Richard Sagor (1949–2024) took a leave from his position as an Associate Professor of Education at Washington State University in August of 1997 to found the Institute for the Study of Inquiry in Education, an organization committed to assisting schools and educators with their local school improvement initiatives. Dick facilitated workshops on the conduct of collaborative action research throughout the United States and internationally. He also had 14 years of public school experience in administrative roles, including as an assistant superintendent, high school principal, instruction vice principal, disciplinary vice principal, and alternative school head teacher.