THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

                          PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES 
                      JANE E. HENNEY AS COMMISSIONER 
                   OF THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION 
              AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

     The President today announced his intent to nominate Dr. Jane E.

Henney to serve as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Jane E. Henney is a physician, a cancer specialist and a nationally recognized academic leader and public health administrator who has served in the Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations. If confirmed by the Senate, Dr. Henney would become the first woman to serve as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. During her distinguished career, she has championed modern management strategies and maintained the highest clinical and research standards at two federal public health agencies, and has fashioned innovative health care strategies with a focus on individual patient care at two major university medical centers.

Since 1994, Dr. Henney has been the Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of New Mexico where she presided over a major consolidation of the university's hospitals, schools of medicine, nursing and pharmacy, and specialized facilities for mental health, cancer and pediatrics. From January 1992 to March 1994, Dr. Henney served as Deputy Commissioner for Operations at the Food and Drug Administration where she managed the agency's daily activities, revitalized FDA's six science centers and implemented key legislation, including the Prescription Drug User Fee Act of 1992. From 1985 until joining FDA, Dr. Henney served as Interim Dean of the University of Kansas School of Medicine, as Vice Chancellor for Health Programs and Policy, and as Acting Director of the Mid America Cancer Center at the University of Kansas. Between 1976 and 1985, Dr. Henney served at the National Cancer Institute, rising to the position of Deputy Director, where she was instrumental in the development of two innovative programs which engaged community-based oncologists in research and provided physicians and patients with up-to-date information on state-of-the-art therapy and investigational research protocols.

Born in Woodburn, Indiana, she received a B.S. in biology from Manchester College, North Manchester, Indiana, in 1969. At a time when relatively few women were admitted to medical school, Dr. Henney graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1973, and took an internship at St. Vincent's Hospital in Indianapolis, a medical residency in Atlanta, and a fellowship in oncology at M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston. She is the author or co-author of some 40 academic articles and book chapters and has received numerous awards, including the Public Health Service Commendation Medal.

The Commissioner is the head of the Food and Drug Administration, a critical consumer protection agency that assures the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical and biological therapeutics, medical devices, blood products, generic drugs, food safety, food additives and cosmetics.

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