Fosters Support Libraries, Communications Studies With Million-Dollar Gift

10-23-97
University Park, Pa.- To initiate a precedent-setting collaboration between the University Libraries and Penn State's College of Communications, alumni Lawrence and Ellen Foster have given $1 million to endow new faculty positions in both units. Their gift will be divided equally to create endowments for the Foster Librarian and the Foster Professorship in Communications.

The endowment for the Foster Librarian will enable the libraries to recruit a specialist who will provide full-time instruction and reference services to students and faculty in the College of Communications. The Foster Professorship will support the development and implementation of new strategies for improving students' writing skills.

Lawrence Foster, a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus, was a journalism graduate in the class of 1948. He retired in 1990 as vice president of public relations at Johnson & Johnson and is now a consultant. He served on the Penn State Board of Trustees (1980-89), was president of the Alumni Association and the Penn State Fund Council, and chaired the first Libraries Development Advisory Board. He now serves on the College of Communications Alumni Board. Ellen Miller Foster graduated in 1949 with a degree in arts and letters and with her husband has been committed for many years to philanthropy at Penn State.

"The ever-growing information needs of such fields as communications require the libraries not only to increase their holdings, but to recruit specialists who know, and can respond to, the needs of faculty and students in specific disciplines," said University President Graham Spanier. "The Foster Librarian and the Foster Professorship will provide the foundation for a collaborative effort that promises to yield an exciting and fruitful learning environment for communications students and faculty.

"These endowments reflect Larry Foster's vision as one of our nation's most esteemed public relations professionals and one of Penn State's strongest advocates," Spanier added. "We are grateful that he and Ellen have stepped forward to create a model for similar linkages between the Libraries and other disciplines throughout the University. Their generosity matches their extraordinary vision for Penn State."

The Foster Librarian-equivalent in academic rank to a professorship-is among the first faculty positions of its kind at any major university. The endowment will enable the University Libraries to recruit a top scholar/librarian who will devote full time to assessing the informational needs of the College of Communications and coordinating the acquisition of additional information resources. The Foster Librarian also will provide instruction and reference services to help students locate and evaluate information.

The holder of the Foster Professorship will be an experienced and skilled writer who has special expertise in teaching the art and science of writing, and an understanding of the ways in which students learn. The Foster Professor will encourage improved writing performance among students and work with other faculty to ensure the diffusion of effective writing and teaching strategies. It will be the first endowed professorship in the College of Communications.

The University invests endowed gifts and uses part of the annual return to fund the designated programs. Income from the Foster endowments might typically support salary supplements, acquisition of learning materials, travel, and research and clerical assistance.

Commenting on the new partnership between the College of Communications and the libraries, Lawrence Foster said: "There is an opportunity for Penn State alumni from other colleges to financially support the creation of scholar/librarians in the other disciplines, and Ellen and I hope they will find this as appealing as it was to us."

Previous gifts to Penn State from the Fosters include an endowed scholarship fund in the College of Communications, and the auditorium in the new Paterno Library. The Fosters are natives of New Jersey. He was a reporter, bureau chief and night editor of the Newark News before joining Johnson & Johnson in 1957. In the 1980s he received wide professional acclaim for his role in managing the company's public relations response to two Tylenol tragedies, incidents of product tamperings.

The Fosters live in State College and Westfield, N.J. Two of their five children are Penn State graduates.

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