As we move closer and closer to the 100th anniversary of the Rochester Section, I am honored to look back at the many positions and duties I have filled. These include Secretary, Treasurer, Alternate Councilor, Councilor, Chair-Elect and Chair of the Section as well as Chair of the 2004 Northeast Regional Meeting. On the National level, I have also served in many positions, including Chair-Elect, Chair, Past Chair and Councilor for the Division of Chemical Technicians (TECH), Chair of two National Committees and a member of multiple Presidential Taskforces. I presently serve as Vice Chair of the Northeast Region and in 2008, I begin a new role as Chair of the ACS Membership Affairs Committee (MAC). In each and every position held, the foundation of my service was based on seeking membership value and working hard to represent the needs of those who elected me. I also am a believer in innovative ideas and knowing when to challenge the status quo when the status quo stops making sense.I strongly feel that one cannot grasp their role on the national level if they do not have a handle on local needs. If I am to represent our members, it is vital that I “walk in their shoes”. In the many positions I have held, I feel I have done so.
We are witnessing times that are different for the ACS and challenging to every member of the Society. There is pressure in the area of membership expansion to reflect more closely the practice of science in today’s world. Throughout ACS history, we have gradually expanded our definition of the subject matter of chemical science to include chemical engineering and multi-disciplinary scientific approaches to chemistry. Now, there is more pressure than ever to expand our vision of membership to more multi-disciplinary areas while we walk a fine line between that expansion and the effort to maintain the intent of the Society. I am proud to have been appointed as a member of the ACS Governance Review Taskforce and the Membership Affairs Committee examining this potential new expansion. As Chair of the ACS Admissions Committee, I have been at the forefront of all of these efforts and, as Chair of MAC, I will serve our Rochester members, and the whole Society, in a way that expands our inclusion without dilution.
Things within the ACS are changing, and change does not come without a need for stamina. I offer that stamina as I have worked on Local Section and Division Bylaws for years and know what it takes to fight bureaucracy in order to make things happen. The Rochester Section needs to successfully blend the experience and knowledge of its massive retired chemist population with the youth and energy of younger chemists and students. We are, in fact, a Local Section in transition from an industrial-focused Section to an academic-focused one. Due to my efforts on the national level, Local Sections will hopefully soon be able to acquire complete information on active Student Affiliates in their geographic area; information that was easy to acquire before due to “different record keeping procedures”. The involvement of these students will help in this transition.
In this run for Councilor in 2007, I am offering my knowledge and experience on the national ACS scene to benefit our Section members and future members. If I were successful in this race, I know that I would have to resign my final leadership position of Immediate Past Chair. There are two roles assigned to this position:
1. That of being a source of guidance for the new leaders of the Section. As
Councilor, I can still fulfill that role.
2. Our Section Handbook gives the Immediate Past Chair the role of Membership Recruitment and Retention. As our Councilor are now required in the Bylaws to take on an active role within the Section, I will take on those specific duties so they are not forgotten due to a lack of an Immediate Past Chair.
I hope, that as Chair of this Section in 2007, you have felt a new level of energy and ideas. That is what I wanted to do as your Chair this year, and what I pledge to continue doing as your Councilor. I am proud to join ACS President Katie Hunt in the effort to build a new energy amongst our membership, so we all feel that we have “Ignition – we have liftoff”!
Biographical Information
Name:D. Richard Cobb
Address: 15-C Greenleaf Meadows, Rochester, NY 14612
Employment: 38 years of employment with the Eastman Kodak Company
Presently, a Senior Research Technician in the Materials & Media Design
Division, FPG and Division HSE Coordinator
National ACS Involvement:
* Councilor for the Division of Chemical Technicians (2007)
* Chair of the ACS Committee on Membership Affairs (MAC) (Beginning in 2008)
* Associate Member of the ACS Committee on Membership Affairs (MAC)
(2007)
* Member of the National ACS Governance Review Taskforce (2005 - 2007)
* Member of the National ACS Board Oversight Group on Leadership
Development (2005 - present)
* Vice Chair of the Northeast Region, ACS Board of Directors (2005 - present)
* Member of the Regional Activities Coordination Team (ReACT) (2004 –
2007)
* Chair of the ACS Committee on Admissions (2003 - 2005)
* Chair of the ACS Committee on Technician Activities (CTA) (2000-2002)
* Co-Chair of the National Visiting Committee for the NSF Grant to support
Chemistry-based Technician Education (2000 - 2004)
* Member of a Presidential Task Force on AIChE / ACS Joint Membership
(2004)
* Chair of the Canvassing Committee for the ACS Award for Volunteer Service
(2003)
* Member of a Presidential Task Force on Local Section/ Division Allotments
(2002)
* Member of CTPAS (Sub-Committee D) for the Society Committee on
Education (SOCED) (1999-2002)
* Member of the ACS Presidential Task Force on the Electronic Membership
Survey (2001)
* Chair-Elect, Chair and Immediate Past Chair (1996-1998) of the Division of
Chemical Technicians (TECH)
* Member of a task force for the Committee on Meetings and Expositions
(1995-1996)
Local ACS involvement:
* Chair, Rochester Section (2007)
* Chair-Elect, Rochester Section (2006)
* Bylaws Committee Chair (1998 – present)
* Secretary, Rochester Section (2005)
* General Chair, NERM 2004 (1999 – 2005)
* Councilor, Rochester Section ACS (1999 – 2003)
* Alternate Councilor, Rochester Section ACS (1998 –1999)
* Treasurer, Rochester Section, ACS) (1995 – 1997)
* Member-at-Large, Treasurer, Chair-Elect, Chair, Past Chair, and Technician Symposium Chair for the Rochester Technician Affiliate Group (TAG)
Awards:
* Northeast Region, ACS Volunteerism Award (2006)
* TECH “Special Recognition” Award (2002, 2005)
* Salutes to Excellence” Award recipient (2004)
* “Rochester Section” Award recipient (2001, 2005)
* Rochester Section, A.C.S. “Special Recognition” Award recipient (1997)
