Donna Shalala – 11 Quotes

11 Quotes by Donna Shalala

But I have a driver, so I can return calls while I’m in the car.

– Donna Shalala

But for me, it is when a student has died. I find the death of a young person the most difficult and painful of times. To explain it to other young people, to see a bright future snuffed out, is just awful. I am haunted by those deaths.

– Donna Shalala

Higher education is one of few areas where this country competes with the rest of the world and wins. The best of American higher education outstrips any in the world. Look where the rest of the world goes for higher education, for graduate degrees. They come here.

– Donna Shalala

Sex education has to do with what’s in people’s head.

– Donna Shalala

We need to drive down requirements for the schools. In the 19th century, we increased the quality of the schools by higher education saying, ‘You can’t come in unless you have these skills, unless you’ve taken these courses.’ We did that in Wisconsin when I was there, it helped to transform the secondary school system.

– Donna Shalala

You can’t have a university without having free speech, even though at times it makes us terribly uncomfortable. If students are not going to hear controversial ideas on college campuses, they’re not going to hear them in America. I believe it’s part of their education.

– Donna Shalala

Every year, I am reminded of the kids who aren’t in the freshman class and aren’t graduating. I remember every single one of them. That is the worst of times for me, to see the future snuffed out.

– Donna Shalala

I am interested in getting people to use the healthcare system at the right time, getting them to see the doctor early enough, before a small health problem turns serious.

– Donna Shalala

You go to college not only for the latest knowledge but also to meet people from different backgrounds. That’s the genius of the American higher-education system compared with the Europeans’. We don’t simply skim the elite.

– Donna Shalala

I would argue that we have a generation of young people, particularly minorities, who are no longer putting up with the kinds of things their parents put up with. They’re much more self-confident. It’s no longer acceptable to make fun of people because of race or sex. But it has always been present in American society.

– Donna Shalala

We know the parental support, community support, makes a difference. It’s not just the metrics of testing and putting pressure on the schools and on the teachers.

– Donna Shalala