In Remembrance of Stanley Owens Foster

Stan and I were invited to publish Alex Langmuir’s biography in the Infectious Disease Society Journal. The title we chose was Alex Langmuir carries William Farr’s torch to near and distance places. Indeed I was fortunate to work with his successor Phil Brachman to establish EIS centers in a number of countries. These are now… Continue reading EIS 1964

Stan hired me in 1987 to serve as field epidemiologist for CCCD in Kinshasa. I have many memories of Stan, and am grateful for his consistent support. I admired his and Dottie’s commitment, which they lived every moment (I remember his showing up tired after staffing an Atlanta homeless shelter overnight). I also recall, in… Continue reading Worked for Stan in CCCD in Zaire and with him in the US

Stan was actually a mentor to me early on, when I first joined the EIS in 1981 at the end of my pediatric residency… although I was focused on international work and spoke with him about joining the International Health Program Office’s programs, he wisely advised me to first take a different position to learn… Continue reading EIS, 1981-1983; Senior Advisor for Child Survival (1991-2011; retired), U.S. Agency for International Development

Draw a circle with a diameter (all the way across the circle) of 1 Then the circumference (all the way around the circle) is 3.14159265… a number known as Pi. Stan was a lover of data and precision, but also brought so many into his circle, like the number Pi.

I am not sure if I ever met Dr. Stan Foster, but I both benefitted from and was enriched by the values and public health traditions he envisioned and modeled. As a member of the EIS Class of 1987, so many doors opened to me. Doors of opportunity, doors to knowledge and experience, doors to… Continue reading Polio Eradication Bangladesh — 8th NID/ EIS 1987

Stan would attend the yearly FETP conferences of the directors of the FETP when they convened at CDC, Atlanta during the week of the EIS conference. As founding director of the Philippine FETP, I attended these conferences from 1986-1996. We would organize “international night” when trainees/fellows of the various FETPs would give presentations and receive… Continue reading former Secretary of Health, Philippines; Founding Director Philippine Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP)

I can only say how thankful I am that people like Stan exist. Such a wonderful man. He was a visiting Lecturer at my MPH & TM course in Trop Med at Tulane , and a primary reason my life has taken the path that it has

Stan ran into me when I was a student studying in a Rollins hallway. He immediately started speaking to me in Bangla. I never met him before and was taken aback when someone was speaking to me in my mother tongue. Stan let me know that he supported smallpox eradication in Bangladesh. By the end… Continue reading Rollins Student