Clyde Foster

1931-2017

Clyde Foster (1931 – 2017) was born in Birmingham and educated in the public school system. Upon graduation from Alabama A&M University (AAMU) in 1954, Foster was drafted into, the U.S. Army where he served two years, one year stateside and the other in Germany. Returning home to Alabama, he began his career teaching science in the Dallas County School System.

Foster then returned to the Huntsville area, accepting a position with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency as a mathematician technician. He transferred to NASA, at the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1960. Foster was one of only about a dozen African Americans working in a technical field in the space program. One of his culminating roles was work on the Apollo missions. In his nearly 30 years at NASA, Foster played a significant role in diversifying NASA and helped to transform Huntsville into a desirable and progressive place to live and work.

From 1968-1970, Foster was placed on loan from NASA to AAMU as director of the Computer Science Department to establish a Data Processing Laboratory and an undergraduate degree program in computer science. Foster's landmark computer science center enabled students to train for and graduate with a computer science degree, the first such degree offered in Alabama.

In civic affairs, Foster was instrumental in re-establishing the Triana, Alabama, town charter and served as the town’s mayor for 20 years. He also served on the Alabama Commission on Higher Education from 1974 until 1988. Foster was a champion of public education and played an integral role in forming the independent Madison City School System. Across his lifetime Foster received many awards and honors. The Clyde Foster Auditorium at Alabama A&M University bears his name in recognition of the impact of his life.

Close