Professorships
Named professorships are awarded to tenured faculty who have made a distinguished and enduring contribution to their research area. Named professorships are permanent awards established through contributions to the School of Law through the Indiana University Foundation.
The Walter W. Foskett Professorship
Born in Royal Center, Indiana in 1885, Walter W. Foskett grew up in Logansport, the son of a Pennsylvania railroad engineer. He began law school at Indiana University but after two years was forced to drop out for financial reasons. After working for a year as a railroad clerk earning $65 a month, he was able to return to school and graduated in 1907. He accepted a position in a Logansport law firm after a brief period in Seattle. Later he established his own practice and served one term as the Logansport city attorney. In 1922, Mr. Foskett moved to Miami Beach, Florida and together with longtime friend, Bert Winter, established the law firm of Winter Foskett which continued for many years. The emphasis of his law practice was estates and trusts.
John Foskett described his father as "still a Hoosier, an unpretentious man, proud of his small-town heritage." His greatest affection outside of his family and his career, he said, was reserved for his fraternity and his alma mater which gave him his first understanding of what was possible with hard work.
The Walter W. Foskett Professorship was established in 1970 when Mr. Foskett was 85 years old. He died in 1973 at the age of 87.