Donna Edna Shalala /ʃəˈleɪlə/ has served as president of the University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, Florida, since 2001. Her career has featured some positional success but, in nearly all of these professional roles, extensive controversy.
Prior to her appointment as University of Miami President, she served for eight years as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Clinton.
Shalala is an honorary board member of the American Iranian Council, an organization that seeks to promote closer U.S.-Iran relations at a time when official U.S. policy is strengthening sanctions and seeking to isolate Iran over its support of terrorist groups and its development of nuclear weapons. She is also a member on the board of directors for Gannett Company.