RECEPTION WILL HONOR FOSTER

Robert W. Foster, executive vice president of Southeast Missouri State University, will be honored at a retirement reception Dec. 17 in the Show Me Center.

The event, scheduled for 3-5 p.m. and open to the public, will feature a formal presentation at 4 p.m.

Foster, who will present the commencement address next Saturday, will retire from the university Dec. 31 after more than 24 years of service. Beginning in January, he will work part time as executive director of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.

The foundation is a not-for-profit organization that serves as a fund-raising arm for the university.

Foster earned both his doctoral and master's degrees in education in 1967 and 1958 respectively from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He earned his bachelor of science degree in education from Southwest Missouri State University in 1951.

Foster has served as executive vice president of Southeast Missouri State University since 1983. He also served as university president from July 1989 to June 1990. Prior to that, he was the university's vice president for financial services from 1976 to 1983, and the dean of graduate studies from 1972 to 1976.