FEATURE
FELLOW IN FOCUS Dr Bill Foster
Born in Louisiana, USA, and educated in Switzerland, where his geologist parents were working, Dr Bill Foster has been part of the fabric of Homerton since 2007. Director of Studies in History, he is coming to the end of his stint as Vice-Principal, which he will mark with a well-earned sabbatical.
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HOMERTONIAN
How long have you been affiliated with Homerton? For 12 years now. After studying at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell, I was appointed Keasbey Research Fellow at Selwyn from 2001–3, the last year spent serving as an assistant University Lecturer in the History Faculty. My wife, daughter and I then returned to the States, but Cambridge gets in your blood. It’s like dog years – one year of experience in this system is like seven in any other for sheer intensity. When I applied to the opening for a College Lectureship in History at Homerton, I received a very compelling pitch from [former Principal] Kate Pretty, [former Senior Tutor] Peter Warner, and [Admissions Tutor] Steve Watts, describing the role as an opportunity to help build a Cambridge College. Which was hard to turn down!
What do you think makes Homerton special? The undergraduate students. Like all in Cambridge, they are brilliant. There is as well the unique quality of the Homertonian – a kind of frontier, pioneering, self-reliant spirit. This is a formidable combination, and one that I admire. Equally distinctive is the Fellowship. In addition to the impressive new generation of Fellows engaged in Biomedicine, Medicine, Engineering and other fields, there is a core of senior College teaching officers with long institutional memories who have devoted their careers to working with the College leadership (the Principal, Senior Tutor, Bursar and Development Director) to get things done. This kind of commitment is essential within a College. In this age of institutional centralisation, it is important to remember that Cambridge Colleges are not glorified halls of residence. We are instead self-governing academic institutions in our own right. While our links with other Colleges and the University are inextricable and mutually supportive, at the end of the day we in the College are responsible for ourselves, and for one another. Being part of that kind of devoted community is very special.
You’re about to pass on the baton of the Vice-Principalship to Dr Louise Joy. How have you found that position? The Vice-Principal’s role is what you make of it. The Principal, the Senior Tutor and the Bursar all have very defined roles, while the Vice-Principal floats around a bit more. In addition to the obligation to deputise for the Principal when necessary, I have seen the office as a resource to support the Fellowship. This is expressed in such ways as serving as chair of the Research Committee, which supports the Fellows’ research activities. Louise will be a brilliant V-P!
What research are you currently engaged in? I’ve always been a historian of war, at first writing about frontier warfare in colonial North America and now dealing almost exclusively with events after 1945. I am currently writing a book called Why the