Before coming to Bend, James Foster was chair of the Department of Political Science for twelve years (1990-2002) on the Corvallis campus. He taught courses on constitutional law, administrative law, gender and law, and American political thought. He has published articles on legal education, book chapters on affirmative action and equality debates, as well as on the Oregon Judicial Branch.

He is co-editor of the book "Governing Through Courts" and co-author of the two-volume "Constitutional Law: Cases in Context." Foster has taught twice in London and in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was book review editor of Legal Studies Forum for ten years, and has served as president of the Pacific Coast Association of pre-law studies and the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association.