Nov. 16, 2024
NEW YORK — The Honorable Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. was a Black pioneer in four different fields: Foreign economic development, higher education, philanthropy and business. The first Black person to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Dr. Wharton was Chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF, the nation’s largest pension fund with assets over $390 billion.
When elected president of Michigan State University from 1970-78, he became the first Black person to lead a major predominantly white university in the United States. Later, as chancellor of the State University of New York from 1978-87, he was the first Black person to lead the nation’s largest university system with 64 campuses.
Early in his career, Dr. Wharton worked in Singapore and Malaysia from 1958–64, representing a foundation headed by John D. Rockefeller III, later becoming chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation from 1982-87. In 1993, Dr. Wharton became deputy secretary of state under President Clinton.
Among his former corporate directorships are the Ford Motor Co., Time Warner, Equitable Life, Tenneco, Federated Department Stores, Public Broadcasting Service, New York Stock Exchange, Harcourt General, and vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard, a master’s degree from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins, a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago and has been awarded 62 honorary doctorates.
Dr. Wharton is survived by his wife of 74 years, Dolores, and son Bruce. In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family has established the Dr. Clifton and Dolores Wharton Legacy Fund at Michigan State University. Gifts to this Legacy Fund will be invested in Wharton Center's Endowment Fund, providing lasting support for the Wharton Center for Performing Arts.