Africare Honors Dr. Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., May 18 in New York City

NBC's Ann Curry Served as Emcee

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 19, 2005) ... Africare presented its Legacy Award to the Honorable Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., Ph.D. — former Chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF — during the Africare Legacy Award Benefit Evening, held on Wednesday, May 18, in New York City.

Several hundred guests attended the event at New York's Princeton Club. The proceeds will help support Africare's essential development and humanitarian work in Africa.

Chairing the event steering committee was Harold E. Doley, Jr., Founder, President and CEO of Doley Securities, Inc., and former U.S. Representative to the African Development Bank. The other steering committee members were Lauretta J. Bruno, President and Founding Partner of Gramercy Partners, LLC; the Honorable Alice M. Dear, President of A.M. Dear & Associates and former U.S. Executive Director of the African Development Bank; and the Honorable James A. Harmon, Chairman of Harmon & Co. LLC and former Chairman and President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. All four steering committee members also serve on the Africare Board of Directors.

Ann Curry, News Anchor for NBC's Today and the recently-named co-anchor of Dateline NBC , served as the evening's Mistress of Ceremonies.

Dr. Wharton delivered a powerful acceptance speech that recalled his early childhood in Liberia, West Africa, where his father — the first African-American to pass the U.S. Foreign Service exam — was posted. Dr. Wharton's father went on to become a career Foreign Service officer and ambassador.

As the former Chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF, the world's largest pension fund with assets of $300 billion, Dr. Wharton became the first African-American to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Among previous pioneering positions, Dr. Wharton served as President of Michigan State University (1970-1978) — thereby becoming the first African-American to head a predominantly-white major university. He was Chancellor of the State University of New York System (1978-1987): the largest university system in the United States. He chaired the board of the Rockefeller Foundation from 1982 to 1987. Having served six presidents in foreign policy advisory posts, Dr. Wharton most recently (in 1993) was appointed by then-President Clinton as Deputy Secretary of State. Dr. Wharton has received degrees from Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Chicago. During World War II, he served his country as one of the elite Tuskegee airmen.

Additional remarks were made by Africare President Julius E. Coles and Africare Senior Vice President Jeannine B. Scott.

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