Foster Elected Chair of UT System Board, Defers Service as Baylor Regent
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Contact: Lori Fogleman, (254) 710-6275
WACO, Texas (Aug. 29, 2013) - Baylor University Board of Regents Chair Richard Willis, BBA '81, MBA '82, announced today that Paul L. Foster, BBA' 79, will defer his service on the University's governing board as he assumes leadership of the University of Texas System Board of Regents. Foster was elected UT System chair on Aug. 22.
"Paul Foster is a dedicated and loyal Baylor alumnus and a highly respected leader in both business and higher education," Willis said. "Gov. Perry has asked that Paul focus all of his energies as chair of the system board. We are most appreciative of Paul's love and active support of his alma mater, and we look forward to having him rejoin the Baylor board when the time is right."
"It was an extraordinary honor and privilege to be asked to serve on the Baylor Board of Regents," Foster said. "Baylor is an exceptional institution, and I could not have been prouder to be an alumnus and asked to serve as a regent. I respect the Governor's position, and I look forward to continuing to support Baylor and serve the University in every way I can."
A generous and honored supporter of Baylor, Foster has stepped forward to provide the University with several significant gifts, including the lead gift in 2006 that established the Paul L. Foster Success Center, which enables all Baylor students to develop their full potential, and his recent historic gift of $35 million to support construction of the new Baylor football stadium and the forthcoming Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation. The new Foster Campus building will house Baylor's outstanding Hankamer School of Business. Construction on the new $100 million, 275,000-square-foot campus could begin as early as December.
Foster and his wife, Alejandra De La Vega Foster, are recipients of the Baylor Legacy Award, which is presented to individuals who demonstrate extraordinary service and philanthropy to Baylor. Foster also has been honored for his faithful support of Baylor by the 1845 Society, as well as the Judge R.E.B. Baylor Society of the Baylor University Medallion Fellowship. From 2008-2010, he served on the advisory board of the Hankamer School of Business and is a member of the Baylor Bear Foundation. In 2007, he donated $50 million to help create the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso. He was appointed by Gov. Perry to The University of Texas System Board of Regents in 2007, served as vice chairman and was reappointed in February.
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Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.