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June 7, 1898, the Board of Directors of the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas unanimously elected Lafayette Lumpkin
Foster, prominent businessman and consummate politician, as
president of the college. Foster was a remarkable man and just the
type of president Texas A&M needed to replace the late
Lawrence Sullivan Ross and to lead the school through troubled
times ahead. Unfortunately for both Foster and Texas A&M, he
would not live long enough to fulfill the great promise of his
many talents.
Foster was born on November 27, 1851, near
Cumming in Forsyth County, Georgia. At eighteen he came to Texas,
literally without a penny to his name. He
settled at Horn Hill, in Limestone County, where he began to
build a reputation as one of the most industrious men of the
region. He picked cotton, laid bricks and plowed fields. He
saved enough money from his meager earnings to attend Waco
University (later merged with Baylor University). In 1873 he moved
to Groesbeck and began publishing the Limestone New Era, earning
the respect of all for his "frugality and spotless
integrity." The good citizens of Groesbeck elected him to the
Texas House of Representatives in 1880, 1882, and 1884. In 1885,
at the age of thirty-four, Foster was elected speaker of the
House, at the time the youngest man to hold this important office.
Honest and impartial administration of the duties of this office
brought him recognition by the most powerful political forces in
the state. He had a reputation as a forceful speaker and debater
who enjoyed the utmost confidence of his colleagues in the House.
In 1886 Governor Ross appointed Foster as
Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics, and History (and later
Agriculture) where he quickly created order out of chaos. In this
position he sat on the Board of Directors of the A&M College
of Texas, gaining valuable knowledge of the school and its
operations. He remained in this office until 1891 when Governor
James S. Hogg appointed him to serve on the newly created Texas
Railroad Commission. After completion of his term in 1895, Foster
joined the Velasco Terminal Company as vice-president and general
manager. Although eminently successful in business, he did not
abandon his interest in politics. |
Foster was campaign manager for Joseph D. Sayers' successful
1898 gubernatorial race. On July 1 of that same year, he
accepted the presidency of Texas A&M. He was only forty-six
years old and full of great promise. Foster was more than equal to
the task. As the right man at the right time, he used his many
talents and skills to gain the respect of not only the faculty and
students but also the citizens of the state. Working through the
Agricultural Experiment Station and its director James H. Connell,
Foster solidified farmer support for the school. During the next
four years, Foster worked tirelessly to convince the Legislature
of their responsibilities to the school. Foster was immensely
successful in getting, what, at the time, was the largest
legislative appropriation ever granted to Texas A&M. In fact,
he loaded the whole Corp of Cadets on a train and took them to
Austin to help secure better funding for the school.
With Foster in charge, Texas A&M's future
seemed assured. There were new buildings under construction,
including a new and desperately needed dormitory soon to be named
for Foster (see the June issue). He helped bring in new faculty
and create new departments. Undoubtedly, Foster would have become
one of the most successful presidents in the history of the school
had his career not been cut tragically short. After appearing to
recover from pneumonia, he died suddenly on December 2, 1901. All
state offices closed in Austin to mark his passing and to allow
dignitaries to come to College Station. The school held an
elaborate funeral in the Old Chapel and then the Corps marched
slowly behind the hearse to his burial site on the campus. He was
the first to be buried in the campus cemetery, on a site he had
himself designated only a year before. In 1939 the construction of
Duncan Dining Hall forced the moving of the remains to their
current location at the corner of Marion Pugh and Luther Streets
across the railroad tracks.
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