Serving America, Aiding Abroad: A Life in the Public Eye

Since his Commencement a half-century ago, Clifton R. Wharton Jr. '47 has filled a roster of accomplishments.

In less than 50 years, Wharton went from working as the first black on Harvard's radio station to becoming the first black deputy secretary of state, under President Clinton.

"I've had three different careers, and in each of them I found it necessary to use all of the education as well as the experience I've had before," Wharton said in an interview from his New York home. "I used everything I had, including my experience at Harvard."

Wharton's education beyond the College included a master's from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in 1948, and a master's and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1956 and 1958, respectively.

After working at several foundations as an economist assisting developing nations in Latin America and Southeast Asia, Wharton served as president of Michigan State University from 1970 to 1978, and then as chancellor of the State University of New York, the nation's largest university system. He holds 51 honorary degrees.

Named deputy secretary of state in 1993--the first black to hold the nation's second-highest foreign-policy post--Wharton later resigned because of excessive news leaks from the State Department, according to an article published by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association and College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF).

Wharton's father, the late Clifton R. Wharton Sr., served as a U.S. Foreign Service officer--an inspiration for his son's involvement in the planning of this week's Marshall Plan symposium at Harvard. The elder Wharton was himself a ground-breaker, serving as the first U.S. career ambassador.

The younger Wharton first got involved in helping developing nations at his Commencement, where Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced his celebrated plan for European post-war reconstruction.

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) awarded Wharton an honorary membership in 1995 in recognition of his contributions in business, education and government, and for his services as chair of the group's finance committee. In its announcement of the award, the AAS called Wharton "a member of a group of economists who pioneered American research and service in Southeast Asia."

The notice cited Wharton's service in economic development at the State Department and at the U.S. Agency for International Development as having "played a critical role in the solution of rural development programs, and demonstrated the importance of careful scholarship in policy development."

Family Ties

Clifton came from a very strong family. "They were incredibly strong people who motivated all their children--including Clifton--very well," says William S. Ellis '44-'46, a general civil practitioner in law and a lifelong friend of Wharton. "I always knew that he was very bright, got along very well with people and was a hard worker."

"I knew somewhere along the line that he'd do very well," Ellis continues.

Wharton says that being raised as the son of a foreign-service officer "made me much more aware of different cultures and different peoples. I had from childhood a world view which has been with me all my life. It was particularly sharpened during the 13 years that we were involved in Asia."

Ellis says Wharton was profoundly influenced by the time he spent in Asia.

"What I saw in Clifton thereafter is what I'd already seen in his family," Ellis says.

Wharton says his most valuable experiences at Harvard were found within the walls of Adams House and at The Harvard Crimson Network (the University radio station that later split from the campus newspaper and became WHRB), where Wharton served as a director and announcer.

Wharton was elected to represent Harvard at the founding convention of the National Student Association, where he was elected first class secretary in 1947.

He also ran as a member of the track team--"I was fairly good at it," he recalls.

Wharton's memories of Cambridge stretch beyond extracurricular activities. He stresses the importance of "the interaction with individuals [with whom], over the years,...[I] maintained relations and contacts in a variety of different fields."

A history concentrator, Wharton named two history professors, Frederick Merk and Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. '38, as among the most memorable figures he encountered at Harvard. "They were just superb teachers," he says.

On the star-studded list of his classmates and colleagues Wharton cites Jack Lemmon '47, the actor; Arthur A. Hartman '47, former ambassador to France and to the Soviet Union; S. Douglass Cater Jr. '46-'47, former Crimson business manager and later head of the Bloomingdale's department store chain; and the late John Knowles, who served as president of the Rockefeller Foundation while Wharton was a trustee there.

Michigan State established the Wharton Center for Performing Arts in 1982 in honor of Wharton and his wife, Dolores, who is president of the Fund for Initiatives, which helps women and minorities in business. Dolores Wharton also is a director of the Gannett Co., which owns USA Today.

Wharton served as the first black chair and chief executive officer of a Fortune 500 company, TIAA-CREF, from 1987 to 1993. In his six years leading the third-larges U.S. insurance company and the world's largest pension fund, Wharton was lauded as being "phenomenally successful at redirecting TIAA-CREF," Marcus Alexis, a Northwestern University professor of economics and management, told USA Today.

A plethora of directorships also have graced Wharton's career, including terms at Equitable Life Insurance Co., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Council on Foreign Relations and the New York Stock Exchange. Wharton also has served as chair and trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation and as a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association.

His honors include the Boston Latin School's Man of the Year Award and the University of Chicago's alumni medal.

Wharton's current ambition is an autobiography; its publication date has not yet been announced.