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Exhibit - President Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. (1970-1978)

Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 13, 1926. At sixteen, Wharton enrolled at Harvard University and graduated with a BA in History in 1947.  He received his Masters degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in 1948. After working five years at the American International Association for Economic and Social Development, Wharton completed his Masters and PhD degrees in economics from the University of Chicago.

Wharton traveled extensively, directing programs in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia while working as a council associate for the Agricultural Development Council. He taught and conducted research as a visiting professor at the Universities of Malaysia and Singapore. Wharton later became Vice President of the council, and held that position until he began his term as Michigan State University's fourteenth president in January 1970. His term of office featured moments of turbulence, including student protests in 1970 and 1972, and an NCAA investigation of MSU's football program. Fiscal problems due to budget cuts were a constant issue during his tenure.

Despite major budget cutbacks, Wharton successfully maintained the quality of MSU's academic programs. He integrated the School of Osteopathic Medicine with the other medical schools, and remained committed to the education of the economically disadvantaged. One of Wharton's most enduring legacies was the creation of a performing arts center in 1982, named in honor of him and his wife Dolores, in recognition of their strong support. Upon Wharton's resignation in 1977, he served a Chancellorship at the State University of New York, headed TIAA-CREF as Chairman and CEO from 1987-1993, and served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State in 1993 during Bill Clinton's presidency.

Wharton's autobiography, Privilege and Prejudice: The Life of a Black Pioneer, was released by Michigan State University Press in September 2015.

Finding aid to the Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. papers (UA 2.1.14)

Exhibit created by Matthew Wilcox, September 2016.
Updated by Megan Badgley Malone, January 2020.

 Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections

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