Adventist Leader Dr. Patricia Clark Foster Passes Away
10 January 2023 |
The Association of Adventist Women (AAW) has drafted a news release on the life of Dr. Patricia Clark Foster, former Associate Dean of Loma Linda School of Nursing, former President of the Association of Adventist Women, and Woman of the Year recipient. Foster was in hospice care when she passed on December 25, 2022.
Current AAW president Nerida Taylor Bates shares that Foster was an outstanding president of the Association of Adventist Women surrounding its 20th anniversary. “As an exceptional educator she wanted AAW to have clear goals and measurable outcomes. She organized a committee to define the Association’s audience, resources and rewrite our mission and goals, which are still in use today. However, she stated that, ‘we have learned that we can never specify all the outcomes at the beginning, and we discovered that there are also worthwhile outcomes that cannot be measured.'”
Foster helped develop the Champion of Justice Award that recognizes men who have made significant commitments to support women in Adventist ministry – an award recently given to Pastor Randy Roberts of Loma Linda University Church.
Dr. Foster was a deserving recipient of the Woman of the Year award for her distinguished career in Nursing education. She was also a part-time faculty member at La Sierra School of Education, where she coordinated their distinguished Educators Lecture Series. Her field of interest and research was critical thinking in professional students. Dr Marilyn Herrmann, Emeritus Dean of Loma Linda University School of Nursing, remembers her strong support for faculty involvement in research and obtaining advanced degrees.
According to Bates, “Those who worked with Pat Foster observed her mutual partnership with her husband, Glenn, and his willingness to support her leadership. Their mutually respectful marriage was admired by many. Join us in lifting up Glenn and their six children in prayer. May we all strive to create the collaborative, mentoring community that supports strong women and men in every level of the church that she envisioned and modeled.”