(CNN) Thomas Sutherland, who was held hostage in Lebanon for more than six years, died Saturday in Fort Collins, Colorado, according to Colorado State University, where he'd been a professor. He was 85. Sutherland was dean of agriculture at the American University of Beirut when eight gunmen abducted him on June 9, 1985. He was released on November 18, 1991, having spent 2,353 days in captivity -- the longest of all the hostages taken by Hezbollah during that period, except for Terry Anderson. Sutherland was "physically abused by his captors, who on one occasion subjected him to a most severe beating with a rubber truncheon, first on the soles of his feet and thereafter over his entire body until he was black and blue everywhere," according to a lawsuit he and other hostages filed against Iran for its role in supporting Hezbollah, the Islamic group that carried out the abductions.Gunmen abducted Sutherland, an American University professor, in 1985He was held captive more than six years in LebanonHe died Saturday in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he lived and taught
"The entire _ community joins once again in honoring a true hero -- who believed that an understanding of agricultural science could bring relief to people and communities in hunger — and that education could be a force for good and light in our world that would transcend borders and differences among nations," Frank said.