The following summary is provided to help Councilors report to their local sections and divisions on key actions and discussions of the ACS Council and Board of Directors at the 2009 fall national meeting.
ACTIONS OF THE COUNCIL
Election Results
- The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to the Council the following slate of candidates for membership on the Committee on Committees beginning in 2010: G. Bryan Balazs, Dawn A. Brooks, Victoria L. Finkenstadt, Wayne E. Jones, Jr., John M. Long, Les W. McQuire, Ingrid Montes, Douglas J. Raber, Frankie K. Wood-Black, and Steven W. Yates. By electronic ballot, the Council elected G. Bryan Balazs, Dawn A. Brooks, Les W. McQuire, Ingrid Montes, and Frankie K. Wood-Black for the 2010-2012 term.
- The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to the Council the following slate of candidates for membership on the Council Policy Committee beginning in 2010: R. Gerald Bass, Alan B. Cooper, M. Elizabeth Derrick, Thomas R. Gilbert, Lydia E. M. Hines, Willem R. Leenstra, Sally B. Peters, and Carolyn Ribes. By electronic ballot, the Council elected M. Elizabeth Derrick, Thomas R. Gilbert, Willem R. Leenstra, and Carolyn Ribes for the 2010-2012 term.
- The Council Policy Committee presented to the Council the following slate of candidates for membership on the Committee on Nominations and Elections: Roger F. Bartholomew, Dwight W. Chasar, Milagros Delgado, Kevin J. Edgar, John W. Finley, Martin L. Gorbaty, Sharon P. Shoemaker, Walter O. Siegl, Herbert B. Silber, and Ellen B. Stechel. By electronic ballot, the Council elected Dwight W. Chasar, Milagros Delgado, Kevin J. Edgar, Sharon P. Shoemaker, and Ellen B. Stechel for the 2010-2012 term.
Candidates for President-Elect and Board of Directors
The candidates for the fall 2009 ACS national election were announced as follows:
President-Elect 2010:
- Nancy B. Jackson, International Chemical Threat Reduction Department
Manager, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM - Cheryl A. Martin, Currently on sabbatical; former Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Rohm and Haas Company, Philadelphia, PA
- Mary Virginia Orna, Professor of Chemistry, College of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY (Petition candidate)
- Dennis Chamot, Associate Executive Director, Division of Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council, Washington, DC
- H. N. Cheng, Research Chemist, US Department of Agriculture, New Orleans, LA
- Ray A. Dickie, Retired, Ford Motor Company, Efland, NC
- Valerie J. Kuck, Retired, Lucent Technologies, Montclair, NJ
- Howard M. Peters, Retired, Peters, Verny, LLP, Palo Alto, CA
Director, District I - 2010-2012:
- D. Richard Cobb, Senior Research Technician, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY
- Neil D. Jespersen, Professor of Chemistry, St. Johns University, Jamaica, NY
- Judith L. Benham, Retired, 3M Company, St. Paul, MN
- Peter K. Dorhout, Vice Provost, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Petitions (For Action)
- The Council received two amendments to the ACS Constitution and Bylaws for action: The Petition on Candidate Selection by Member Petition – (to be considered for Urgent Action) and the Petition on Election Timelines and Procedures 2009.
- The Petition on Candidate Selection by Member Petition proposes to permit candidates to be selected by a petition process from members. To be considered for urgent action, the petition required a ¾ affirmative vote. After considerable discussion, a vote to consider the petition at the 2009 fall meeting FAILED. Absent urgent action, the Petition on Candidate Selection by Member Petition will now be up for action at the 2010 spring meeting of the Council.
o Next, the Council discussed in great detail the Petition on Election Timelines and Procedures 2009. This petition proposes to shorten certain election timelines and change petition candidates (who go straight on the ballot if they obtain enough signatures) to petition nominees (who need to be screened by Council along with other nominees chosen by the Committee on Nominations and Elections). After rejecting a request to have a recorded vote, the Council VOTED to recommit the petition to the Committee on Nominations and Elections with instructions. Following this action, N&E sought input through a nonbinding survey to help guide their revisions. A revised petition will likely be up for action at the 2010 spring Council meeting.
(For Consideration)
• The Council received one petition for consideration: the Petition on Admissions Committee. This petition removes the Admissions Committee from the Bylaws and transfers its functions to the Council Committee on Membership Affairs. Action is expected on the petition at the 2010 spring meeting.
Committee Review
• As part of a regular performance review, the Council VOTED to continue the Committees on Chemical Safety, Minority Affairs, Chemical Abstracts Service, Technician Affairs, and Analytical Reagents. Continuing the first three committees requires Board of Directors concurrence.
Registration Report and 2010 National Meeting Registration Fee
• As of August 19, 2009, the ACS fall national meeting had attracted 14,319 registrants. This was the largest Washington meeting in history. Totals in select categories are as follows: Regular attendees 8,575; Students 3,159; Guests 462; Exhibit Only 676; and Exhibitors 1,447. In keeping with the objective of the National Meeting Long Range Financial Plan, previously approved by the Board of Directors and Council, the Meetings and Expositions Committee recommended to the Board an increase of $10 for the 2010 national meeting registration fee. The Board will act on this recommendation shortly.
Membership Activity
• The provisions of the Petition on Membership Categories and Requirements were fully implemented this past June with the transfer of former Student Affiliates to Student Member status, and Associate Members to regular Member status. As of July 31, the Society had 9,732 Student Members – 6,500 of them former Student Affiliates and more than 3,000 of them new Student Members.
Dissolution of the Division of Chemical Technicians
• At the 2009 spring Council meeting, the Divisional Activities Committee (DAC) reported that it had voted to accept a recommendation from the Division of Chemical Technicians (TECH) that the division disband and to recommend this action to Council in the fall. On recommendation of DAC, as recommended by TECH, the Council VOTED to disband the Division of Chemical Technicians effective December 31, 2009. DAC agreed that TECH has accomplished its mission of enhancing the status of technicians in the American Chemical Society, and now they are integrated into the other technical divisions.
Changes to Charter Bylaws for New Local Sections and International Chemical Sciences Chapters and Bylaws for Divisions in Probationary Status
• The Council VOTED to accept changes to charter bylaws for new local sections and international chemical sciences chapters, and bylaws for divisions in probationary status. These changes, which were developed in cooperation with the Committees on Divisional Activities, Local Section Activities, and International Activities, are a result of changes to the Constitution and Bylaws made as a result of the Petition on Membership Categories and Requirements, which became effective on June 30.
ACTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board Committees and Task Force Actions
• The Board of Directors VOTED to approve nominees for the 2010 Perkin Medal and the Alan T. Waterman Award. The Perkin Medal, awarded by the American section of the Society of Chemical Industry to a scientist residing in the US, recognizes innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development. The Alan T. Waterman Award, presented by the National Science Foundation, recognizes an outstanding young researcher in any field of science or engineering.
• The Committee on Public Affairs and Public Relations announced the designation of “Dip-and-read Tests for Blood and Urine Glucose” (work of Al and Helen Free) as a National Historic Chemical Landmark. The committee also reported on its approval of a new healthcare policy statement, received from the Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs.
• The Board VOTED to approve an action recommended by the Committee on Professional & Member Relations to accept with minor revisions the key terms contained in a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ACS and the Royal Society of Chemistry. The MOU: a) offers an opportunity for the ACS and RSC to develop and distribute a “primer,” both in hard-copy and electronic format, to provide the wider population with a basic understanding of the chemistry underlying issues related to sustainability; b) provides a series of joint seminars in the UK, US and elsewhere with participation by scientists, media and decision-makers to focus on sustainability; and c) supports collaboration on activities that train scientists to address issues relating to sustainability and other global challenges in non-technical, readily understandable communications.
• On the recommendation of the Committee on Budget and Finance, the Board VOTED to fund a new program (Science Coaches) and to reauthorize an existing program (ACS Green Chemistry Institute ®) in the 2010 budget.
• The Board of Directors received a report from the Board–Presidential Task Force on Education This task force is charged with 1) reviewing recommendations contained in national STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education reports released during the past five years; 2) identifying specific actions that the Society could undertake in response to these recommendations; and 3) creating a priority list of actionable items where the Society can have a unique impact on STEM education. The new Science Coaches initiative was one of the task force’s recommendations.
The Society’s Finances
• In view of the ongoing global recession and its impact of the Society’s finances, the Board received an update on the Society’s current financial position and the projected financial performance for 2009. The Society is projected to end the year with a net contribution from operations of $11.2 million, or $528,000 favorable to the 2009 approved budget. The favorable projection is largely the result of Contingency Plan actions and expense management initiatives implemented in early 2009, which are expected to fully offset revenue shortfalls in the Approved Budget across several categories.
Strategic Issues
• At its retreat held earlier this year, the Board developed a “dashboard,” i.e. a list of possible Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to ACS strategic progress. At this meeting, a Board task force presented a draft dashboard for review. The Board agreed to continue this discussion at its December meeting.
The Executive Director/CEO Report
• The Executive Director/CEO, along with several of her direct reports, updated the Board on the activities of the Publications Division, Chemical Abstracts Service, and the Society’s General Counsel (including the Leadscope litigation). As a part of the Publications report, the Board VOTED to approve the re-appointment of three journal editors.
Compensation of Society Executive Staff
• The Board received a report from its Committee on Executive Compensation and voted to approve several actions relative to compensation for the Society’s Executive staff. The compensation of the Society’s executive staff receives regular review from the Board.
Other Society Issues
• The Board received a briefing from its Chair on her recent meeting with International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) leaders and plans for the International Year of Chemistry-2011 (IYOC-2011). The Board also was briefed by International leaders from the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS), the German Chemical Society, the Korean Chemical Society, the Mexican Chemical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Serbian Chemical Society on their strategic directions and on their plans for IYOC-2011.
• With the creation of the ACS Leadership Development System, the Society is now better positioned to create the skilled leadership needed to advance as the world’s largest scientific society and to achieve its mission. In recognition of this achievement, the Board awarded plaques to its Oversight Group on Leadership Development for outstanding work on this major initiative.
The Board received a briefing on a new program to equip ACS members to be more effective spokespersons for chemistry. It is called the Chemistry Ambassadors program, and information may be found at www.acs.org/chemistryambassadors
IMPORTANT NEWS: At the Washington National Meeting, the Rochester Section received a ChemLuminary Award for “The Most Innovative New Activity or Program in a Local Section in 2008”.
Please remember that as Councilor, I am your voice on the national level. Feel free to contact me at 477-4903, email me at d.richard.cobb@kodak.com
or write me at:
D. Richard Cobb
15-C Greenleaf Meadows, Rochester, NY 14612.
Thank you!
