[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 136 (Friday, October 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1897-E1898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DR. CARL M. KUTTLER HONORED AS OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT 
                              OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 2, 1998

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure for me to 
inform my colleagues that Dr. Carl M. Kuttler, Jr., President of the 
St. Petersburg Junior College, has just been named the outstanding 
community college president of the year by the National Association of 
Community College Trustees.
  Having the privilege to represent the St. Petersburg Junior College, 
I know of the great work that Dr. Kuttler has done these past 20 years 
as President to make it one of the premiere colleges in our nation.
  According to the U.S. Department of Education, the college ranks 
third in the Nation in the number of Liberal Arts and Science degrees 
conferred, fourth in the number of associate degrees awarded in Health 
Professions and Related Sciences, fourth in the number of associate 
degrees awarded in Nursing, and fourth in the total number of associate 
degrees awarded.
  Dr. Kuttler has devoted his life to the growth of the St. Petersburg 
Junior College, having served in various capacities for 32 years. He 
was first a student at the college beginning in 1958 and in his second 
year was elected president of the student government, so he understands 
the needs of the students and faculty from various perspectives.
  In addition to raising the academic level of excellence at the 
college, Dr. Kuttler has also established a number of unique programs 
that respond to the needs of our State and our community. In 1998, he 
negotiated a special agreement under which the Allstate Insurance 
Company agreed to donate to the college land and facilities valued at 
$11.2 million. With this gift in place, Dr. Kuttler and the college 
have secured Federal and State grants totaling more than $30 million to 
establish a state of the art Southeastern Public Safety Institute, 
which provides training to Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
officers and emergency response personnel.

  Under his leadership, the college also responded to an unmet need for 
trained health care professionals by raising $3.4 million in gifts, and 
$6.5 million in State funds, to establish one of our Nation's finest 
allied health

[[Page E1898]]

education centers at the St. Petersburg Junior College's Caruth Health 
Education Center.
  Pamela Jo Davis, the Chairman of the college's Board of Trustees who 
nominated Dr. Kuttler for this award, said, ``He personifies the 21st 
Century president, demonstrating all the global vision and community 
caring that balanced, successful leaders must have.''
  In presenting the association's most prestigious award to Dr. 
Kuttler, Ray Taylor, the President of the Association of Community 
College Trustees, said, ``I only wish all of the Nation's 1,100 
community colleges had somebody as outstanding as Dr. Kuttler.''
  Mr. Speaker, speaking for the people of the 10th Congressional 
District I represent, I can say that we are proud and fortunate to have 
an educational leader who is as committed to his students, faculty, and 
staff as Carl Kuttler. It is a most fitting honor that his peers across 
the country have recognized him with such a great honor this month.

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