Porcher is a professor of biology and director of the herbarium at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. An authority on the flora of South Carolina. Born in Berkeley County, South Carolina, he received his B.S. from the College of Charleston and Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. He trained under Dr. Wade T. Batson and serves on the advisory boards of the South Carolina Heritage Trust and the South Carolina Nature Conservancy.