Clifton R. Wharton Jr. was a former Michigan State University president and deputy secretary of state who broke racial barriers when he took the MSU post in 1970.
- Died: November 16, 2024 (Who else died on November 16?)
- Details of death: Died in New York City of cancer at the age of 98.
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Clifton R. Wharton Jr.’s legacy
When Wharton began his tenure as president of Michigan State University in 1970, he became the first Black president of a major, predominantly white U.S. public research university, pushing past obstacles he had repeatedly faced while working his way through the academic field.
Wharton came from a background that embraced such barrier-breaking. His father, Clifton R. Wharton Sr., was the first Black officer in the Foreign Service, going on to a 40-year career in the service, then as a U.S. ambassador. His son followed suit. Wharton Jr. was accepted to Harvard University at just 16, eventually making history earning a master’s in international affairs from Johns Hopkins University, and a master’s and doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago. He was the first Black student to earn a Ph.D. from Chicago, and the first Black student admitted to the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins.
Even with these achievements, he was rejected for work after graduation in the 1950s and was not allowed to join the Harvard Club of New York despite graduating with honors, among other prejudice-based challenges.
Wharton’s deep intellect and perseverance won out. He had a 22-year career as a philanthropist working with Nelson Rockefeller, usually in Latin America and Southeast Asia. In 1970, he took on the post as president of Michigan State University, serving until 1978 during a time when anti-war protests dominated the campus and budget cuts threatened academic programs.
In 1976, President Gerald Ford named Wharton chairman of the board for International Food and Agricultural Development, a post he held for eight years. For the second time, he became the first Black head of a major university system in 1978 as chancellor of SUNY and its 64 campuses in New York state. When Wharton became CEO of pension and financial services company TIAA-CREF in 1987, he became the first Black CEO of a major U.S. corporation. He was also deputy secretary of state in 1993 under President Bill Clinton.
Wharton earned a number of honors throughout his career, including the President’s Award on World Hunger in 1983, the American Council on Education Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1994, the John Hope Franklin Award in 2005, and more than 60 honorary doctorates. His 2015 autobiography, “Privilege and Prejudice: The Life of a Black Pioneer,” tells his story in detail.
On the importance of education:
“There are both individual and collective, societal benefits from an educated citizenry. Thus higher education funding is an investment in the human capital which builds the future. I have described the current underfunding as analogous to ignoring the dictum of poor farmers: never eat your seed corn. We are destroying the seed corn for our future.” — interview with Inside Higher Ed, 2015
Tributes to Clifton R. Wharton Jr.
Full obituary: The Detroit News
