History
The Center is named for former MSU president, Clifton R. Wharton, Jr.. A little more than a year and a half ago (May 19, 2008) ground was broken on the first major expansion and renovation to Michigan State University’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts, since opening its doors in 1982.
During the 1970s, MSU President Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., and his wife Dolores described the arts as a humanizing, unifying force in our world, bringing people together across vast cultural, social, economic and geographic divisions. Their desire to create a world-class performing arts center for the MSU community and the residents of Michigan became a reality with the opening of Wharton Center for Performing Arts. “Wharton Center is a very special place,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. “The Whartons understood in a fundamental way that arts, creativity, the cultural aspects of a university that affect one’s spirit and one’s soul were very important and had to be recognized in the same way that a science complex had to be recognized as an integral part of the university. You have to celebrate arts and culture in the same way you would celebrate a terrific scientific discovery.” Since opening its doors, Wharton Center has become Michigan’s largest and most diverse presenter of performing arts entertainment and education programs - a community gather space for shared experiences that enrich lives and strengthen the value of the arts in everyday life. “Michigan State University is a premier institution offering superb opportunities for individual development,” said Dr. Wharton. “And the Wharton Center is one of MSU’s major instruments for awakening joy in creative expression. Dolores and I have always considered the Center a vital part of the Michigan State academic community.” After tour of the enhanced facility, Dolores Wharton reminisced to a gathering of the Wharton Center staff, “When we began the conceptual push for this project in the 1970s, we never dreamed that it would become the exciting center which it is today. Now, Clif and I fervently applaud President Simon and Michael Brand for achieving this next step in the Center’s dynamic development.”
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