Clifton Wharton obit

Black American Pioneer, Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr, Dies At 98.

 

He was not on the list.

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 to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Dr. Wharton was Chairman and CEO of TIAA-- CREF, the nation's largest pension fund with asset over $390 billion. When elected president of Michigan State University (1970-78) he became the first Black to lead a major predominantly White university in the United States. Later, as Chancelor of the State University of New York (1978-87), he was the first Black to lead the nation's largest university system with 64 campuses. Early in his career, Dr. Wharton worked in Singapore and Malaysia (1958 - 64) representing a foundation headed by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, later becoming chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation (1982 - 87). In 1993, Dr. Wharton became Deputy Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton. Among his former corporate directorships are the Ford Motor Company, Time Warner, Equitable Life, Tenneco, Federated Department Stores, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), New York Stock Exchange, Harcourt General, and Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He earned a BA degree in history from Harvard, an MA from the School of Advance International Studies at John's Hopkins, a PhD 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.