WASHINGTON — The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Foundation announced Roger S. Foster, Jr., MD, FACS, and Baiba J. Grube, MD, FACS, as the recipients of its prestigious Distinguished Philanthropist Award, which was presented during the ACS Clinical Congress 2026 in Washington, DC. The award recognizes the married couple's exemplary investment in the mission of the ACS and surgical care worldwide.
The Distinguished Philanthropist Award, established in 1989, celebrates outstanding individuals who have significantly supported the ACS Foundation's mission to advance surgical practices, research, and patient care.
"Dr. Foster and Dr. Grube's generosity is a powerful force for progress in surgery, but it is their unique combination of philanthropic support and hands-on leadership that truly sets them apart," said H. Randolph Bailey, MD, FACS, Chair of the ACS Foundation. "Their dedication to advancing surgical oncology, trauma care, and surgical education, backed by their own clinical experience, has left an indelible mark on the ACS and the patients we all serve."
For both Dr. Foster and Dr. Grube, the recognition capped long and productive surgical careers and highlighted a selfless focus on the wellbeing of the ACS.
Dr. Foster enjoyed a career as a leader in surgical oncology. He earned his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University, then completed surgical residency at University Hospitals of Cleveland in Ohio and a fellowship at Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York. A drive to research brought him to the University of Vermont in Burlington, where he began surgical practice as an assistant professor. As his career gained recognition, he participated in eleven National Cancer Institute committees and chaired the Cancer Clinical Investigations Review Committee. He retired as the Wadley R. Glenn Professor of Surgery at Emory University and Chief of Surgical Services at Emory's Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
His leadership included significant contributions to the ACS. Dr. Foster served as secretary of the Vermont chapter, participated in nearly a dozen ACS committees, joined the Board of Governors, and became a member of the Board of Regents for 9 years, where he served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents for 6 of those years. He also holds a rare distinction: a connection by marriage to an ACS founder. Dr. Foster met George W. Crile, Jr., MD, FACS, and his family during his first year in medical school. Joan Crile and Dr. Foster married after his third year of medical school. Joan's active support of his career began with his research activities during his first two medical school summers. George W. Crile, Jr., MD, FACS, was a son of George W. Crile, MD, FACS, who co-founded the Cleveland Clinic and the ACS. Dr. Foster later married Dr. Crile's daughter, Joan, making him a grandson-in-law of the ACS founder.
Four years after his wife's death in 2000, after his wife's death in 2000, Dr. Foster remarried to Baiba Grube, MD, FACS. The two first encountered each other at the University of Vermont, where Dr. Grube completed her surgical residency and where Dr. Foster served as one of her research mentors. A native of Albany, New York, Dr. Grube attended medical school at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She completed a fellowship in trauma and burn care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, then retrained in surgical oncology at the City of Hope in Duarte, California, and completed supplemental education in breast oncology at the John Wayne Cancer Institute. She retired from surgery in 2011 from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Drs. Foster and Grube are dedicated, generous philanthropists. Dr. Grube has donated to Latvian social and cultural organizations, the Association of Women Surgeons, The Scripps Research Institute, University of Utah Medical School, University of Texas Medical Branch, and New England Surgical Society, and music organizations. Dr. Foster has focused on the universities that touched his life: Haverford College, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Vermont. Together, they established the Foster Family Scholarship Fund at Haverford College to alleviate undergraduate students' financial need, and The Roger S. Foster, Jr., MD, Catamount Surgeon Visiting Professorship at the University of Vermont.
They are both amateur musicians, Baiba piano and Roger cello, and they have been particularly supportive of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, where Roger served as Chairman of the Board for five years.
Their strongest interest, however, may be the ACS. "I lived all my life as a participant in the field of surgery, and those hours were greater than hours spent with family or with friends. So, it's important to give back to our professional family, just like you support your children or you support your parents or relatives," Dr. Grube explained.
Their gifts to the ACS Foundation have been unrestricted, permitting the College flexibility to use the funds where they are needed most. "I want a strong organization to be able to go the way they need to go," Dr. Foster said.
Asked about their own legacies, both expressed little concern, instead saying the wellbeing of the College was their chief interest. "It's the future generations of the College to impact and support them in the best way possible," Dr. Foster said.
"The legacy should be the College," Dr. Grube concurred.
