Dr. Clifton Wharton Jr. has amassed a dizzying array of firsts over the course of his long career. On October 17, 1969, Wharton became the first Black president of a predominately white major learning institution when he was elected to lead Michigan State University. Clifton Reginald Wharton was born September 13, 1926 in Boston, Mass. He entered Harvard University at 16, leaving the school with a degree in history in 1947. He was the first Black student to earn a Masters of Arts degree in International Affairs from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and then earned a Master of Arts and  Ph.D in economics from the University of Chicago.