Shalala Appointed President of University of Miami

Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala accepted the presidency of the University of Miami this past weekend. Shalala formerly served as president of Hunter College in New York and chancellor of the University of Wisonsin, Madison. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Shalala has supervised health and welfare policy, including many measures that affect women. Shalala played a key role in convincing Roussel Uclaf to transfer RU 486 (mifepristone) patent rights to the Population Council, contributing to the eventual approval of mifepristone by the Food and Drug Administration. Shalala has addressed issues like rape in the United States and domestic violence, releasing studies in the late 1990s that stressed the importance of nationwide resources to combat violence against women. In 1998, she helped in the development of the Public Health Service’s National Women’s Health Information Center, a government resource that provides 24-hour medical resources to women and health care providers on issues affecting women’s health.

Media Resources: Washington Post - November 19, 2000 and US Daily Feminist Newswire – August 30, 1999, and November 19 and 20, 1998

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