Dr. Gregory D. Foster is Professor of National Security Studies at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security & Resource Strategy (formerly the Industrial College of the Armed Forces), part of the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., where he previously has served as George C. Marshall Professor; J. Carlton Ward Distinguished Professor and Director of Research; and executive director of the Defense Environmental Forum, a joint activity of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations & Environment) and the president of the National Defense University.
During his tenure at the Eisenhower School, he has served as director of the Environment Industry Study; the China Regional Security Study; the Elements of National Power course; the Values, Ethics, and Leadership program; and the New Faculty Development program. He also has taught executive-level courses in political science, executive decisionmaking, civil-military relations, ethics, mobilization, elements of national power, environmental security, social issues and national security, and strategic brainstorming; and he is a recognized expert practitioner of Socratic learning techniques. He has been a regular lecturer at the Inter-American Defense College, the Senior Intelligence Course of the Defense Intelligence College, and the National Defense University’s Reserve Component National Security Course.
A West Point graduate and former regular army officer, Dr. Foster holds a doctorate in public administration from The George Washington University. He has held adjunct faculty appointments at Johns Hopkins, American, Catholic, George Mason, and Catholic universities, where he has taught graduate courses in business ethics, management science, public management, U.S. foreign policy, and violent extremism. He has published widely in the areas of national security affairs, civil-military relations, ethics, public management, and futures research.
Prior to joining the Eisenhower School faculty, Dr. Foster served as the first director of the National Defense University’s Command and Control Research Program. Before that, he held a number of research management posts in the private sector, including Director of Research and Manager of Washington Operations for the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Director of the Center for Security and Policy Studies, Science Applications, Inc.
During his time in uniform, Dr. Foster completed airborne, ranger, jumpmaster, and jungle warfare training, served with the 82nd Airborne and 25th Infantry divisions, and commanded an infantry company with the Americal Division in Vietnam, where he was decorated for valor.