Carl M. Kuttler Jr.

Kuttler was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, to Carl Martin Kuttler and Rema Winona Ellis.[1][3] His family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida when he was four years old.[4] At St. Petersburg High School, he was told by a guidance counselor that he was "not college material", so after graduation he planned to work in his uncle's meat supply business. But his father convinced him to enroll in college.[5] He earned his A.A. in management from St. Petersburg Junior College in 1960,[6] his B.S. in business administration from Florida State University in 1962,[5] and his Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University College of Law in 1965.[6]

He began his career at St. Petersburg Junior College in 1966 as assistant to the vice president for administration. From 1967 to 1978 he served as dean of administrative affairs.[2] Upon the retirement of college president Michael M. Bennett in 1978,[7] Kuttler assumed the presidency, becoming one of Florida's youngest-ever community college presidents.[8] During his tenure, he oversaw the transition of the college to a four-year institution (now called St. Petersburg College) offering over 20 bachelor's degrees,[4][8] the expansion of the campus from two campuses to 10 learning locations,[9] and an increase in enrollment from 13,300 to 36,133 students.[8]

Kuttler was known as an "entrepreneurial" college president[9][10] for his efforts to form partnerships between St. Petersburg College and governments, businesses, cultural institutions, and other colleges and universities. These include the development of the $32 million[4] EpiCenter corporate training center in Largo;[11] joint-use libraries for St. Petersburg College and Seminole State; the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art on the St. Petersburg College campus in Tarpon Springs; and the St. Petersburg College downtown center serving The Florida Orchestra, American Stage, and Palladium Theater.[4] In 1988, Kuttler leveraged a gift of land and facilities worth $11.2 million from the Allstate Insurance Company with over $30 million in state and federal grants to create a home for the college's Open Campus program, Southeastern Public Safety Institute for law-enforcement programs, and central computer.[7][12] He also raised money in the public arena. In his first year as president, he put a referendum on the Pinellas County ballot seeking a temporary hike in property taxes to raise $500,000 for college improvements, which passed voter approval. The college also petitioned for and received $6.5 million from the Florida state legislature to purchase and remodel three retail buildings for college use.[7]

Kuttler was known for calling and sending a card to each of the college's 1,000 full-time employees on their birthdays.[5][12] He also sent birthday gifts to Florida legislators – "ties for the men and scarves, pins, or Kmart crystal for the women" – and sent a potted plant to every new community college and university president in Florida.[5] He instituted an employee recognition program and dispatched a congratulatory letter to every St. Petersburg College student who placed in the top 3% of academic achievement.[12]

In 1974, Kuttler ran for the office of state education commissioner. He was defeated by Ralph Turlington by a 2–1 margin.[5][8]

In the 1980s, in partnership with the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, Kuttler developed a series of annual Presidential Leadership Seminars on current issues, first with former President Jimmy Carter at the Carter Center in Atlanta and then with former President Gerald Ford at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[7][9][12]

In 1988 Kuttler was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to be a member of the National Advisory Council on Educational Research and Improvement,[2] and was re-nominated as vice-chair of that council by President George H. W. Bush in 1992.[15]

Kuttler has been honored by many prominent organizations as an outstanding community college president, including the Florida Association of Community Colleges, Phi Theta Kappa, the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, the National Association of Community College Trustees in America, and the School of Education at the University of Texas at Austin.[16]

Other awards include the American Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award; the 1997 Werner O. Kubsch Award for Achievement in International Education;[17] the 2006 Pioneer Award of the Community College Baccalaureate Association;[18] the 2009 James L. Wattenbarger Award of the Florida Association of Community Colleges;[13] and the 2009 Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture and Arts Award.[13] Kuttler is listed in a number of Who's Who directories. In 1996 Kuttler was named one of nine worldwide judges for the Templeton Prize in Religion. The St. Petersburg City Council proclaimed 31 January 2005, his 65th birthday, as Dr. Carl M. Kuttler, Jr. Day.[19]

Kuttler surprised his staff and trustees at the end of a routine board of trustees meeting in July 2009 by announcing his retirement.[8] He was succeeded by Dr. William D. Law, formerly president of Tallahassee Community College.[20]

Kuttler married Evelyn Elise Flathmann,[1][3] also an alumna of Stetson University College of Law,[4] on 29 June 1963.[3] She is an estate planning attorney at Harris Barrett, Mann and Dew in St. Petersburg. The couple had three children: Cindy Kuttler Mercer, Carl M. Kuttler III, and Erika Kuttler Shannon.[4]

In September 2010, Kuttler filed for divorce, citing "unhappy differences" that had arisen between himself and his wife of 47 years, and providing the judge with a statement of division of property which he and his wife had worked out.[21]

In April 2011, the Kuttlers' 43-year-old son, Carl M. Kuttler III, founder of Kuttler Kitchens in Pinellas Park,[22] committed suicide by jumping off Tampa Bay's Sunshine Skyway Bridge.[23][24]

In November 2011, Kuttler married St. Petersburg College staff member, Violetta Sweet.[25]

• Carl M. Kuttler Jr. Receives Dr. James Wattenbarger Award from FACC (video) on YouTube