Chronicle of Higher Education features Hart, Silka in article about community-focused research
In an article about how the insular world of academia can prevent community-focused research, The Chronicle of Higher Education spoke to David Hart, director of the University of Maine Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and professor of biological sciences, and Linda Silka, senior fellow at the Mitchell Center. When Hart and Silka started the Mitchell Center, advisers from the National Academy of Science told them to not let untenured faculty members take part in the project because it could be a strike against them in tenure review. Hart and Silka decided to ignore the advice from senior scientists and allow junior faculty members to join the Mitchell Center’s work while committing to mentoring those researchers. Over a decade, everyone who has come up for tenure has been successful, Hart said.