Neither Howard ’64 nor Laurie Foster ’66 majored in the arts, yet it was at Brandeis that they each experienced their own personal cultural awakening.
As Brandeis undergraduates, Howard (economics major) and Laurie (history) developed an appreciation and love for the arts that continues today. Devotees of classical music with an extensive CD collection, they also subscribe to the local symphony, attend the opera and chamber music concerts, and visit museums during their frequent travels.
“Brandeis opened our eyes to a huge range of subjects that we never knew existed,” said Howard, a retired dean and labor relations professor who was on the faculty at the State University of New York at Buffalo for nearly 40 years. “Brandeis developed us into adults and laid an intellectual foundation that has been an important part of our lives ever since.”
To ensure that today’s Brandeis students benefit from the same well-rounded academic experience that they enjoyed, the Fosters have been among the University’s most consistent donors through the years. They made their first gift in 1967 and have given nearly every year since.
“We believe in giving back to a place that gave us so much,” said Laurie, who met Howard on a “blind” date when she was a freshman and he was a junior. “Brandeis played an important part in our lives.”
Howard, who grew up in Boston, came to Brandeis with the intention of majoring in math. He quickly switched to economics after taking a course with a professor who was a labor economist from the so-called Wisconsin tradition.
“I fell in love with it as a discipline,” said Howard, who subsequently earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Cornell’s renowned School of Industrial and Labor Relations. “It became my life’s work.”
As a Brandeis student, Howard also took piano lessons during his sophomore year and enrolled in several theater courses, including classical and modern drama.
“I wasn’t well traveled and I didn’t come from an intellectual family, so I became exposed to the arts for the first time at Brandeis,” Howard said.
Laurie, who was also raised in Boston, enjoyed a similar experience. She took a survey course in Renaissance art as a freshman, sparking an interest that led her to sign up for many more arts classes over the next three years.
“Brandeis provided us with a bigger world view, a better sense of what was going on and had gone on,” Laurie said. “We gained a greater understanding of the world we live in.”
