How Thomas Foulke Helps Students Explore the World

by Taylor Moore

Thomas Foulke vividly recalls the day he spent with his son at the Art Institute of Chicago, around 2009.

Foulke, a research scientist, was visiting Chicago with his son, Jedd, who at the time was studying illustration at Northern Michigan University. They had vastly different preferences and would debate the merits of individual works. “We would stand in front of [a painting by] Rothko and I'd say, ‘What do you see?’ and he would explain it to me. I learned a lot from him,” he said.

Foulke remembered this day fondly when, several years later, Jedd passed away in a sudden accident at the age of 27. Foulke wanted to figure out a way to honor his son’s memory and create opportunities for others. He reflected on his own transformative experience studying abroad in New Zealand decades prior, and how Jedd had never had the opportunity to travel overseas. As a trustee for the Chicago-based Benjamin J. Rosenthal Foundation, which supports youth and art and culture initiatives, Foulke wanted to work with the foundation to remove barriers to study abroad for students.

With this goal, along with the memories of his and Jedd’s day at the Art Institute of Chicago, Foulke and the Benjamin J. Rosenthal Foundation decided to make a gift to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) to establish the Jedd T. Foulke Young Artist Globalization Endowment Fund. This $1,000 scholarship is given annually to one SAIC undergraduate or graduate student interested in participating in a study-abroad trip, with a preference for students who have never traveled outside of North America. Since 2017, five students have had the opportunity to expand their global perspectives through study abroad with the help of this scholarship.

"There are all these serendipitous things—people you'll meet, things you didn't know, things you didn't expect to know, things you didn't know existed—that are going to happen to you when you travel."

Foulke researches agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wyoming and leads his department’s international programs in France and Australia. Studying abroad “really opens students' eyes,” he said. “A lot of times in class, you wonder whether you got through to them, but with study abroad, you can see students who are trepidatious about going overseas, who are fearful of another language, culture, food—all these things they don't know about—they come back and [ask], where else can I go?”

Foulke believes these experiences are incredibly formative. “Students say, 'I can get on YouTube.’ Well, yeah, you can get the information, but you can't really experience it. There are all these serendipitous things—people you'll meet, things you didn't know, things you didn't expect to know, things you didn't know existed—that are going to happen to you when you travel. [Students] come back with this whole new perspective on everything.”

Though the scholarship was made in honor of his son, Foulke wants the focus of this act of philanthropy to be on the students. “I'm glad that Jedd's name is on it and he's being recognized … but really, I'm hoping the benefit goes to those students who are getting the opportunity to go overseas. I believe that the power of giving is in the gift, and not the giver.” ■