Today In Black History: Dr. Clifford Wharton, Jr.
The first Black president of a major university.
Issue #781 Today In Black History, Wednesday, December 18, 2024
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Dr. Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. was born in Boston in 1926. His father, Clifton Reginald Wharton Sr., was a 40-year Foreign Service officer and the first African-American to pass the Foreign Service exam and to become a career ambassador.
Dr. Wharton, Jr. graduated from Boston Latin School and entered Harvard College at 16. He was the first African American to earn a Master of Arts in international affairs from Johns Hopkins University. He later graduated from the University of Chicago with a master of arts and a Ph.D. in economics.
He is perhaps best known for becoming the first African American president of a major U.S. university—Michigan State University—in 1969. During his tenure, Dr. Wharton implemented policies that fostered a more equitable academic environment for students of all backgrounds. The university's Wharton Center for Performing Arts is named after him and his wife, Dolores.
In 1978, Dr. Wharton became chancellor (president) of the 64-campus State University of New York system. He was the first African-American to head the largest university system in the nation. During his nine-year tenure, he achieved greater management flexibility for the university and strengthened the university's research capability.
In 1982, he was named chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation and was a trustee for 17 years. In 1987, Dr. Wharton became the first African American to lead a Fortune 500 company as Chairman and CEO of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), where he advocated for ethical management and financial integrity.
Dr. Wharton made history as the Deputy Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton in 1993. As the highest-ranking African American official in the State Department at the time, he played a critical role in shaping U.S. foreign policy during a transformative period in global affairs.
Dr. Wharton was a member and co-chairman of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and was a trustee of the Clark Foundation, Bassett Hospital, and the American Assembly. He served as chairman of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, 1981–82, and received the President's Award on World Hunger in 1983.
In 1994, he received the American Council on Education Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 2005, the John Hope Franklin Award. In 2015, his name was placed on the frieze of Boston Latin School's Assembly Hall.
Dr. Wharton received 63 honorary doctorates. He died from cancer in Manhattan, New York, on November 16, 2024, at the age of 98.
Today In Black History
In 1865, the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery in the United States, was ratified.
In 1971, Rev. Jesse Jackson founded People to Save Humanity, also known as Operation PUSH.
In 1989, Ernest Dickerson won the New York Film Critics Award for best cinematography for the Spike Lee movie, “Do the Right Thing.”
In 1996, Koffi Atta Aman became the first Black UN Secretary-General.
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