When Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. became the first African American chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY) in 1978, Chair of the Board Carl McCall said, “Throughout SUNY history, there have been great leaders who have made their mark in each of the three tenets of our mission — to learn, to search, to serve — and Clifton Wharton is one of our most prominent. SUNY is fortunate that at a critical point in the system’s development, a man who is known as a national and global visionary served as our chancellor. The appointment is befitting of his service and much deserved.”
This first was just one of many for Wharton, who died of cancer on Saturday in Manhattan. He was 98.
Listing all aspects of his remarkable legacy and his pioneering accomplishments as an academic leader, diplomat, and economist, and the innovations he brought to the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA)-College Retirement Equities Fund, would exhaust the parameters here.
He was born Clifton Reginald Wharton, Jr. on Sept. 13, 1926, in Boston, the oldest of four children. His mother was Harriette Mae (Banks) Wharton. Perhaps because of his father’s diplomatic appointments, Wharton spent his formative years in the Canary Islands. By the time he was a teenager, he was back in Boston, where he attended Harvard University. His course of studies was interrupted by the war and he joined the Army Air Corps as a pilot, earning him the distinction of being among the legendary Tuskegee Airmen.
After his tour of duty in the service, Wharton returned to Harvard and completed a degree in history. From Harvard. he began his journey of firsts at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies — for a while, he was the sole Black student in that pursuit. It should be noted that while at Harvard, his romance with Harlem native Dolores Duncan took up some of his time; she was studying dance at Radcliffe College. They married in 1950, and his wife would make her mark after an appointment by President Gerald Ford to serve on the National Council of the Arts and the National Endowment of the Arts.
Continuing his pioneering career, Wharton became the first African American to receive a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago. That same year, he joined the Agricultural Development Council and was placed in a close working relationship with John D. Rockefeller III. For the next six years, he traveled and worked in Southeast Asia.
Another first came for the avowed internationalist: In 1969 at Michigan State University, he became the first African American to head a major white university. The football stadium in East Lansing was jammed with a welcoming crowd, but the cheers soon morphed into jeers. Unfortunately, he arrived at the college when students were actively protesting the war in Vietnam, and Michigan State, like many other schools of higher education at the time, was brimming with turmoil and dissent.
Wharton remained unrattled by the student discontent and managed to survive the protests, which eventually subsided, giving him a relatively good record of leadership at the school. The Wharton Center for Performing Arts on the campus is indicative of his success there in 1982; his wife played a crucial role in this creation.
In 1978, Wharton hurdled another racial barrier as chancellor of SUNY — with its 64 campuses and more than 340,000 students, the largest college system in the nation. For nine years, his economic training supported his ability to keep everything on a level with steady growth.
Next came his ascendance to the realm of Fortune 500 corporations, promoting and pushing TIAA for an eventful six years.
Another step up the ladder occurred after Bill Clinton became president in 1982, although his role as deputy secretary of state to Warren Christopher was not as smooth as his other transitions. Despite the rocky moments, though, Wharton was the highest-ranking African American in State Department history until Colin Powell was named secretary of state in 2001.
The turbulent rifts with Christopher, particularly about Somalia and Haiti, stand in contradiction to any claims that Warton lacked an understanding of international affairs. Whatever the case, Wharton stepped down after a brief tenure and right up to a place on numerous corporate boards, all with nothing more than an insistence on excellent performances. Race was never an issue, whether as an excuse or for his achievements.
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Fortunately for inquiring minds, Wharton authored an autobiography, although we were unable to find it in a brief search.