Shalala, the university’s president since 2001, bears some responsibility for signing the Orange Bowl’s death warrant since she did, after all, announce that the Canes wouldn’t play there after August 2008. That decision then jump-started new negotiations between city of Miami and Miami-Dade County officials and the Florida Marlins. And if the Marlins negotiate a large-enough subsidy, a brand-new baseball stadium with a retractable roof and lots of luxury skyboxes may be built in its place.

Leaving the Orange Bowl is hardly the first controversial decision that Shalala — the president of Hunter College of SUNY from 1980 to 1987 and chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1987 to 1993 — has had to make.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed Shalala secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, where she served for eight years and became the longest-serving Health and Human Services secretary in U.S. history. During her term, Shalala made health insurance available to an estimated 3.3 million children by approving state children’s health insurance programs and raised child immunization rates to the highest levels in history. The Washington Post described her as “one of the most successful government managers of modern times.”

As UM’s president, Shalala helped improve the college’s academic standing among 254 universities assessed by U.S. News & World Report from 66th in 2001 to 52nd in 2007. She also spearheaded the university’s $1 billion fundraising campaign, Momentum, which now aims to gather $1.25 billion by the end of 2007.

In 2006, striking UM custodial workers contracted by UNICCO made headlines when they wanted to unionize under the Service Employees International Union and earn living wages. Shalala insisted UNICCO and the workers resolve the issue without involving the university. Though Shalala was criticized for coming down hard on students involved in the protests, a union was eventually approved. And unlike their counterparts at Nova Southeastern, UM custodial workers were not laid off for their unionizing efforts.

In July, President George W. Bush handpicked Shalala, a Democrat, to co-chair with former Sen. Bob Dole a commission to investigate substandard conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The committee’s September report found that administrative failures and manpower shortages adversely affected healthcare for “returning warriors” who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, with all that in mind, the demise of the Orange Bowl is a mere blip on Shalala’s résumé, especially since the city of Miami wanted to spend tons of taxpayer money to fix it up for the school. She put it this way to reporters in August: “Is it appropriate for the University of Miami, a private university, to ask the people, the taxpayers of the city, to spend $200 million on six games a year?”