Since 2005, I have had the honor of being part of the ACS Governance Review Taskforce. This taskforce, jointly appointed by the ACS Board of Directors and the ACS Council Policy Committee (CPC), had the task of reviewing how the ACS operated and how it might evolve for renewed growth and relevance in the 21st century.
From the beginning, we have had many concepts floated - some drastic and some mild. Some are moving on, some have been tabled or outright discarded. One concept coming forth could reshape ACS membership more than in any other time in its history. The concept was laid out in a white paper prepared by the ACS Membership Affairs Committee (MAC), of which I am an Associate Member. This white paper examined the categories and levels of membership within the Society, as well as ACS membership requirements. From this review, MAC proposed a far-reaching expansion of potential membership while clarifying terms that have been questionable or confusing in the past.
This proposal will be presented to the ACS Council for consideration at this month's National Meeting in Boston. One or more of the proposal's recommendations could then come up for a vote at the spring meeting in New Orleans. I thought it would be of value to our local membership to be aware of these recommendations so that you can see how these changes might affect our Society - affect it, in my opinion, for the better.
Here are the key proposals coming forth from MAC:
*If approved, these changes would make anyone with a Bachelor's or higher degree in a natural science, engineering, or science education eligible for membership. In addition, any individual with an Associate's degree in chemical science or chemical technology would also be eligible, as would any qualified pre-college chemistry teacher not able to meet the above requirements. Currently, depending on the degree acquired, an applicant with a BS degree could be required to have 3 years of work experience before being eligible for full membership. Likewise, all applicants with an AS or equivalent degree could be required to have 5 years of work experience before being eligible for full membership. The proposal would also retain a provision allowing the Admissions Committee to approve for membership those whose chemical knowledge and training is attained in the course of work experience.
*If approved, these changes would enable all who currently qualify for Associate Membership to become full Members, making retention of the membership category "Associate Member" unnecessary.
*There is currently considerable confusion regarding Student Affiliates, many of whom think they are ACS "members". There is a consensus that they should be accorded member status. MAC's proposal is that a STUDENT MEMBER category be created, granting them all the rights of membership except those of holding national office. The provisions governing this membership category would be patterned after the current ASSOCIATE MEMBER, and Divisions and Local Sections would have the option of allowing, but would not be required to allow, them to serve as officers in the Division or Local Section. (Because the current ASSOCIATE MEMBER category would be rendered unnecessary, it is proposed that a straightforward way of effecting these changes in the Society's documents will be to replace the term "ASSOCIATE MEMBER" with "STUDENT MEMBER" in almost every place that it occurs.)
So what does this mean to you, a member of the Rochester Section? This means that the ACS will be opening up its membership to a more multi-disciplinary workforce in the future. It means that those who may have had a non-chemistry degree, but who worked heavily in the chemistry arena, can now become members without having to meet a level of work experience. It means that students, who did not feel a full part of the Society, can do so now as "Student Members" and we, a Local Section identity, can now have a record of what students in the area are members so we can draw on them for involvement within the Section. In the past, those records were kept separate from the ACS membership records and were almost impossible to acquire. We realized that when trying to locate Student Affiliates in organizing NERM 2004. Also, we have the power to allow the new "Student Members" to run for local office, allowing us more of a pool to draw from when looking for candidates. This is a situation that is getting harder and harder each year. This will allow us new blood, fresh ideas and a new energy locally. Should this pass, I would urge that we, the Rochester Section, immediately review our Bylaws and allow for Student Members to run for local office.
For some time now, I have said that the ACS is changing and this is a good example of it. If you have any thoughts about these changes, I suggest you contact one of our two Councilors or myself who can make sure that your thoughts are passed on during discussions at the Boston meeting August 19th - 23rd.
Councilor Lew Allen = lallen10@rochester.rr.com
Councilor James Reynolds = james.reynolds@kodak.com
D. Richard Cobb
2007 Chair
Rochester Section, ACS
d.richard.cobb@kodak.com
(585) 727-4903
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
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