Distinguished Achievement Award

For more than 50 years Dr. Stanley Foster has been a leader in public health.  He began his career with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an Epidemic Intelligence (EIS) Officer.  For two years he examined thousands of school children in Arizona for trachoma, and investigated other health emergencies, such as plague, rabies, measles, shigella, kerato conjuntivitis, and rotavirus on behalf of the Indian Health Service.  In 1966, Dr. Foster was invited to join the CDC’s new Smallpox Eradication Program where he spent 8 years in Nigeria, Bangladesh and Somalia (the last smallpox epidemic country in the world) working with national health workers to eradicate smallpox.  His efforts helped make history in 1980 by officially eradicating smallpox from the world.

For the next 14 years, Dr. Foster worked to improve the health and survival of children in more than a dozen African countries with the International Health Program Office at the CDC.  Through his work with the Combating Childhood Communicable Disease Project (CCCD), he focused on prevention, case management of priority illnesses including malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea, and strengthening preventive and curative systems.

When most would have chosen to retire from a successful career with the CDC, Dr. Foster decided he would begin his second career – sharing his knowledge and experiences with future public health leaders.  He began teaching global health at the Rollins School of Public Health in 1994.  For nearly 20 years, he has taught and mentored thousands of public health students and served as a source of inspiration for thousands of community health workers around the world.   

Throughout his career Dr. Foster has worked tirelessly to improve the health and well-being of millions of people.  Significantly shaping the landscape of public health, his impact will continue to be felt for years to come.