Lawrence G. Foster was born in New Jersey on July 27, 1925. He attended the Pennsylvania State University as a journalism major and graduated in 1948. Foster was a reporter and managing editor for the Daily Collegian, Penn State's student newspaper. He was also a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.
As a young journalist, Foster covered the turbulant politics of New Jersey reporting for the Newark Evening News. He worked his way up to become the newspaper's top editor. In 1957, Foster joined Johnson & Johnson.
He was fascinated by General Robert Wood Johnson and his efforts to create the company’s first public relations department. Before Foster, Johnson & Johnson had a reputation of secretiveness as it rarely spoke to the public. Foster is credited for changing the environment at J&J and strengthening the company’s relationship with the public and its customers. Foster later became the organization's corporate vice president of public relations and a prominent leader in the profession.
Foster is well known for his handling of the Tylenol crisis in the mid-1980s. In 1982, police found a connection between mysterious deaths happening in or near Chicago. Investigators found that Tylenol capsules had been tampered with and were contaminated with cyanide.
Foster’s plan put the safety of the consumer first. He also made a commitment to be honest and open with media and the public. Johnson & Johnson issued a national recall spending $100 million in the process. The plan was a success and Tylenol was able to be reintroduced to the public with tamper-free packaging.
Foster was committed to putting the public first and building a relationship on trust. He was truthful and direct, and maintained his integrity in times of crisis. Foster never deviated from his values and actively advocated for corporations to be honest with their consumers.
In 2004, Foster established the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication to advance the values of integrity and responsibility in all forms of public communication. The Center has become an advocate for ethics education and an international leader in ethics research. It has funded hundreds of scholars from around the world.