10
COM Outlook . Winter 2015
Dr. Foster, who served as special
assistant to the Health Professions
Division (HPD) chancellor, deputy
director of the College of Osteopathic
Medicine’s AHEC Program, and a
member of the HPD Board of Gover-
nors, was a highly respected leader
in local, state, and national academic
and health care policy circles. For
over 20 years, she played an instru-
mental role in the successful devel-
opment of the NSU Health Profes-
sions Division, contributing greatly
to the initial establishment of several
HPD colleges and numerous HPD
programs and initiatives. Dr. Foster
also played a pivotal role in making
the NSU AHEC Program one of the
most successful and highly regarded
AHECs in the nation.
Born in Miami, Florida, as the
second oldest of four siblings, Dr.
Foster’s desire to help others was
exemplified by her educational
journey, which included earning
a Bachelor of Science in Nursing
from Meharry Medical College in
Nashville, Tennessee, and her Mas-
ter of Science in Nursing Educa-
tion from Wayne State University
in Detroit, Michigan.
During her time working as a
nurse in Detroit, she met and married
Harris Emilio Foster, which resulted
in a 28-year union that produced four
children—Harris E. Foster, Jr. M.D.,
Sheila R. Foster, Esq., Byron E. Foster,
and Lorna L. Foster-Holliday, M.D.
Eventually, Dr. Foster returned to
South Florida and continued her edu-
cational pursuits, earning her doctor-
ate in Higher Education Administra-
tion from the University of Miami.
In 1973, she began a fruitful as-
sociation with Florida International
University (FIU) that lasted until
2001. During her nearly three-decade
affiliation with FIU, Dr. Foster served
in a number of leadership roles that
included stints as dean of the School
of Health and Social Services and
vice provost of the university’s north
campus. She also played a pivotal
role in establishing the FIU School of
Nursing, which opened with 75 full-
and part-time students.
Her relationship with Southeast-
ern College of Osteopathic Medicine
(the precursor to NSU’s College of
Osteopathic Medicine and the Health
Professions Division) officially began
in 1985 when she became a special
project consultant for the college’s
AHEC Program. Over the ensuing 30
years, however, Dr. Foster would be-
come an increasingly active presence
at NSU-COM and the HPD, serving
as professor of family medicine and
public health and assistant director
of program affairs for the college’s
Master of Public Health Program.
In 2001, she accepted an addition-
al position as special assistant to Dr.
Lippman, where she was responsible
for an array of tasks that included the
coordination, planning, and imple-
mentation of various academic and
community-based initiatives.
