Wilbur Brookover was one of more than two hundred new faculty members hired by Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) following World War II, a period when enrollment grew from 750 students to 15,000. "A longtime professor of sociology, social studies, education and urban and metropolitan studies and former mayor of East Lansing, died April 6, 2003, at the age of 92. Among his many accomplishments in a distinguished research career was serving as an expert witness in the school desegregation case of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. He also hired MSU’s first black secretary, Josephine Wharton. Dr. Brookover was also active in politics, serving as mayor of East Lansing from 1971 to 1975. At MSU, he joined the faculty in 1946 after serving in the United States Navy. Among his many duties at MSU, he served as director of the Bureau of Educational Research (1957–60), assistant dean of the College of Education (1960–63), and associate director of the Center for Urban Affairs (1970–73). He was the author, co-author, and co-editor of four books, including the influential Sociology of Education." (Source: New Educator, MSU College of Education, Fall 2003, http://www.educ.msu.edu/neweducator/fall03/inmemoriam.htm)