Ph.D. candidate named new executive director of Herring Gut Learning Center – S. Belknap
The Herring Gut Learning Center, a nonprofit marine education center in Port Clyde, has selected University of Maine Ph.D. candidate Samuel Belknap as its next executive director.
Belknap is currently pursuing a doctorate in anthropology and environmental policy through Adaptation to Abrupt Climate Change, a National Science Foundation IGERT fellowship program. A native of Midcoast Maine, Belknap grew up in the towns of Damariscotta and Bristol, learning to lobster on Muscongus Bay with his father and grandfather. Before beginning his Ph.D. studies, Belknap graduated from Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, earned a bachelor’s degree from UMaine in anthropology and a master’s degree in quaternary and climate studies from the Climate Change Institute.
In a new release put out by the Herring Gut Learning Center, Belknap said he has long admired the organization’s work, engaging public school teachers and students in hands-on aquaculture and marine science programs.
“Herring Gut has a special place in my heart,” Belknap said. “Having struggled in traditional classroom settings, especially in high school, I know firsthand the difference that experiential learning and one-on-one time with exceptional educators can make.”
The full Herring Gut Learning Center news release is online.