and it was the task of the colleges to prepare them for their responsibilities. He called for a re-examination and experimentation with the curriculum and teaching methods to insure that the best education might be provided. Moral training, he added, must be joined to intellectual training to instill ideals of service for society.
When a man accepts a college presidency he has to choose carefully the areas to which he is going to devote his energies in addition to carrying out his specific duties as head of the institution, Dr. Cutten frankly stated as his administration drew to a close. He had decided at the outset to give slight attention to alumni affairs since the newly formed Alumni Corporation was working well. Nor did he attempt to participate in political or philanthropic affairs locally or on a larger scene save for brief terms as president of the International Association of Torch Clubs and the National Council of the YMCA. He elected to concentrate on his official duties and render service by making the University a more successful instrument for education. Aside from golf he seems to have found no time for hobbies until the mid-’30’s when he became interested in old silver as a result of Mrs. Cutten’s research on the subject for a paper before a women’s club. Together they published The Silversmiths of Utica (1936) and subsequently he produced four more books and several articles. He was also a noted collector. Like his predecessors for over thirty years, Dr. Cutten worked closely and harmoniously with James C. Colgate who was to continue as President of the Board of Trustees until 1935 and thereafter as Honorary President with William M. Parke, ’00, a New York City attorney, as his successor. The President and Mr. Colgate were in frequent, detailed and cordial correspondence. Often when he had a knotty problem which needed face-to-face discussion Dr. Cutten would take the night train from Utica to New York, go to Mr. Colgate’sapartment for breakfast, and come away with a decision. He and Mr. Parke were somewhat more deliberate in reaching conclusions. Even after retirement Mr. Colgate retained an active interest in University affairs and was consulted about them until his death in 1944. He sought to bridge the usual gulf between Trustees and students whose thinkings and concerns he understood. He reprimanded a Maroon editor with a kindly light touch when referred to as “Dr. Colgate” rather than “Jim” which he preferred. Among his genuine pleasures were his appearances before the students at chapel services or football
JAMES C. COLGATE, ’84
