Len Cutler, Ph.D., was honored Wednesday night for his 45-year transformative career as a Siena College professor during a benefit dinner celebration in the Maloney Great Room on campus. Proceeds raised from the event will support the Summer Legal Fellows program he founded.
“When I think of a quintessential, classic person who is a Siena man, I think of Len Cutler,” Siena President Br. F. Edward Coughlin, O.F.M., Ph. D., said. “He is an incredibly professional man, you know that from the moment you meet him. He really is a model of what hopefully all of us are aspiring to do in terms of building a better Siena.”
Cutler started his distinguished Siena career in 1970, and he has educated nearly 3,000 students in the areas of law and government after helping develop the College’s vanguard political science program. Many of his students have gone on to enjoy impactful careers in diverse industries across the globe, and several were on hand Wednesday to show appreciation for their mentor.
“I think I took every single course he taught,” Dr. Steven L. Lamy ’73, vice dean for academic programs and professor of international relations at the University of Southern California said in a video tribute. “I was a first generation student and didn't know what to ask or who to ask and right away Len Cutler provided that kind of insight. I'm here because of Len – his commitment to excellence, his vision. He is my role model.”
Cutler created Siena’s Model United Nations program, the Honorable James P. King Moot Court/Mock Trial Team, the Jurist-in-Residence program, and most recently articulated 4/3 programs with three separate law schools – Albany Law School, Pace University School of Law, and Western New England School of Law.
Cutler has been recognized with all three major faculty awards that Siena bestows on professors.
“Sustaining the energy and enthusiasm through all those years,” Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Margaret E. Madden said. “This is a man who is not resting on his laurels.”
The Summer Legal Fellows program is unique in undergraduate higher education, annually placing 13 Siena students at six law schools for hands-on legal training. These fellowships give students a head start on their legal education.
Senior Antonia Edwards is one of 160 summer legal fellows who has benefited from her time with Cutler.
“He always believes in me,” Edwards said. “He has built a lasting legacy at Siena. He’s shaped my academic career and given me all the tools and academic experiences to succeed in law school. He was tough, but that made me better.”
Cutler’s teaching philosophy has been a perfect fit for Siena’s mission to provide a learning community advancing the ideals of a liberal arts education rooted in its identity as a Franciscan and Catholic institution.
“He’s helped hundreds of students receive merit grants to attend Law school who otherwise couldn’t have afforded to go,” Lamy said.
The proceeds from the event will be added to the $235,000 that has already been committed in honor of Cutler toward a $500,000 goal to benefit Summer Legal Fellows.
“I'm truly touched by the tributes that were delivered on my behalf,” Cutler said in his closing address. “I was a kid when I came here; I'm a little more than a kid now, I guess. Tonight's celebration is about us. The success of our students in the pre-law department has been due in large part to the collaboration of everyone in this room. Our summer fellows serve the poor, the marginalized. Those in need of legal services who cannot afford them. They’re committed to building a just, and hopefully more humane, world.”
To see more photos from the event, please click here.
