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Diane Lynn Porter, a longtime UB staff member — including 18 years in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — passed away on April 16 under the care of Niagara Hospice. She was 56.

Porter joined the Dean’s Office in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in 2006 as a staff assistant. During her tenure in the office, she earned a Master of Education degree from the Graduate School of Education.

In 2010, she became a director of administration and spent the next decade serving in the role for the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. In 2019, Porter was named the assistant dean of finance and unit business officer in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

“Diane was a friend to so many and a light in every room she entered. Her presence touched our community in lasting ways, and SEAS deeply grieves this loss,” said Kemper Lewis, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Porter joined the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 2024 as the executive director of recruitment and strategic engagement before returning to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in 2025.

A native of Newfane, N.Y., she enjoyed hanging out at the pool, gardening, walking her dog, Rieley, and spending time with her family and friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 20 at St. Gregory the Great Roman Catholic Church in Amherst.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in Porter’s memory, visit the Prudden and Kandt Funeral Home website. Memorial donations may also be made to Niagara Hospice or Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.