”

As the HHS secretary, Shalala has overseen health and welfare policies for the government while running a department with 61,000 employees. That includes the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration.