TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Henry W. Foster, Jr. M.D. 1933–2022 Physician, Medical School President, U.S. Air Force
By Aaron Williams
of babies and performed more than 1,200 major surgical procedures for this underserved population. The Foster family moved back to Nashville in 1973 when he became Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology at George W. Hubbard Hos- pital of Meharry Medical College. Fos- ter also practiced and taught at several hospitals in Tennessee and Kentucky, including Vanderbilt University Hospital and Baptist Hospital. In 1987, Foster founded the "I Have A Future" program with the goal of teaching disadvantaged Nashville teens about the importance of education, posi- tive self-worth, and responsible sexual behavior. The program received national attention in 1991 when U.S. President George H. W. Bush recognized it as one of his "Thousand Points of Light." In 1990 Foster was appointed Dean of Meharry's School of Medicine in 1990. He also served as Vice Presi- dent for Health Services and Special Assistant to the President for Hospital Merger Planning and Development. In 1993, Foster led Meharry Medical College as interim president, where he played a critical role in the success of the 1994 Hubbard Hospital-Nashville General Hospital merger, which guaran- teed the survival of the Meharry School of Medicine. In 1995, U.S. President Bill Clinton nominated Foster for the post of U.S. Surgeon General. He received a favor- able recommendation from the nominat- ing committee; however, Foster's can- didacy did not secure affirmative votes in the U.S. Senate. Foster continued working with the Clinton administration as its Senior Advisor on Teen Pregnancy. During his career, Foster served on numerous boards, teams, and task
forces, all dedicated to women's health and the improvement of health care as a fierce advocate for patient rights. His dedication resulted in his 1972 induc- tion into the National Academy of Medicine as one of its youngest mem- bers. In addition to numerous notewor- thy publications, Foster also penned a memoir, Make a Difference, where he shared his vision for young America. He was invited to lecture at 85 universities, sharing his expertise in 29 countries. In 1995, The Tennessean named Foster its "Tennessean of the Year." In 2016, he was inducted into the Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame. Foster was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the youngest member to receive that distinction and, in 1997, he was honored with the Outstanding Service Award from the Meharry Medi- cal College Department of Surgery. In 2003, Meharry Medical College estab- lished the Henry W. Foster Obstetrics and Gynecology Education Initiative in his honor. Foster was a 2016 inductee of the Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame. Brother Henry W. Foster, Jr., was predeceased by his wife St. Clair, his daughter Myrna, and his sister Doris. He is survived by his son Wendell, daughter-in-law Ann, granddaughter Claire, grandson Kevin, and multiple generations of other relatives in the Hill and Bland families.
D r. Henry W. Foster, Jr. entered the Chapter Invisible on September 25, 2022, in Pasa- dena, California, after a brief illness. Born on September 8, 1933, in Pine Bluff, AR, Henry Wendell Foster, Jr., was the second of two children to the late Ivie and Henry Foster Sr. He graduated in 1950 as valedictorian of his class from J.C. Corbin High School. He earned his B.S. degree in biol- ogy from Morehouse College in 1954. While at college, Foster joined the Fra- ternity as a 1951 initiate of the More- house College Chapter, the Pi of Kappa Alpha Psi, where he led the chapter as polemarch in 1953-54. After graduation, Foster attended medical school at the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, graduat- ing in 1958. Foster was the only black student in his class of 96 students. He thrived there, becoming the school's first African-American inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical school's honor society. Foster served in the U.S. Air Force from 1959 to 1961, completing an internship at Detroit Receiving Hospital while earning the rank of captain. He completed a year of general surgical training at Malden Hospital in Boston and his residency training at Meharry Medical College in 1965. From 1965– 1973, Foster served as Chief of Obstet- rics and Gynecology for Tuskegee In- stitute's John Andrew Hospital. While the only OBGYN in a seven-county area, Foster and his team delivered thousands
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