Over the course of his professional career, Joseph B. Porter dedicated himself to improving the quality of education and government at every level of New York State. At the time of his retirement in 2019, Mr. Porter served in the State University of New York (SUNY) as Senior Vice Chancellor for Executive Leadership and Employee Development where he served as the Chancellor’s liaison with campus presidents, oversaw the operation of the offices of Human Resources and Employee Relations, and created professional development opportunities for SUNY employees. Immediately prior to that, Mr. Porter served as Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel, the chief legal officer of the State University and principal legal counsel to the Board of Trustees, the Chancellor, senior officers in system administration and the presidents of the state operated campuses.
Mr. Porter also served as Secretary of the University. Prior to joining SUNY, Mr. Porter served as Vice President for Legal & Governmental Affairs and General Counsel of Excelsior College. In that capacity Mr. Porter directed Excelsior’s legal operations, participated in the administration of the College as a member of the executive staff and served as Secretary to the Board of Trustees. Before joining Excelsior College, Mr. Porter served in the New York State Education Department, first as Deputy Counsel and later as Executive Director of the New York State Office of Teaching. During his years with the Department, Mr. Porter authored innovative regulations and legislation on a wide variety of education issues and led a series of teams responsible for implementing the Regents’ education reform agenda.
Mr. Porter also served as legal advisor to the Board of Regents’ Task Force on Teaching as it drafted groundbreaking reforms of New York’s standards for the preparation and certification of teachers. Prior to his work at the Education Department, Mr. Porter served as Deputy Counsel and Legislative representative of the New York State School Boards Association where he advised and represented over 700 school districts in New York. Mr. Porter began his career as General Counsel and Legislative Representative for the New York State Conference of Mayors where he advised and represented the mayor’s of New York’s cities and villages. A graduate of Albany Law School, Mr. Porter also holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and American Studies from Manhattan College in New York City. Over the course of his career, Mr. Porter lectured extensively around New York on a wide variety of education issues and served as Adjunct Instructor of Education Law in the Graduate School of Educational Administration of the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York from 1996 to 2010.
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