In 1999, Shalala raised a record $44 million for national charities in the National Capital Area Combined Federal Campaign.
Within the government, Shalala oversaw health and welfare policies, including the Medicare and Medicaid programs. During the Carter administration, she was assistant secretary of housing and urban development.
"I have missed only one thing in Washington: working with young people," Shalala told The Washington Post.
Shalala has previously served as president of Hunter College in New York City and chancellor of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she helped build up the athletic program and stressed undergraduate education.
Shalala called the presidency of the University of Miami one of the "hot jobs" in American higher education.