Former HHS secretary to receive Dole prize

Donna Shalala, a former Health and Human Services Secretary under President Bill Clinton, will receive the 2009 Dole Leadership Prize.

She will sit for an interview with Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute of Politics, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Lied Center.

Lacy said Shalala, currently the president of the University of Miami, received the award for her continued dedication to public service.

“We’re trying to find people who have strong backgrounds in public service, and simultaneously someone who has important things to say,” Lacy said.

Lacy said Shalala, in addition to her Cabinet service, was tapped, along with former Sen. Bob Dole, by President George W. Bush to lead a commission investigating problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2007.

The interview will focus on Shalala’s background and why she got interested in a career in public service, Lacy said, and will also touch on timely events, such as the national health care debate.

A question-and-answer session will follow the interview.

Shalala is the first woman to receive the Dole Leadership Prize. Previous winners are former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former U.S. Sens. Howard Baker and George McGovern, former Polish President Lech Walesa, U.S. Rep. John Lewis and former U.S. President George H.W. Bush.

Tickets for the event are available starting today at the Lied Center box office, online at www.lied.ku.edu or by phone at 864-2787. Tickets to the event are free, but there is a $5 charge for online and phone orders.