Odie Brant Porter will join the Syracuse University staff in August as assistant provost for planning and analysis. She comes to SU from the University of Iowa, where she is senior advisor for provost operations. In her new position, she will assist in developing mechanisms for more effectively utilizing university resources. Her initial assignments will focus on the Academic Plan.
"I am extremely honored to be asked to join the provost's staff at Syracuse University," Porter says. "I feel fortunate and look forward to working with many talented and accomplished people in a place that I consider 'home.' "
Porter is a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, and grew up on the nation's Allegany Territory in Western New York. Her husband, Robert Odawi Porter, will join the College of Law as professor and Dean's Research Scholar of Indigenous Nations Law.
Before joining the University of Iowa in 2002, Porter was budget director at the University of Kansas, where she oversaw an annual $330 million budget. Previously, she worked as a financial planner and financial analyst for the Payless ShoeSource Corp. and as comptroller of the Seneca Nation.
Porter earned an M.B.A. from the University of Kansas. She is a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, and has been a member of the boards of directors of Women's Transitional Care Services and Lawrence Indian Center. She developed and then chaired the Seneca Nation of Indians Investment Management Board from 1994-95.
