Board Members

Director: Dr. Leonard Cutler

Leonard Cutler, Ph.D., is a Professor of Public Law and pre-law advisor in the political science department at Siena College, where he has been teaching for over thirty years.  He has been recognized for outstanding teaching both by Siena College and the American Political Science Association and has established a number of innovative learning opportunities for Siena students including the Summer Legal Fellows Program and the Jurist in Residence Program.

Cutler’s areas of expertise include criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, international law, and the U.S. Supreme Court. His research has appeared in edited volumes and in such journals as the Journal of Criminal Justice and Criminal Law Review.  Cutler has been recognized for Outstanding Criminal Justice Research by the American Criminal Justice Association and has received the Adele Mellen Prize for Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship.

Cutler is the author of several books including:  The Rule of Law and Law of War: Military Commissions and Enemy Combatants Post 9/11 (2005, Edwin Mellen Press), Developments in the National Security Policy of the United States Since 9/11: The Separate Roles of the President, the Congress, and the Supreme Court (2008,  Edwin Mellen Press)

Cutler has provided testimony before Congress, the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate in the fall of 2008, on Restoring the Rule of Law, in which he examined war powers, NSA Surveillance, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and executive privilege. He has also provided testimony to the Obama Administration on counterterrorism and national security policy.

Cutler holds a Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research.

Dr. Donald P. Levy, Director

Dr. Levy served for two years as the Director of the Institute for Social and Community Research (ISCR) at West Virginia Wesleyan College, and prior to that as Director of Research at the Center for Population Research (CPR) at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Levy holds a Ph.D., in Sociology from the University of Connecticut and a B.A. from Yale University. He has conducted numerous local, regional and national studies, presented his research in scholarly and popular venues and has been interviewed for the New York Times, Fortune, and National Public Radio.

Email: dlevy@siena.edu

James Lyons 

James Lyons is a member of the Class of 2012 and a 2008 graduate of Holy Trinity Diocesan High School on Long Island. Coming to Siena from Hicksville, New York, James is working towards his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy. Currently James is the Executive Vice President of the Siena College Political Science Society and a member of Siena College Campus Ministry where he serves as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. During the winter and summer recesses James is an intern at Ryan, Mason & Lewis, LLP an Intellectual Property Law Firm specializing in Patent Prosecution for some Fortune 500 companies as well as some smaller companies. As a student member of the Center’s Board, James works to forward the Center’s Mission by planning events through the Political Science Society, including the Voter Registration Drive and most recently the Absentee Ballot Drive.

Email: jl31lyon@siena.edu