Walter E. Foran

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Walter E. Foran (May 14, 1919 – December 8, 1986) was a Republican politician from New Jersey who served in both houses of the state legislature. Born in Flemington, he was the son of Arthur F. Foran, a former Flemington mayor. He attended Staunton Military Academy, studied at the University of North Carolina, and served in Army field artillery during World War II. He led the Hunterdon County Republican Committee from 1961 to 1970.

Foran was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1969 and served there until 1977, playing a key role on the Joint Appropriations Committee and earning the position of Minority Leader. In 1977, he won a special election to the New Jersey Senate, succeeding Democrat Anne Clark Martindell. He served in the Senate from 1977 to 1986, first representing the 14th district and, after redistricting, the 23rd district. Known as an old-school statesman and nicknamed "Moose" for his imposing presence, he was the ranking Republican on the Revenue, Finance and Appropriations Committee.

Foran helped establish Rutgers University’s Foran Hall on the Cook College campus in 1995, a 154,000-square-foot complex that houses the Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, the Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, and the Chang Science Library. He was an early champion of agricultural biotechnology and played a key role in founding the center.

He died of lung cancer at Hunterdon Medical Center in 1986 at age 67.