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J. Fagg Foster Papers

 Collection
Identifier: M001

Abstract

J. Fagg Foster (1907-1985) was Professor of Economics at the University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, from 1946 until 1985. He served as Director of Industrial Relations Analysis for the Federal Wage Stabilization Board, Region 11 from 1951 to 1952. The collection contains material both from his academic career and from his work on the Wage Stabilization Board and includes correspondence, transcripts, class notes, lectures, speeches, journal articles, lecture tapes (cassette and reel-to-reel.)

Dates

  • 1936-1976

Creator

Biographical / Historical

John Fagg Foster was born on September 6, 1907 in Blue Ridge, Texas. He seldom used his first given name, and was known throughout his long career as J. Fagg Foster. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1935 from East Texas Teachers College, and earned a master’s in education from the University of Texas in 1938.

He was teaching at the University of Texas in 1941 when he became involved in a controversy over academic freedom. He and another colleague attended an anti-Fair Labor Standards Act rally and asked to speak in favor of the Act. Politics intruded, and both Foster and his friend were fired. The President of the university, Dr. Home Price Rainey, defended the two professors’ right to speak publicly, and he was also fired.

Foster moved to Ohio to teach at Kenyon College. There he was chosen by the Federal Housing Authority in Cleveland to be an economist, and served in the Office of Economic Warfare before enlisting in the Army during World War II. After the war he finished his PhD at the University of Texas before joining the faculty at the University of Denver in 1946. Between that time and his retirement in June, 1976, he taught and became a well-known speaker and economic thinker. In 1951-52, he took a leave of absence from the University of Denver to serve as Director of Industrial Relations Analysis for the Federal Wage Stabilization Board, Region 11. After he returned to the University, he continued to consult for business and government entities.

Foster had one daughter by his first marriage. He married Gladys Parker on August 23, 1950. They raised three children. He established the Fagg Foster Scholarship Fund in the Economics Department of the University of Denver. Foster developed lung disease in his later years and died in July 1985.

Extent

3 Linear Feet (6 letter document boxes)

Scope and Contents

The papers document Foster's research from his student days through his years as Professor at the University of Denver and also include correspondence from his tenure as Director of Industrial Relations Analysis for the Federal Wage Stabilization Board, Region 11. The collection contains correspondence, transcripts, class notes, lectures, speeches, journal articles, and newspaper clippings relating to Foster's teaching and publications, general materials relating to the University of Denver, and lecture tapes (cassette and reel-to-reel).

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series: 1. Papers of Foster as a student at the University of Texas 1936-1942. 2. Personal Material 1942-1967. 3. Papers of Foster as Professor of Economics at the University of Denver 1946-1976.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transfer from University of Denver College of Business Administration, 1983. Gift of Bill Williams September 17, 1986.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository

Contact:
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