Dan Walleri, the former head of research and development at Mt. Hood Community College, died July 9, due to a stroke two days prior.

“It’s a tremendous loss… truly a loss that [will] be difficult to replace,” said MHCC President Robert Silverman.

Walleri was born Nov. 23, 1948, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As a child, Walleri moved from city to city, first to Burley, Idaho then to Walla Walla, Wash., then to Seattle. In 1964, Walleri came to Portland and attended Lake Oswego High School in 1967.
In 1969, Walleri became a U.S. citizen.

After high school, Walleri attended the University of Portland. There he dedicated himself academically and completed his undergraduate degree in Political Science in 1971. At the University of Hawaii, Walleri earned his masters of arts in 1973 and a Ph.D. in 1976 in

Political Science. Then, in 1971 he completed a special Fellowship at the East Asian Institute, Columbia University.

Walleri joined the staff at MHCC in 1978 as a research specialist and became the director of Research and Planning in 1986.

His job was to collect data, provide interpretations of the data, then use it to help the college develop plans for the future. A variety of information came Walleri’s way, such as student performance, enrollment and institutional effectiveness. He reviewed the data to develop strategic plans, such as making recommendations to change certain policies and practices to help students succeed at school.

Walleri drafted the Institutional Effectiveness Report, creating unit assessments to meet institutional objectives and accreditation requirements. In 1997, with the director of library/accreditation liason, they presented reports of the school, which were reviewed by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools.

Walleri helped lead the plan for the Title III project from 1994 to 1999. This project was aimed at improving student services and the implementation of a management informations system. His life’s career was devoted to students receiving their education.

“Pretty much all his work helps the college, his research is utilized to help the college,” said Al Sigala, MHCC’s director of media and public relations.

Walleri was not only recognized here at MHCC, but was also recognized nationally for his work. Throughout his professional career, Walleri participated in many consulting services, workshops and was invited to different presentations.

He also published or contributed to more than 30 articles and book chapters discussing a variety of issues in community college institutional research and planning.

Walleri was an active member of the Association for Institutional Research, Pacific Northwest Association for Institutional Research and Planning, National Community College Council for Research and Planning, as well as other organizations.

“He will be missed. His legacy will continue for many years,” Silverman said.