1917-2007
A native of Viroqua, WI, Wheeler was born in 1917. He received a B.A. in 1938 and an M.D. in 1941, both from the University of Wisconsin where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. He continued his professional training in medicine and dermatology at Cincinnati General Hospital and the University of Michigan Hospitals.
Following a tour of duty as a medical officer in the U.S. Army from 1944 until 1947, Wheeler returned to the University of Michigan as a resident, instructor, and research fellow. He joined the University of Virginia faculty as an assistant professor of dermatology in 1951 and was promoted to professor eight years later. Wheeler was certified by the American Board of Dermatology and Syphilogy and the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1951.
He was recruited to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1962 as professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Dermatology. When the division became a department in 1972, he was named its first chairman, a position he held until 1987. He continued to be active in the department as professor emeritus until 1999.
The Clayton E. Wheeler Jr. Distinguished Professorship in Dermatology was established in 1991 to honor the first chairman of the department. The professorship was established by gifts from former residents, trainees, and faculty members.
Dr. Wheeler served President of the Association of Professors of Dermatology and President of the Society for Investigative Dermatology, which presented him its highest honor, the Rothman Award. He also served as president of the American Board of Dermatology, the American Dermatological Association and the American Academy of Dermatology, which presented him with the Masters in Dermatology Award and its highest honor, the Gold Medal Award.
Dr. Wheeler was an extraordinary clinician. His diagnostic acumen was incredible and his ability to teach was equally remarkable.
Dr. Wheeler died on February 4, 2007, at the hospital where he devoted his life's work.
