Members of the Board of Trustees are some of the most exceptional supporters of Missouri State University

Tony Foster and his wife, Lynette, have established numerous scholarships. Tony’s generosity runs in the family. In 2011, the Foster family made a substantial donation to the university recreation center — which now bears their family name. They have made gifts to Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, Ozarks Public Television, JQH Arena and more. The Foster family received the 2014 Bronze Bear Award, presented to those who have exhibited extraordinary achievement and/or outstanding support for Missouri State.

Foster loves soccer, so he established a scholarship for the sport. His father was also a founding member of The Bears Fund, which supports athletics.

Once Foster established the scholarship, it occurred to him that the funds would only go to a male player.

He batted around the idea of rotating the scholarship so it would switch between men’s and women’s soccer each year, but then decided to establish a scholarship for women’s soccer, too.

“I set up history and philosophy because those are my two areas of study,” he said. “Later on, as I was able, I added political science. That’s because George Connor, the former head of the political science department, is one of my favorite people. He jokingly asked me many times when I was going to set up a scholarship for political science. I surprised him by actually doing it.”

Next, he established a gift for economics, “because I finished an MBA and found that economics was my favorite part of my MBA.”

And his gift for military science has another story.

“I’ve always felt uncomfortable that I never served in the military because I believe in direct democracy — that if you are going to live in a democracy, you should serve in the democracy one way or another.”

Although Foster did not earn his MBA from MSU’s College of Business, he decided to establish a scholarship for the prestigious college.

Growing his career, with the help of his education

Foster is a Springfield native. He first stepped foot on campus when he was four years old to attend a football game. He’s been a fan, and he or his family have had season tickets, ever since.

Missouri State has always felt like home. During his college years, he was in Concert Chorale and a chamber singer — music has been a lifelong passion.

“My brother Billy and I were in a Christian singing group as teenagers that toured the country,” he said.

In 1981, he graduated with a bachelor’s in philosophy and a minor in history. Then he joined the family business. His father, Bill Foster, started Culpepper Place and many nursing homes in Springfield. Tony Foster was an administrator and eventually ran seven nursing homes. In 1996, they sold their nursing homes and Foster took a year off. His sister called and said they were starting another family business and wanted him to join. They then started building assisted living facilities. He and his sister, Kaye, are still with the company. They have built or operated more than 20 senior living facilities.

“Missouri State was formative in that it gave me a good base for what I was doing,” Foster said. “After I got out of there, I realized how the classes I’d taken in philosophy had helped me whenever I actually went into the profession. You have to deal with ethics every single day of your career in this field and, of course, that’s based in philosophy.”

Mixing a vacation with work leads to a love story

In 2001, Foster was on vacation in Chicago when he had a thought that probably wouldn’t cross most people’s minds: “Well, gosh, I’m really bored. Let’s go look at assisted living facilities. I’ve never been to a kosher Jewish nursing home. Let’s go see what that’s all about.”

The assistant director of nursing, who was named Lynette, gave him a tour. When it was over, Foster asked her to dinner.

Lynette showed Tony around Chicago that weekend.

“And the story is whenever I came home, both of us couldn’t wait to dial the other’s phone number. She was already trying to call me when I called her. And we’ve been together ever since,” he said.

Watching with pride as his alma mater grows

Foster has been a Missouri State University Foundation board member since 2011. In addition to being a trustee, he serves on the finance committee. He felt he could help the university in this way because his MBA is based on financial management, and he’s managed his own finances for 30 years.

Giving back has always been a Foster tradition. He’s proud to see the way the university has grown.

“The place is so different than it was when I was there,” Foster said. “It’s a wonderful place and it keeps getting better. I’m impressed every day by how it’s moved forward.”