University Business - July 2007 - (Page 74)

Presidential Progress Supreme Court justices to the Dalai Lama has made the trip to Coral Gables. Along the way, Shalala has made her own contributions. “The message I consistently tell students is that they ought to see volunteerism—contributing to civic life—as part of being a good citizen in this country,” she says. “All of them can’t go and join the Peace Corps or work at a nonprofit organization, but they can volunteer in their communities, and we have a huge number of students who volunteer here.” She notes that 10 percent of UM’s student body is international, adding that global awareness has become a fact of life on campus. “This is not a place for people who want to come and live in a homogeneous community,” she stresses. “It is a place for students who are excited by diversity, because I believe that our students can be plunked down in any place on Earth and they could figure out how to operate.” Nitin Aggarval, who came to UM’s Class of 2007 from Tanzania, sees Shalala’s point. “She realizes that if we want to succeed in 20 years, we need that education.” all out of school,’” Shalala remembers. “I got a lot of feedback from the press that said, ‘You just weren’t tough enough on these kids. Given the history of Miami, you should have been 10 times more tough.’ And my point was, ‘We have rules, we have a disciplinary process. I support that process. I do not want to treat students unfairly.’ ” Ron Schachter is a Boston-based freelance writer and a correspondent for National Public Radio. Donna E. Shalala: HIGHER EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS President, University of Miami, 2001-present Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1987-1993 President, Hunter College (N.Y.), 1980-1987 Associate professor and chair, politics and ‘The students come here with a stereotype of college education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1972-1979 administrators and presidents. They come with the A Closer Look assumption that we’re in some distant building and that they’ll never see us. But they see me all the time.’ The Bad Patches All has not been smooth sailing for Shalala. Last year a dispute over wages for UM’s contract workers boiled over into labor demonstrations, faculty protests, and national media coverage. “She’s not always easy,” says Sapp. “A lot of faculty were unhappy with her approach.” Shalala even endured criticism from high-profile Democrats Howard Dean and John Edwards before eventually admitting that she took too long to make changes in the university’s salary structure. “We went through a bad patch, but I think we worked it through,” she says. This past fall, Shalala literally found herself in a front-row seat for another maelstrom when UM football players were involved in an on-field brawl with rival Florida International University on national television. Eventually, UM suspended 12 of the players for one game and another player indefinitely. The athletic department also issued a “zero tolerance” warning that any future fighting would result in a season-long suspension or a dismissal from the team entirely. Shalala drew national attention, and criticism, for declaring, “We will not throw any student under the bus. … I will not hang them in the public square.” “I got some letters that said, ‘You should have thrown them PUBLIC SERVICE HIGHLIGHTS Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1993-2001 Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1977-1980 U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, Iran, 1962-1964 RECENT READING The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Crown, 2006) and Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (Crown, 2007), both by Barack Obama HOBBIES Going to the theater, concerts, movies, and UM sporting events; playing tennis and golf ON MAKING TIME FOR HERSELF “I don’t work weekends much anymore. I protect Sundays and mostly Saturdays when we don’t have football games. I still have to do things in the evenings, but it’s nowhere near as demanding as Washington.” ON THE CURRENT POLITICAL LANDSCAPE “Mostly we need to build consensus in this country about where we want to go. And that’s what the next campaign will be about.” 74 | July 2007 universitybusiness.com http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - July 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
People Watch
Sense of Place
Marketing
Viewpoint
Human Resources
Money Matters
Financial Aid
Community Colleges
Seeds of Scandal
Controlling the Flow
Special Delivery
Presidential Progress
Best Foot Forward: SOX and Financial Standards
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - July 2007