The Kendall W. Foster Chair in the Sciences was established anonymously in 1986 by a grandparent of Groton graduates in honor of Kendall W. Foster, an exacting teacher, warm human being, and a champion of the sciences who taught at Groton from 1943 until 1965. Since 2001, Stephen D. Belsky has held this Chair.

Science Department Head Stephen Belsky arrived at Groton in 1983 as a sabbatical replacement instructor in biology; he was on a break from his graduate work in plant physiology at Cornell but never turned back. During his own sabbatical year from Groton in 1993, he headed to Ann Arbor, where he completed his master’s in biology at University of Michigan. He has a BA from Swarthmore College. Mr. Belsky holds Groton's Kendall W. Foster Chair in the Sciences.

During his tenure at Groton, Mr. Belsky has taught chemistry and environmental science as well as biology. Though he is aging gracefully, he has remarked that teaching offspring of former students does give him a sudden jolt of reality.

Stephen Belsky is married to Kate Dennison, a member of the Classics Department and Groton's Head of Academic Support. Their three children are members of the Forms of 2012 and 2015.