While at Yale, Cutler became a member of the elite secret society of Skull and Bones in 1854.

Cutler came to Western Reserve College in 1860 as a professor of philosophy and rhetoric, teaching for 29 years until 1889.

In 1882, Cutler moved Western Reserve College from Hudson, Ohio, to its current location in the University Circle neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland, under the new name, Adelbert College of Western Reserve University.

Revisiting his abolitionist beliefs, he spent his remaining years teaching at small all-black colleges in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Talladega, Alabama.

He died in Talladega from pneumonia on January 25, 1894, and his body was returned to Hudson, Ohio, for burial.