Donna Shalala Quotes & Sayings

“The dog doesn't know the difference between Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, so I have to walk the dog early those days too.”

“In fairy tales, the children are saved by caring adults. We need more caring adults in the lives of our children.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“The government is fully capable of delivering services. Even complex services.”

“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.”

“I have to admit, in January and February I was in an absolute fuzz. I had no one on board. It wasn't that I didn't know what I was doing, but we didn't have all the pieces put together.”

“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.”

“Sex education has to do with what's in people's head.”