[2] Foss was elected the sixth President of Wesleyan University in 1875, and he held that post for five years.

[3] Foss is widely credited for saving the school when it was in a time of financial ruin, following the Panic of 1873.

To raise funds, he created a new program of disciplined Christian living for the students, and met with many prominent Methodist church leaders of New England.

Bishop Foss is recognized as a man of superior abilities, an able preacher, and an earnest and devout Christian...

Later in life, Foss travelled the world extensively for the Methodist Church, and he published an account of his travels as From the Himalayas to the Equator: Letters, Sketches and Addresses, Giving Some Account of a Tour of India and Malaysia.