Gaines Foster Becomes Interim Dean
On July 1, 2009, Gaines M. Foster, former chair of the Department of History, became the interim dean of the LSU College of Arts & Sciences. Committed to education and to the students at LSU, Foster intends to continue the focus on academic excellence and scholarship that his predecessors have begun.
Foster first arrived at LSU in 1982 after having received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He rose through the faculty ranks over the years and has held the T. Harry Williams Professorship since 2004. This position, named for one of LSU’s most famous professors, is one of only three professorships in the college named in honor of former faculty who set high standards of excellence in their fields as well as in their classes. Faculty appointed to these positions have served the university with distinction.
In addition to his teaching accomplishments, Foster has also written two highly acclaimed books on Southern history: Ghosts of the Confederacy: Defeat, the Lost Cause and the Emergence of the New South, 1865–1920, in which he examines and discusses the way the South came to terms with its defeat in the Civil War and evolved into the New South, and Moral Reconstruction: Christian Lobbyists and the Federal Legislation of Morality, 1865-1920, which, among other things, explores the relationship between past efforts to introduce legislation on moral issues and similar efforts in recent legislation.
In his new role as the interim dean, Foster sees his administrative duties in terms of the people in the college. As he once explained concerning his position as a department chair, Foster believes that his job is to do everything he can to ensure that the faculty can continue their work and to preserve an environment in which undergraduates receive an excellent education and graduate students can become the best professionals that they can be in whatever field of endeavor they may pursue. Now, as dean, he also looks forward to new opportunities to meet or reconnect with alumni and other supporters of the college as he works with these groups to enhance the quality of education and scholarship in Arts & Sciences. The faculty and staff in the college welcome him into his new role and look forward to working with him to continue the high standards of the LSU College of Arts & Sciences.
