Dan Valles traveled 2,338.7 miles from Oregon to start his new position as vice president for finance and administration at Albion College on Nov. 11.
According to President Wayne Webster, the role consists of “a lot of the bigger picture, behind-the-scenes, but really important operations that make the campus function.”
These operations include accounting, the budget, human resources, facilities, technology and contracts with Metz Dining. But to Valles, the role goes beyond the oversight of these departments.
“My perspective on the job is that this role is here, this division is here, as a service to the institution,” Valles said.
Valles said he likes to work for “mission-driven organizations” and use his skill set to take potentially complicated information and “help others understand it.”
“And so here I am, I find that I have this skill set, so what do I do with it?” Valles said. “I can’t teach in a classroom like a professor can, I can’t advise like a student affairs professional can, but I can work a spreadsheet pretty well.”
However, Valles said he “never intended to be in this job.”
Valles’ dream was to be a restaurateur. He attended the University of San Francisco, majoring in business administration with an emphasis in hospitality management. He later helped his friend open a restaurant in San Francisco and worked in restaurants “for a bit” before moving into institutional food service.
Over time, he transitioned into a role in student affairs as financial support at Portland State University. From there, Valles moved through “various budget, finance and operation roles in higher education,” he said.
Then, when his boss at Willamette University retired, he was asked to take on the role of vice president for finance and administration. He said yes.
“My career path – like many – was not what I thought it was going to be. I ended up in this role because opportunities arose and I said yes,” Valles said.
Those opportunities and experiences have prepared him for Albion, Valles said.
“I’m coming from an institution that was in some ways similar to Albion,” Valles said. “That institution had some financial challenges, and one of my tasks was to help that institution get back on solid footing.”
Valles said he thinks Willamette University is on “good footing now to navigate their path into the future” and working there prepared him well. Higher education is a “challenging market,” Valles said, adding that small institutions are “always going to have challenges.”
“I think this institution has done a lot of good work at addressing their challenges,” Valles said. “One of the reasons that this (job) appealed to me is because this is an institution that needs some help, and I’d like to help.”
The institution isn’t the only thing Valles said he wants to be here for.
“If there’s anything students are curious about, I’m happy to have a conversation,” Valles said.
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