University Times

Joseph A. Dutton Jr., Pitt's former vice president of finance and treasurer, died of cancer Feb. 3 in his home in Allison Park. He was 68 years old.

A native of Rochester, N.Y., Dutton served as the University's vice president of finance and treasurer from 1971 until his retirement in 1990.

During his tenure at the University, Dutton supervised property acquisition and construction projects that added the Law School Building, Forbes Quadrangle, the Katz Graduate School of Business, Victoria Hall, Crawford Hall and the Chevron Science Building to the Pittsburgh campus.

"Joe was a guy who always found a way to get things done," said Jay Roling, Pitt's director of local relations, who used to work for Dutton. "A lot of theses have been written about Pitt's expansion in the '70s. And Joe Dutton was a very, very integral part of that expansion.

"Joe was into it all," he continued. "You look at the buildings that were built during his time and they are a considerable part of the campus today as we know it." Roling called Dutton a unique person who liked people and was full of warmth.

"He had the ability to sit down with anybody and talk about problems and get involved," Roling said. "He had no problem working in the most elite board rooms in the city or sitting down with the construction crafts working out day-to-day problems. That is kind of the realm and spectrum of his operations. He had friends on both sides of the aisle." A graduate of the University of Rochester, Dutton worked at that institution from 1954 to 1968, progressing from assistant business manager to director of business affairs.

In 1968, he left Rochester for Boston University, where he served as business manager and acting vice president for business and chief fiscal officer prior to coming to Pitt in 1971.

During his career, Dutton also served as a trustee and chair of the finance committee of the College Entrance Examination Board in New York City; director of the Eastern Association of College and University Business officers, and a member of the taxation committee of the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

At the time of his death, Dutton was chair of the Laurel Savings Association, which has six offices in northern Allegheny and southern Butler counties.

Dutton is survived by his wife, Monica; two daughters, Elizabeth Burgett of Annandale, Va., and Julia Smith of Grand Rapids, Mich.; a son, Joseph III of Allison Park; two sisters, Mary Smythe of Leesburg, Fla., and Patricia Gartland of Penfield, N.Y., and five grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1028 Benton Ave., Pittsburgh 15212, or to the University of Rochester.