By Kristine Calongne
LSU Public Affairs
BATON ROUGE — He’s a Republican and an LSU Tiger. She’s a Democrat and a Miami Hurricane. But instead of being rivals, LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe and University of Miami President Donna Shalala are members of a mutual admiration society that stems back to the 1970s and their days in Washington, D.C.
When the two old friends get together at the upcoming Peach Bowl, it won’t be to talk smack about the football game, but to catch up and reminisce. Tenth-ranked LSU and ninth-ranked Miami will face off Dec. 30 at 6:30 p.m. CST in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in the 38th annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
The friendship between the two higher education CEOs began in the late 70s when O’Keefe first went to the nation’s capital on a Presidential Management Internship. At that time, Shalala was the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and served as a mentor group leader for the
Presidential Management Interns. The two became fast friends, in spite of their political differences, and they found a mutual respect for each other.
“Donna and I agree on the virtues of public service, and the time of day, and that’s about it,” O’Keefe joked. “But she is an amazing person, and has been a very valuable sounding board over the years. She has been a mentor to me in every sense of the word.”
While teaching at Syracuse University in the mid-to-late 1990s, O’Keefe invited Shalala — both of them hold graduate degrees from Syracuse — to speak to classes and executive development groups at the university. Shalala is no stranger to higher education herself, serving as President of Hunter College of the City University of New York from 1980 to 1987, then as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1987 to 1993. She also served as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services during Bill Clinton’s two terms as President, becoming the longest serving HHS Secretary in U.S. history.
O’Keefe’s experiences in public service and education followed a similar path. He served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations for eight years, and was staff director of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. In 1989, he was appointed Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Defense, and was appointed
Secretary of the Navy in 1992, during George Bush’s term as President. He was then recruited to the faculty of the Pennsylvania State University and later to Syracuse. O’Keefe joined President George W. Bush’s team on inauguration day and served the first year of the Administration as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. In December 2001, he was appointed NASA Administrator.
“Sean is one of the most able public administrators and leaders in the country,” Shalala said of O’Keefe. “He has an unusual ability to understand complex systems and the politics behind them. This combination makes him very attractive to anyone looking for a gifted leader.” Shalala believes that O’Keefe’s experience in public service and education have served him well, as evidenced by his leadership at LSU immediately following Hurricane Katrina. “If I were in a terrible crisis and needed to assemble a team of people, I’d call Sean first with two questions: ‘Would you join my team?’ and ‘Who else should we get?'” she said.
O’Keefe said that he and Shalala plan to get together in Atlanta during the bowl game, and hope to have enough time to visit and talk. “She’s been a great friend and mentor to me over the years,” O’Keefe said of Shalala. “I’m looking forward to catching up.”
And while these two university leaders may not be laying down the smack before the big game, the contest is likely to be an interesting one for both O’Keefe and Shalala. The upcoming Peach Bowl will be the first meeting between LSU and Miami since 1988, and the first time the two teams have ever met in a bowl game. LSU holds an all-time record of 8-3 against Miami, and to date, LSU is 3-0 in Peach Bowl appearances and Miami is 2-0 in Peach Bowl appearances. “We’ll both have a great time at the game, but I’m certain an LSU win would make it all the more special an occasion for at least one of us!” O’Keefe said. “Regardless of the outcome, I will enjoy visiting with her and swapping stories about our respective universities.”