Foster, Christian J.
Person
Biographical Information
Chris Foster was born and raised in Cleveland and graduated with distinction from Baldwin Wallace College where he majored in Earth Sciences and Science Education. Foster earned his MA in Education from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Los Alamos, New Mexico where he met and married France Córdova. He served as “First Gentleman” at Purdue from 2007-20012.
Foster was recruited as a track and field athlete by Baldwin Wallace College. An active member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, he developed his life-long interest in science education through his undergraduate involvement with the NSF-sponsored Earth Science Curriculum Project. He taught high school science for twenty years in Los Alamos. His expertise in science education led to several positions including director of the New American Scientist Initiative at Penn State, Deputy of Program Design for the interagency GLOBE Program in Washington DC, and academic outreach coordinator and regional director for the California ArtsBridge Program at UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside. At Purdue, Foster directed the P14 STEM Program, building connections between Purdue’s Discovery Park, public schools, and Ivy Tech community college.