Foster To Retire But Will Remain Part of the NSU ‘Family’

Foster To Retire But Will Remain Part of the NSU Family

TAHLEQUAH When he came to Tahlequah in July 1997, Dr. George Foster intended to fill the post of interim dean for six months and then return to practice optometry in his hometown of Bristow. Months turned into eleven years, and this week Foster announced he will retire from a productive career as dean of the Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry next January.

I came to Northeastern because there was a job to do, and when a real dean couldn't be found, I was appointed to the position in January 1998, Foster said. These eleven years have flown by and have been the most rewarding in my professional career.

Known for his good humor and for affectionately dubbing his friends and associates cousins, Foster has raised the profile of Oklahomas only optometry college during his tenure at NSU. He is credited with initiating efforts to enhance curriculum and recruit outstanding optometry students from throughout the United States, establish a partnership with the Cherokee Nation to provide rural eye care in northeastern Oklahoma, and work with the Oklahoma legislature to benefit the optometry profession statewide.

Under his direction, NSUOCO students experience over 40,000 patient encounters annually.

Students and faculty alike quickly learn the watchwords that reflect Fosters personal philosophy, which he recently passed along to a new class of first year optometry students.

I hope all of you claim the motto of the optometry giants who have gone before us -- next to life itself, God's most precious gift is vision, he told the class of 28 as they prepared to recite the Optometric Oath.

Dr. Don Betz, who became Northeasterns 17th president in July, praised Fosters commitment to the optometry profession and to enhancing opportunities for NSU optometry students and the patients they serve.

While we will reluctantly say farewell to Dr. George Foster when he retires next January, NSU will continue to enjoy for many years the advantages of having had such a dedicated, progressive professional at the helm of the NSU Oklahoma College of Optometry, said Betz.

Recognized statewide as a leader in the health care industry, Foster plans to retain an active voice in public policy making.

Even though I am officially retiring, I plan to be a part of the NSU family and continue to expand the influence of the optometry college in Oklahoma and throughout the nation, Foster said. Since it was founded thirty years ago, the Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry has been recognized as one of the nations leading institutions in educating optometric physicians. Ive had the privilege to devote my life to this profession, and Im looking forward to having more time to work with the Oklahoma legislature and forge relationships that will hopefully yield long term benefits for the students and faculty here.

To expand the optometry presence on NSUs Broken Arrow campus, Foster will help establish funding for a Neurocognitive Rehabilitation and Low Vision Institute. Plans are to locate the addition adjacent to the Vision Care Institute, a satellite learning center for optometry students opened earlier this year.

His post-retirement travel plans to Oklahoma City include fulfilling duties as a board member of the Oklahoma Institute of Child Advocacy, the Oklahoma Academy of State Goals, and the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.

Dr. Fosters willingness to forego the relaxation that retirement offers to continue working on our behalf at the state capitol in arenas that benefit optometry will serve our students well and is greatly appreciated by me and the entire NSU family, Betz said.

A university selection committee will review candidates recruited nationwide for the deans position.

Foster, a 1965 graduate of Northeastern who went on to earn his Doctorate of Optometry at the University of Houston, met and married his wife Rita while at NSU. Rita and I left Tahlequah and NSU in 1965 after my senior year and first year of marriage, with no thought of ever returning, he said. Having a sense that I am working with a faculty and staff who are affecting the profession of optometry, along with health care and community leadership, for the next 50 years is exciting and humbling. We are truly the premier optometry school in the world, and it is the staff, faculty, and students who make us that way.

While he is enthusiastic about continuing to serve his profession as a retiree, Foster also looks forward to the opportunity of spending more time with family.

In January 2009, I will be 66, Foster said. I will now have more time to influence our six grandchildren, half of which are triplets. However, I want to thank the entire NSU administration and staff and everyone Ive worked with at the Cherokee Nation for allowing me to be a part of this family. They are each truly great 'cousins'.

9/2/2008

Published: 2008-09-02 00:00:00