In his 34 years at CWRU, Ken Kutina has managed almost $300 million in campus construction, renovation and improvement projects; raised $57 million in new gift and grant money; and still found the time to author 26 professional papers on simulation modeling and other analytical tools for higher education management.

Kutina, CWRU's vice president of institution planning since 1990, will retire from the University June 30.

Although he's left his mark on almost every building on campus, Kutina, who earned a bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate from CWRU and taught here for several years, said his greatest accomplishment at the University may be one that has yet to take concrete shape.

"I'm very proud of the new master plan," Kutina said. "We had more than 1,500 contacts with people for input and ideas. We conducted a national search and selected one of the best campus planners in the country to serve as our consultants. I'm very proud of both the process and the result."

The plan, which calls for sweeping changes across campus, is likely to be a large part of his legacy.

"Ken's crowning achievement is the role he has played in choosing an architect and helping to develop this most recent master plan," said Robert D. Storey, University trustee and chair of the board's Facilities and Grounds Committee. "This plan will change the face of University Circle and the destiny of this University. What this plan means to the University, to the Circle and to Cleveland is hard to quantify."

Kutina, who joined the University Office of Plans and Programs in 1968 and was named senior associate dean for the School of Medicine in 1980, also was a member of the steering committee for CWRU's 1988 master plan. About 95 percent of the projects outlined in that first plan have been completed, many under his oversight.

"We've been able to do what we have, which is considerable, because of him," said Dorothy Humel Hovorka, honorary trustee. "Ken Kutina is one of the most important people at CWRU. His knowledge and his brilliance have helped us through major campus building programs. He is is one of the most highly respected, highly responsible individuals. He's been an inspiration, especially to trustees who serve on the facilities and grounds committee."

In addition to his master planning, Kutina said bringing to fruition the Agnar Pytte Science Center for Education and Research and the Peter B. Lewis Building have been career highlights. The Lewis Building, he is pleased to report, is coming in on time and within the budget established three years ago by trustees at the start of construction.

The Lewis Building and the Pytte Center, Kutina said, also have been the most challenging projects he has worked on: the Pytte Center because the renovation involved combining three separate, aging buildings-all occupied-and the Lewis Building because of its unique design.

"The Lewis Building took a lot of effort, a lot of diligence, but we are very close to being done," he said. "That's one of the reasons I chose June 30 as my final day at the University. I knew we would have both the Lewis Building and the Pytte Science Center essentially completed at that point, and I felt responsible to see them through."

Another "tremendously satisfying" achievement in Kutina's career was helping to revitalize the science, research and clinical programs and facilities at the School of Medicine.

Kutina and his colleagues at the medical school started the nearly 20-year process with strategic planning in the mid-1970s. The project, which culminated with the completion of the Biomedical Research Building in 1992, helped the medical school raise its National Institutes of Health ranking from around 35 to the top 15.

"Ken has been just terrific," said Frederick C. Robbins, dean emeritus at the School of Medicine. "I relied on him absolutely. I have the greatest confidence in him."

Named vice president emeritus in May, Kutina will return to the medical school in August to work part time on academic activities, strategic planning projects and resource development.

In addition to all that he leaves behind, Kutina also has influenced the future of the campus—but not just with his master planning.

"Not only has Ken left his mark though all of his past work and a legacy through his imprint contained within the master plan, Ken also has set the standard and leaves us with an elevated expectation of the role of an office of institutional planning," said Interim President James Wagner.

"I'd like to be remembered for being a quiet, diligent but creative planner and truly professional manager of high moral character and integrity," Kutina said, "I'd like to be remembered as someone who did a lot for the University but without personal fanfare."

Add former CWRU President Agnar Pytte to those who are sounding the trumpets for him.

"The CWRU campus has been transformed in recent years. Much of that transformation as well as planning for the future were guided by Ken Kutina," Pytte said. "I very much enjoyed working with him."

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