After graduating from Yale in 1959, President Foote served three years in the
U. S. Marine Corps.  In the early 1960s, he was a journalist for the Washington Star and, while in law school, he worked for the Washington Daily News and later was assistant to the chairman of the Pennsylvania Avenue Commission in Washington, D.C.

Following graduation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1966, President Foote practiced trial, appellate, and labor law at the firm of Bryan, Cave, McPheeters & McRoberts in St. Louis, Missouri.

In 1970, President Foote became vice-chancellor, general counsel, and secretary to the Board of Trustees for Washington University in St. Louis.  He then served from 1973-1980 as dean of the Washington University School of Law, where he taught constitutional law and legal ethics.  In 1980-1981, President Foote was special advisor to the chancellor and Board of Trustees for Washington University, during which time he also chaired two federal court-appointed citizens' committees which helped design and implement desegregation plans for schools in greater St. Louis.

Upon his arrival at the University of Miami in 1981, President Foote introduced corporate-style strategic planning, leading to reducing the number of students while increasing the number of faculty.  Approximately three-quarters of the current faculty have been hired during President Foote's tenure.  Under President Foote’s direction, high quality teaching has a top priority and the University's research productivity has expanded dramatically.  The University attracted $159.2 million in research and sponsored programs for FY1997.  The National Science Foundation has ranked the University of Miami 37th out of all universities and 16th out of private universities in expenditures of federal funds for research and development.

The University of Miami is the largest, most comprehensive, private research university in the Southeast.  Under President Foote's leadership, the University has added the School of Architecture, School of Communication, School of International Studies, as well as the North-South Center, bringing to 14 the total number of schools and colleges.  He also launched an ambitious $400 million five-year fund-raising campaign, at the time the second largest capital campaign in the history of higher education.  The campaign ended in 1990 with $517.5 million in commitments, including endowments for 45 chairs in various academic disciplines.

The University's fund-raising success continues.  Giving by alumni, friends and organizations reached a record of $85.7 million in FY1999, representing the top year in private giving in the history of the University and ranking UM 20th in the nation among private research institutions.

During his tenure, President Foote also introduced the residential college concept at the University of Miami to enhance the undergraduate experience.  Following a tradition established at universities in England and at a handful of institutions in the United States, each residential college is directed by a master and faculty fellows.  They are tenured senior faculty members who live at the college and are actively involved in planning a series of academic, social, and recreational programs for resident students.

President Foote serves on the Board of Directors of Ryder System, Inc., and has been active in a number of educational and civic organizations.  He has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C., and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

President Foote is founding chairman of The Miami Coalition for a Safe and Drug-Free Community, an internationally recognized, broad-based community organization committed to reducing problems associated with illegal drugs.  The Coalition has served as a model for community-based anti-drug groups in 617 cities and 71 countries.  Additionally, in 1994 he was chairman of the Public Policy Panel on Preventing Substance Abuse for Join Together, an organization that serves as a national resource for communities battling substance abuse.

In 1992, President Foote served on the President's Drug Advisory Council Steering Committee for the creation of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA).  He is currently on the Board of Directors of CADCA.

In 1997, City of Miami Mayor Joseph Carollo and the city commissioners appointed President Foote as co-chairman of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on City Administration, which made a number of recommendations to improve the operations of the city.