Sherley Supporter Quits MIT

MIT Professor James Sherley ended his 12 day hunger strike in mid-February, hoping that the attention he'd gained in the effort would bring some resolution to his quest to expose and eliminate systemic racism at the university. His faculty appointment ends on June 30 (the end of the fiscal year) and he's said that even though he doesn't have tenure he doesn't have any plans to leave. It's a different story for Frank Douglas, executive director of the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation. Douglas has announced that come the end of June he'll be leaving MIT. In an email he states that he is leaving in part because of MIT's refusal to revisit the Sherley's tenure application. Sherley's statement at the conclusion of his hunger strike, in addition to MIT's official response statement, made it seem like there was the possibility the university would revisit the question of tenure for Sherley. That hasn't been the case.

Frank Douglas established the Center for Biomedical Innovation at MIT, the center which he now leads. He's worked across a number of schools and departments at MIT and been involved with a number of faculty members. His work is about collaboration and innovation across disciplines, working towards delivery of technological innovations. From the bios we could uncover it doesn't seem like Douglas has been with the university for all that long, but has compiled an impressive resume during his time.

Image of Frank Douglas from the CBI website