October 12, 2017

Public lecture highlights Donna Shalala visit to the UW

The Population Health Initiative welcomed Donna Shalala, Trustee Professor of Political Science and Health Policy at the University of Miami, to the University of Washington on October 9 and 10, 2017 as part of the UW Graduate School’s Jessie & John Danz Lecture Series.

Her public lecture, “Healthcare for All: An Idea Whose Time has Come?,” detailed why it has been so difficult for the United States to ensure healthcare coverage for every citizen. She explained the history of efforts to achieve universal coverage through the private and public sectors, including the evolution of employer-based care, from the mid-20th century to present. She also described the role that politics and an array of stakeholders play in any effort to reform healthcare.

Shalala also held roundtable discussions with graduate students from the School of Social Work, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, Department of Sociology, School of Public Health, School of Medicine and College of the Environment during her visit to Seattle. The discussion topics during these roundtables ranged from how to best translate research discoveries into policy, the importance of supplementing quantitative research with qualitative research and how to most effectively communicate scientific findings.

Shalala is the former president of the Clinton Foundation. Previously, she served as president of the University of Miami and professor of political science. Shalala received her A.B. in history from Western College for Women and her Ph.D. from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. She served as president of Hunter College of CUNY from 1980 to 1987, and as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1987 to 1993.

In 1993, President Clinton nominated her as Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS) where she served for eight years. In 2008, President Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1962-1964. In 2010, she received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights recognizing her dedication to improving the health and life chances of disadvantaged populations in South Africa and internationally.