Shalala Tells Kennedy School Grads to Give Back

Donna Shalala, secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), told graduating Kennedy School of Government students that it is their education as "moral agents," not policy wonks, that will make them effective leaders, at the school's Class Day ceremonies yesterday.

"The principles of ethical government that have been sown into the fabric of your education cannot--I repeat, cannot--lose their relevance," she said in a speech that lasted about 15 minutes. "But they can lose your attention, if you let them."

Shalala, the longest serving secretary of HHS, has spent her career at the helm of large organizations.

She served as president of Hunter College in New York City and was the first female chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In her current position, she supervises the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and was instrumental in the re-working of welfare in 1996.

In her speech, she welcomed the graduates into the world of "full-fledged policy wonks."

"You've mastered the fine art of squeezing one simple idea into a 30-page memo," she quipped.

Intelligence is not enough to affect government policy, Shalala said.

"It's been my experience in government after 20 years that bright--even brilliant--people come a dime a dozen. Finding wise, caring people--with judgment and integrity--is a different matter," she said.

Shalala said that more important than skill in formulating policy is the judgement to know what policies to pursue.

"Crunching numbers, drafting rules and selling the policy isn't enough," she said. "We also have to bequeath a better nation to our children."

Shalala urged students to build up teams of colleagues they can trust.

She said her colleagues often wondered why she allowed FDA, the CDC and other organizations under her control so much autonomy.

"I always insist that they speak for themselves. The best salespeople are not press secretaries, but the heads of credible institutions--in their white coats," she said.

Shalala, who worked closely with First Lady Hillary Clinton during Clinton's unsuccessful effort to nationalize health-care, told students they would have their successes as well as their failures and should learn how to compromise.

"Be flexible and don't expect to win all the time," she said. "Standing in principle is not the same as standing in cement."

But Shalala said that above all, the graduating students should remember that they have the potential to change the world.

"Individuals make history, not the other way around," she said.