Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr.

September 13, 1926 – November 16, 2024.

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.

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