Koltin Brokamp

Guest Reporter

The title “President” seems rather ominous and scary. It’s hard for one to realize that there is a real person behind that title; a person with dreams, fears and a family. Well, President Foster is that kind of person. Although he is the President of Mesa State, he still has a normal life.

Tim Foster was born and raised in Grand Junction. He attended Grand Junction High School and was one of those kids that wanted to get away from the much smaller town it was then. In high school he was an active, motivated teen, playing football and enjoying his social life. 

While in high school though, he earned good grades and stayed out of trouble.

After high school, Foster attended college at Kenyon College in Ohio. It was a small school that gave him the attention he needed in order to be successful. He played football in college, and then went to law school. 

To earn his law degree, he transferred to the University of Denver and the Colorado School of Mines. He dabbled in economics, seeing if that was his calling. He stuck to law. 

After earning his law degree he returned to Grand Junction and started to practice law. After a few years then governor, Bill Owens, asked him to direct the Department of Higher Education. He ran this department for six years. While running this department, Foster had invitations to lead several colleges. One of those was Mesa State College.

Because of its size, and the fact that it was located in his hometown, he chose Mesa State. He has been president for six years. It’s clear that Foster loves this college. It seems like Mesa State is his baby. He has raised it as such. 

“I love this college. It’s all about the teaching, you know. Teaching isn’t about volume or churning out more students,” Foster said.

When asked if he enjoys his job and responsibility Foster replied, “I have to believe in what I am doing; something that makes me wake up in the middle of the night wondering, ‘what can I do better?’” 

Foster has four boys. His oldest is a freshman in college; the next two are a senior and a freshman in high school and his youngest is in eighth grade. But having children in all types of school is not what helps Foster relate to us, it is the students of Mesa State. 

“College kids are just easy to relate to,” Foster said.

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kbrokamp@mesastate.edu