Dr. Carl M. Kuttler, Jr.

“For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16–17).

Dr. Carl Martin Kuttler, Jr., born on January 31, 1940, left us to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, on April 2, 2025 at Mease Countryside Hospital. He was 85 years old. Carl Kuttler is survived by his devoted and loving wife Violetta P. Kuttler, his loving daughters, Erica Shannon, Cindy Mercer, and Anastasia Sweet; his beloved grandchildren, Sean, Carmen, and Adrian; his sisters Christine (Robert) Bailes, and Mary Ellen (Ted) Collins. He is predeceased by his son, Carl Kuttler III, his father, Carl Martin Kuttler, and his mother, Rema Winona Ellis Kuttler.

Carl M. Kuttler’s long, prosperous, and storied career began when he graduated from St. Petersburg Junior College (SPJC) in 1960. Following that, he graduated from Florida State University in 1962 where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Carl Kuttler’s political acumen was honed first at SPJC where he was Freshman Class President and then Student Body Vice President at FSU. He also had internships with the Governor’s office, Congress and the White House.

Shortly after his time at Florida State University, Carl Kuttler began law school at Stetson University. Michael Bennett, then president of St. Petersburg Junior College, hired Carl Kuttler in 1966 as an administrative assistant to a vice president for the purpose of writing grants. Carl Kuttler completed his law degree in 1967 from Stetson University College of Law. During the same year he was promoted to Dean of Administrative Affairs. By 1974, Carl Kuttler at age 34, ran for State Educational Commissioner with the slogan, “There’s a new wind blowing.” Although he lost the State Educational Commissioner race, his slogan propelled him to be named the president of St. Petersburg Junior College (SPJC) in 1978. He was one of Florida’s youngest ever community college presidents.

When Carl Kuttler became president of SPJC in 1978, St Petersburg Junior College had 13,000 students and two campuses with a budget of $16 million. By Carl Kuttler’s retirement, the school had grown from a two-year junior college to a four-year state college (SPC) offering more than 20 baccalaureate degrees. The college had expanded from two campuses to ten learning sites; it owned and operated two museums and a well-known public venue: the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, and the Florida International Museum in St Petersburg and the Palladium Theater in downtown St Petersburg were prestigious additions to SPC. By 2009, the college had grown from 13,000 students to 68,000 with a budget of $75 million.

As the fifth president of SPC, Carl Kuttler was known as an educator, entrepreneur, and politico. In addition, he was a mentor and friend to many individuals. His career at SPJC/SPC spanned six decades in Pinellas County. He took SPJC/SPC from the twentieth-century into the twenty-first century by creating partnerships with government entities, universities, world leaders and local businesses. He was known and respected for his strong faith, his unwavering loyalty, his “bulldog tenacity”, his rapier mind, his intense work ethic, and his profound love of St Petersburg College.

Carl Kuttler was truly a “Force Multiplier”

By 2009, SPC through its University Partnership was aligned with 15 Universities offering 100 Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees. SPC was nationally recognized for its on-line distance learning platform. Kuttler’s academic model set the standard when he said “Our model is a little different, we will come to you any time, any place, and at any pace.” It countermanded the typical university paradigm which was, “you come to us.” This reinvention of the old standard provided accessible education to those who would otherwise not be able to pursue higher education; Carl Kuttler proudly embraced the open-door policy.

Carl Kuttler was one of the first community college presidents to establish a Foundation. When Carl Kuttler retired, the Foundation, as a result his efforts, had accumulated tens of millions of dollars for financial help to both students and faculty in order to enhance programs and degrees. Additionally, to meet the needs of the community, he grew the nursing program, the dental hygiene program, the veterinary tech program, to include four-year baccalaureates in health services. In 2004, Carl Kuttler saw the need for orthotics, and prosthetics degrees, and saw that they were added, and by 2009, SPC boasted the largest R.N. to B.S.N. degree program in the state.

Also, by 2009, Carl Kuttler had provided the largest program of online classes (eCampus with more than 25,000 students enrolled each semester) in Florida, and was recognized by the AACC Instructional Technology Council as the No. 1 Distance Learning program in the country. Carl Kuttler saw to it that millions were invested to make sure SPC students were exposed to the finest and latest technology, and to ensure that the college operated as efficiently as possible online.

In response to 9/11, Carl Kuttler developed a public safety institute at the Allstate Center. He was able to pull in federal grants to provide services for the National Guard, police and fire agencies, to include offerings in drug enforcement, forensics and cyber security. Upon Kuttler’s retirement, SPC offered the only specialty-degree tract in the country in fighting gang-related crime and SPC’s Police Academy trained 6,000 of Puerto Rico’s 18,000 police officers.

Carl Kuttler’s focus drifted beyond St Petersburg when he established partnerships with countries around the world – Russia, China, Ecuador, Estonia, Guatemala, Greece, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, and Italy. As a result, these relationships created opportunities for foreign study and faculty and staff exchanges which in turn brought cultural experiences for many in the community by bringing art and antiquities to the Florida International Museum. The arts, music, and ballet performances were part of the cultural exchanges. The St Petersburg Times described Carl Kuttler as playing the role of prime mover when he established offices for The American Stage and The Florida Orchestra at the Down Town Campus. He also brought to the Music Center at the SP/Gibbs Campus a 3000 plus piece, hand crafted customized Heissler Pipe Organ valued at $270,000.

Carl Kuttler Made A Difference

In 1989 Carl Kuttler hosted his first Russian delegation at SPJC/SPC. This effort led to his 10-day exchange program in which Vladimir Putin, then the Associate Vice President to Saint Petersburg State University in St. Petersburg, Russia, was his host. This exchange led to a friendship between Vladimir Putin and Carl Kuttler and a warming of relations between Russia and the United States. This in turn, led to a cultural thawing that brought The Treasures of the Czars to St. Petersburg, Florida; this event drew thousands of visitors to St. Petersburg to view treasures that had never been seen by Americans, much less been allowed outside the borders of Russia.

In 1990, Carl Kuttler was invited to serve as Honorary Rector of Leningrad State University (formerly Saint Petersburg State University) while Stanislav P. Merkuriev, the University’s Rector, was named honorary president of St Petersburg Junior College. This exchange resulted in Kuttler’s being asked by the United States Information Agency to be a technical advisor for the creation of a National Community College system in Russia. Thus, Carl M. Kutter, Jr., was named “Father of the Russian Community College System.”

He served as an education advisor to U.S. Presidents and the U.S. Secretary of Education, a judge for rating the outstanding high schools in America; Co-Sponsored Leadership Seminars with President Ford and President Carter.

Carl Kuttler was made an honorary consul general to the Russian Federation which authorized him, by both the U.S. and Russia, to help Americans abroad and to foster better relationships between both countries. During his presidency, Carl Kuttler welcomed a total of 300 Russian leaders. He was invited to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Vladimir Putin and Russian ambassador Yuri Ushakov. Later, Vladimir Putin invited Carl Kuttler to participate in a symposium on international law hosted by President Vladimir Putin, in Saint Petersburg, Russia to include: French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder.

In 2002, through Carl Kuttler’s leadership, SPC established a Charter High School. This model for a Collegiate High School was based on one that state Senator Don Sullivan observed at Okaloosa-Walton Community College. Don Sullivan approached Carl Kuttler with the idea of creating a similar Charter School in Pinellas County. As a result, SPC Collegiate High School consistently ranked among the top High Schools in all fields as well as ranking number one in Pinellas County.

Carl Kuttler was Inspiring

Carl Kuttler’s legendary ability to recognize both academic and industry need for ethics led him to made sure SPC was one of the first colleges in America to require a course in Applied Ethics for degree completion. Carl Kuttler also established a Joint-Partnership with Pinellas County by creating a joint-use library at both the SPC/Gibbs and Seminole Campus. Additionally, he brought Congressman Michael Bilirakis and Major General William Klien together to co-teach an International Relations class on the Clearwater Campus; thus, exposing students to both a legislative and military-perspective of world events. Ever mindful of both student and faculty needs, Carl Kuttler hired Dr. Psalms Mack as the Equal Employment Opportunity officer, and she helped in shaping the college policy towards diversity. Dr. Psalms Mack later joined the SPC/Gibbs campus as the Associate Provost. Carl Kuttler was proudly a driving force in the 1965 merging of SPJC with Gibbs Junior College which was established in the 1950s for African-American Students. He made sure that minority candidates were promoted to high-ranking positions, and was proud that SPC was the first community college to hire a female Provost and the second to hire an African-American Provost.

Carl Kuttler was honored and awarded with: the Outstanding CEO (College President) by the American Association of Community College Trustees, The Florida Association of Community Colleges Presidential Excellence Award. Phi Theta Kappa, the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, the American Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award, the Werner O. Kubsch Award for Achievement in International Education, The Pioneer Award of the Community College Baccalaureate Association, the James L. Wattenbarger Award of the Florida Association of Community Colleges, the Tampa Bay Business for Culture and Arts Award, and Carl Kuttler was named one of nine world-wide judges for the Templeton Prize in Religion. He was the longest serving community college president in the state of Florida from 1978 to 2009.

When Carl Kuttler retired, he did not slow down. He traveled both domestically and internationally, he established himself in the real estate industry locally and overseas. As part of his efforts, he made time to keep in touch, via phone calls or visits, with those who were special to him. The number of people he helped is incalculable, but he spent a vast amount of time helping others. He faithfully carried the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to those he encountered his entire life. One of his final efforts was to draw together an eclectic group of men who were his friends to create a Bible Study. He caringly referred to this group as the “Broken Men’s Bible Study”! He remained a dedicated longstanding conservative. He had the privilege of attending the 2017 inauguration of the President of the United States and received a personal invitation to Mar-a-Lago. Carl Kuttler never knew a stranger; he never stopped making a difference; he touched many lives, he lived by a spiritual code, and he loved life.

In Honor of Carl Kuttler

A Celebration of Life to honor Carl Kuttler will be held at Calvary Church, on April 26, 2025, at 11:00 am. The Calvary Church is located at 110 North McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater, Florida 33759. The Church phone number is (727) 441-1581.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to:

River School of Government

River University

3738 River International Drive

Tampa, Florida 33610

Fond memories & kind condolences may be offered in our "Add a Memory" section below.

Thank you~

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A letter to share:

Terry and Violetta,

Thank you for sharing this letter with family and friends gathered today to celebrate and honor Carl. I so much wish I could be with you and share in your hugs, tears and blessings.

Dad was a remarkable person and a talented leader. He solved seemingly impossible problems and created opportunity, through his contagious determination, focus, creativity, vision, faith and care.

Dad advocated for innovative ideas, projects and people. He included his children and our friends in unique experiences, and translated life lessons from those experiences.

One of my early memories was when Dad invited me to join him in Tallahassee to observe congress in session. Before we arrived, Dad shared his understanding of public service with me, “I want the taxpayers and communities to whom I am responsible to be inspired by how their tax dollars are used”… he went on to share … “to whom much is given, much is expected”…

… looking back, the trust he placed in me (at age 9) to interact with and learn from law makers was extraordinary, and was the beginning of my understanding of what it means to be a steward and a fiduciary.

Dad communicated with a huge diversity of people, by finding areas of commonality … and when all else failed… his sense of humor could break the thickest ice! Who can’t help but smile at a meeting when your host shows up as Donald Duck, speaking a universally playful language?

In my 30s, I remember asking Dad to help me think through a management challenge, he supported me by asking questions I needed to answer to upgrade my thinking and understanding. He went on to encourage me to seek out leaders at the top of their fields, learn from the questions they were asking and emulate their example … he was teaching me how to discover what I did not know! I turned 59 on the day Dad died, April 2, 2025 with so much gratitude for the examples of leadership he modeled for me and so many others!

Dad, I love you, thank you for believing in and advocating for our family, and for touching so many lives and families. My heart smiles imaging you reuniting in supreme love with your father and my grandfather Carl Senior and your son and my brother Carl III.

Violetta, I am deeply grateful for the beautiful ways you have championed and loved my father, and embraced our whole family.

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Cindy Kuttler Mercer