The CUNY Baccalaureate Blog

B.A., September 1995, Psychology

• Thomas W. Smith Academic Fellowship
• Diego Hidalgo Fellowship
• Angelo Proto Award

Kenneth Foster grew up in a Brooklyn housing project, one of seven children and the only one at this point to complete college. But one degree was not enough for him: he has an A.A.S., B.A., M.A., and a Ph.D., all from CUNY. Along the way, he persevered through obstacles, accidents, success, failure…everything life can throw at one, using each hurdle as a challenge rather than a barrier. He began college in 1976 at what was then called New York Community College, taking courses in engineering that helped him into work in construction and drafting. He returned to school in 1986 at Borough of Manhattan Community College, where he received his A.A.S. in 1990. By then more focused on his goals, he enrolled in the CUNY Baccalaureate Program to study Psychology, taking his courses at Brooklyn and John Jay Colleges.

By 1994, he was attending school while working and supporting six children, two of whom were in college themselves. He received some help in the form of one of the first Thomas W. Smith Fellowships in 1994 and then a Hidalgo Scholarship in 1995. He submitted a life experience portfolio and received 11 credits for some of his previous work, including his work with Physicians for Social Responsibility. His job, related to his studies, involved researching victims of homelessness, mental illness, and drug addiction. He enjoyed being treated as a colleague, and presented findings at professional conferences and published papers. Still, he was beginning to realize that there was a difference between being a colleague and a peer.

As if things weren’t challenging enough, his life and studies were severely interrupted in 1994 by a driver who ignored a red light and ran into his car. The resulting cognitive and physical injuries severely interrupted his career and studies. After eight months of recuperation, just as he was about to return to work and school, he learned that he had been terminated from his job. Rather than giving in to adversity, he took it as a challenge. Realizing that in order to have the security and impact he desired in his career, he made up his mind to not only finish his B.A. but go on to get a Ph.D. He also fought to get his job back, and won.

In 1995, he both graduated from the CUNY BA/BS Program and entered the CUNY Graduate Center Ph.D. Program in Psychology (Social-Personality concentration). In 1998, along the way to his doctorate, he received an M.A. from Hunter College, where he became a Graduate Teaching Fellow. By 2001 he was a Minority Teaching Fellow at BMCC, then a full-time instructor at BMCC in 2003, and was appointed an Assistant Professor in 2004. He earned his Ph.D. in 2004, then and headed to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to teach at Texas Woman’s University. He keeps ties with NY as a member of the Institutional Review Board, Phoenix Foundation (NYC), developing research programs (substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, social identity)…and as a proud CUNY BA/Graduate Center alum.