2017 Washington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Council Actions

Amendments to the ACS Bylaws

• A recommendation by the Committee on Membership Affairs that Council approve the Petition on International Chemical Sciences Chapters narrowly failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required to amend the Bylaws.  The proposal would have amended Bylaw IX, Section 4, to permit financial support for International Chemical Sciences Chapters and to remove language from the Bylaws prohibiting Chapters from having representation on Council.

 

Probationary Division of Space Chemistry

• The Council defeated a proposal from the Committee on Divisional Activities that it establish a probationary Division of Space Chemistry, effective January 1, 2018.

 

Change in Local Section Territory

• On the recommendation of the Committee on Local Section Activities, the Council approved a petition from the South Jersey Local Section to annex the unassigned and adjacent territory of Ocean County, New Jersey.

 

Resolutions

• The Council passed resolutions in memory of deceased Councilors; acknowledging President Allison A. Campbell’s service as presiding officer of the Council; and in gratitude for the officers and members of the Chemical Society of Washington, the host Section for the 254th National Meeting, the divisional program chairs and symposium organizers, and ACS staff.

 

Highlights from Committee Reports

Nominations and Elections

The Committee on Nominations and Elections solicits Councilors’ input of qualified individuals for President-Elect and/or Directors for future consideration. Suggestions may be sent to nomelect@acs.org.

Ballots for the 2017 fall national election will be distributed on September 29, with a voting deadline four weeks later, on October 27. In a change of procedures, all members with an email address on file and eligible to vote will receive an electronic ballot with the option to request a paper ballot. Those members with no email address on file will be sent a paper ballot with the option to still vote electronically. The ACS election vendor, Survey & Ballot Systems, will send three email reminders during the voting period to those who have not voted as of the reminder date.

Budget and Finance

The Society’s 2017 Probable 1 Projection calls for a Net from Operations of $25.3 million. This is $2.1 million favorable to the Approved Budget and $1.6 million higher than 2016.  Total revenues are projected to be $553.0 million, which is $2.4 million unfavorable to the budget, but 5.0% higher than the prior year. Total expenses are projected at $527.6 million, which is $4.5 million favorable to the budget, and 4.9% higher than 2016. 

The Committee considered several program funding requests for 2018, and on its recommendations, the Board subsequently approved funding for the ACS Online Course in Laboratory Safety and the New Faculty Workshop Series for inclusion in the 2018 Proposed Budget and the 2019-2020 Forecast.

Additional information can be found at www.acs.org, at the bottom of the page, click ‘About ACS’, then ‘Financial’.  There you will find several years of the Society’s audited financial statements and IRS 990 filings.

Washington Meeting Attendance

The theme of the 254^th ACS National Meeting was “Chemistry’s Impact on the Global Economy.” As of Tuesday evening, August 22, attendance was:

Attendees              7,938    

Students                2,997    

Exhibitors             1, 068

Expo only                 475

Guest                       426

Total                   12,904

 

Petitions to Amend the Constitution and Bylaws

New petitions to amend the Constitution or Bylaws must be received by the Executive Director no later than November 29 to be included in the Council agenda for consideration at the spring 2018 meeting in New Orleans. Contact the Committee on Constitution and Bylaws with any questions or requests for information at bylaws@acs.org

 

Actions of the Board of Directors

The Board’s Executive Session

At this meeting, the ACS Board of Directors considered a number of key strategic issues and responded with several actions.

 

The Board’s Committees

 

The Board of Directors received and discussed reports from its committees on the Petroleum Research Fund, Strategic Planning, Corporation Associates, Executive Compensation, Professional and Member Relations, the Society Committee on Budget and Finance, the ACS Governing Board for Publishing, and the Joint Board-Council Task Force on Governance Design.

 

• On the recommendation of the Committee on Professional and Member Relations, the Board voted to approve the Society’s nominees for the 2018 Perkin Medal, and the 2018 National Science Board Public Service Award.

 

• On the recommendation of the Joint Board-Council Committee on Publications and an Editor Selection Committee, the Board voted to approve the appointment and reappointment of several editors-in-chief for ACS journals.

 

• On the recommendation of the Society Committee on Budget and Finance, the Board voted to approve the advance member registration fee for national meetings held in 2018 at $475; and to authorize two new program funding requests: an ACS Online Course in Laboratory Safety, and a New Faculty Workshop Series.

 

The Executive Director/CEO Report

 

• The Executive Director/CEO and his direct reports provided updates to the Board on the activities of Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) and the ACS Publications Division. He offered current and proposed strategies to increase membership in the Society; reported on safety initiatives, resources and security; and provided an update on the Atlantic Basin Conference on Chemistry (ABCChem) scheduled for January 2018.  As part of his report, he invited the Treasurer to brief the Board on the Enterprise Financial Systems Program (EFSP), which is unifying several financial operations for Society staff; the Financial Planning Conference in early November; and ACS Development Activities.

 

Other Society Business

 

• The Board held discussions with members of the Presidential Succession on their current activities and those planned for 2018.

 

• The Board also held a discussion with officers and members of the board of directors of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) on what governance participation might look like at the organizations’ annual meetings, possible meetings between ACS and NOBCChE at the ACS Leadership Institute, dual membership between both organizations, strategic alliances of student chapters at the local section and regional levels, and ACS Board participation at NOBCChE Annual Conferences.

 

The Board’s Regular Session

The Board held a well-attended regular session which featured a discussion on the role ACS and its members play in advocating for adoption of important public policy priorities to foster scientific advancement and innovation.  Mr. Glenn Ruskin, Director, External Affairs & Communications in the Office of the Secretary and General Counsel, and Mr. Anthony Pitagno, Director of Government Affairs and Outreach, External Affairs & Communications, spoke about the critically important role federal investment in basic research plays in driving U.S. innovation, job creation and economic growth.  A question and answer session followed the presentation, first with the presenters, and then with the Board for general concerns and comments.

Prior to the presentation, members of the presidential succession and the Executive Director and CEO offered brief reports on their activities. The officers provided more extensive reports on their activities and/or future plans as part of their written and oral reports to the Council.

 

 

 

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FOR COUNCILORS

The following is a list of URLs and email addresses for supplemental information presented in reports at the Council meeting. 

Officers

Allison A. Campbell, President                                a.campbell@acs.org

Peter K. Dorhout, President-Elect                           p.dorhout@acs.org

Donna J. Nelson, Immediate Past President         djnelson@ou.edu

 

ACS Offices

Office of the Executive Director & CEO                  executivedirector@acs.org

Office of the Secretary & General Counsel           secretary@acs.org

 

Committees

 

Budget and Finance

bffeedback@acs.org

www.acs.org  à About ACS à Financial

 

Chemical Abstracts

wdcornell@yahoo.com

 

Chemical Safety

safety@acs.org

Safety in Academic Chemical Laboratories: www.acs.org/SACL

 

Constitution and Bylaws

bylaws@acs.org  

Governing Documents: www.acs.org/bulletin5

 

Economic and Professional Affairs

Work-related Visa Working Group: policy@acs.org

 

International Activities

Asia-Pacific International Chapters Conference: www.acs.org/APICC

 

Local Section Activities

www.acs.org/getinvolved

 

Minority Affairs

Donate to ACS Scholars: www.donate.acs.org

 

Social Media:

www.ChemDiversity.org

www.facebook.com/ACS.CMA

@chemdiversity

www.linkedin.com/company/chemdiversity-acs-cma

 

Nominations and Elections

nomelect@acs.org

 

Younger Chemists Committee

Catalyze the Vote:  

http://ycc.sites.acs.org/catalyzethevote.htm

#CatalyzeTheVote

#CtV

 

International Younger Chemists: www.facebook.com/IYCN.global

 

Other

 

Advocacy Toolkit (President): www.acs.org/advocacy

 

Online Information for Councilors

http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/about/governance/councilors.html