Chapter XIV – THE CUTTEN PERIOD, 1922-1942
As a concluding portion of the festivities for the inauguration of George Barton Cutten on October 7, 1922, the Colgate football team played Allegheny College on Whitnall Field. Several thousand spectators, undaunted by the forecast of rain, came out to welcome the new president and cheer the players. As the game progressed and the skies teemed, the visitors forsook their seats for shelter, though the under-graduates to a man stood by, sending out songs and yells to the team in Maroon until they left the field with a 19 to 0 victory. Following the game as the students rose and sang the “Alma Mater” they saw in the opposite bleachers a man standing alone in the pouring rain, his friends and guests gone, his hat in his hand and his head bowed as he paid respect to the song. He was the new President and by this gesture he won their admiration and affection. He had demonstrated to them independence, loyalty to the University, a keen interest in football, and a rugged unconcern for inclement weather-characteristics for which he would long be remembered.
Dr. Cutten was no stranger to Colgate, having been asked in 1909 to succeed William Newton Clarke in the Seminary and having received the D.D. degree in 1911. A Nova Scotian, he graduated from Acadia University in 1896, and later earned an A.B. and Ph.D. at Yale where his major interest was psychology. He then served as Baptist pastor in Connecticut, New York, and Ohio prior to returning to his Alma Mater in 1910 for a very successful presidency before being called to Colgate.He was soon a familiar figure on campus leading the daily chapel services, striding along its paths without an overcoat no matter how low the temperature, or intently watching football practice-he had played center at Yale-and while pastor in Columbus had been one of the coaches of the Ohio State team. Students quickly learned that the