by Katy Knapp
Daily Lobo
Brian Foster was waiting for a real estate agent to show his house to potential buyers on Tuesday.
"I've been spending a lot of time getting ready to move and getting my house ready to put on the market," he said.
Foster stepped down as provost of the University in March stating it was just the right time to leave. He told the Daily Lobo at the time he was planning to stay on at UNM to teach and conduct research in the Department of Anthropology.
After a grueling job search, Foster said he decided to take the provost position at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
"I actually applied for several jobs and when I got offered this job, I was extremely excited," he said. "Had I not gotten it, I would have looked at teaching. There's nothing really surprising in that."
Since March, Foster said besides getting eaten alive by job interviews, he has been helping Interim Provost Reed Dasenbrock transition into his position from dean of Arts and Sciences. He has also been completing employee evaluations for people who worked under him.
UNM President Louis Caldera said he was happy for Foster and the position at the University of Missouri-Columbia will be a good opportunity for him.
"They're getting a seasoned pro," he said.
Foster denied he stepped down because of tensions between him and Caldera in March.
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"It's not uncommon for there to be changes in upper administration when a new administration - presidents or regents - come in," Foster said. He was hired in April 2000 by former UNM President William Gordon, who stepped down in 2002.
"A change in leadership leads to changes in structure," he said.
Ultimately, Foster said there is no simple answer to the question of why he left his position at UNM.
"It's a very demanding job," he said. "Everything has its time. There's not a lot more to say."
Caldera said he spent a lot of time with Foster, but they did not have many opportunities to get to know each other on a personal level.
Foster said he is not worried about Dasenbrock taking over his position.
"Reed's done good things with Arts and Sciences, and he's a very capable guy," he said.
Despite looking forward to his move, Foster said he will miss Albuquerque and its diverse culture.
"I love this place a lot and I'm going to miss a lot of people," he said. "I really care about diversity issues and the culture of this place."
Caldera said one of the things Foster did as provost was work on serving the diverse population of UNM.
"He has a strong commitment to making it a university that served a broad range of students," he said. "That was important to him."
Foster said he did not want to go to Missouri with a mission statement, but does want to continue his work on diversity.
"I want to be sensitive to the needs of various constituencies and serve them well," he said.
Foster starts his position in August.
