COUNCILOR TALKING POINTS

SUMMARY OF GOVERNANCE ACTIONS/REPORTS

 

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

232nd ACS NATIONAL MEETING

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

SEPTEMBER 10-14, 2006

 

 

The following summary is provided to help councilors report to their local sections and divisions on key actions of the ACS Council and Board of Directors at the 2006 fall national meeting. 

 

ACTIONS OF THE COUNCIL

 

Election Results

 

·        The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to Council the following slate of nominees for membership on the Committee on Committees for the 2007-2009 term:  Theodore M. Brown, H. N. Cheng, Milagros Delgado, Alan M. Ehrlich, Roland F. Hirsch, Neil D. Jespersen, Melanie J. Lesko, Vincent M. Mautino, Les W. McQuire and Charles F. Rowell.  By written ballot the Council elected H. N. Cheng, Milagros Delgado, Neil D. Jespersen, Les W. McQuire and Charles F. Rowell.

 

·        The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to Council the following slate of nominees for membership on the Council Policy Committee for the 2007-2009 term: Martha L. Casey, Dwight W. Chasar, M. Elizabeth Derrick, Thomas R. Gilbert, Joe W. Hightower, Barbara J. Peterson, Robert A. Pribush, and H. David Wohlers. By written ballot the Council elected Martha L. Casey, M. Elizabeth Derrick, Thomas R. Gilbert and Joe W. Hightower.

 

·        The Council Policy Committee presented to the Council the following slate of nominees for membership on the Committee on Nominations and Elections:  V. Dean Adams, G. Bryan Balazs, Merle I. Eiss, Marie G. Hankins, Charles P. Rader, Barbara A. Sawrey, Sharon P. Shoemaker, Herbert B. Silber, Ellen B. Stechel and Don B. Weser.   By written ballot the Council elected Merle I. Eiss, Barbara A. Sawrey, Sharon P. Shoemaker, Herbert B. Silber and Ellen B. Stechel.

 

 

 

 

 

Candidates for President-Elect and Board of Directors

 

·        The candidates for the fall 2007 ACS national election were announced as follows:

 

President-Elect 2007

Bruce E. Bursten, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Yorke E. Rhodes, Retired - New York University, New York

Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, University of Wisconsin, Madison

James A. Walsh, Retired - John Carroll University, Florida

 

Directors-at-Large – 2007-2009

William H. (Jack) Breazeale, Jr. College of Charleston, South Carolina

Dennis Chamot, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.

Peter K. Dorhout, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins

Paul R. Jones, University of North Texas, Denton

Valerie J. Kuck, Retired - Bell Labs, New Jersey

Dorothy J. Phillips, Waters Corporation, Massachusetts

Marinda L. Wu, Science is Fun! Company, California

 

Director, District I 2007-2009

Thomas R. Gilbert, Northeastern University, Boston  

Anne T. O’Brien, Consultant (Retired – Wyeth-Ayerst Research), Tarrytown

 

Director, District V 2007-2009

John E. Adams, University of Missouri, Columbia

Judith L. Benham, Retired – 3M Company, Minnesota

 

Petitions for Consideration

 

·        The Council received three petitions for consideration:  Petition on Election Procedures 2006; Petition on Multi-Year Dues; and a Petition on Rules for Nominating Members of Nominations and Elections for National Offices.  A brief discussion ensued on the Petition on Rules for Nominating Members of Nominations and Elections for National Offices. Action is expected on these petitions at the 2007 spring national meeting in Chicago.  

 

Committee Review and Committee Change in Status

 

·        As part of a regular review, the Council VOTED to continue the Committee on Public Relations and Communication, the Committee on Environmental Improvement, and the Committee on International Activities subject to concurrence by the Board of Directors.   The Council also VOTED to support the request of the Committee on Community Activities that its status be changed from an “other committee” of the Board to a joint Board-Council Committee.  The purpose of the Committee on Community Activities is to improve the public perception of chemistry by providing programs to connect chemists with their communities. 

 

Governance Review

 

·        The Council received a report from the Council Policy Committee on activities related to Governance Review.  The Board-CPC Governance Review Task Force generated 23 ideas following initial interaction with the Board, Council, Committees and other interested members.  A joint meeting of the Board of Directors and CPC was held at this meeting to prioritize the 23 ideas into three categories:  to advance the idea as worthy of further consideration by the cognizant committee and/or interested groups; to refine the idea which will be sent back to the Governance Review Task Force for further consideration; or to place the idea in a “stop” category as an idea that will receive no further consideration as part of the governance review.  Councilors received a listing of the 23 ideas organized into the three categories as prioritized jointly by the Board and CPC.

 

Registration Report and 2007 National Meeting Registration Fee

 

·        As of September 12, 2006, the ACS fall national meeting had attracted 15,603 registrants.  Totals in select categories are as follows:  Regular attendees 9,373; Students 3,350; Guests 510; Exhibit Only 504; and Exhibitors 1,666.  The Committee on Meetings and Expositions reported that national meeting financial targets continue to be met, and therefore recommended to the Board of Directors that there be no increase in national meeting registration fees for 2007.

 

The Society’s Membership

 

·        The Committee on Membership Affairs reported that through August 2006, a record 12,137 new applicants have been added to the Society’s membership, and that the Member-Get-A-Member campaign is well on its way to the goal of 1,000 new members in this year.

 

Special Discussion Item

 

·        A special discussion item was again put on the Council agenda. The discussion focused on ensuring the American Chemical Society’s future by engaging younger members throughout the Society’s volunteer leadership.  ACS President E. Ann Nalley framed the discussion by presenting the results of a councilor survey on the topic and many councilors offered useful comments and suggestions.   

 

Review of the Chemical Professional’s Code of Conduct

 

·        The Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs submitted its latest version of the Chemical Professional’s Code of Conduct for Council review.  This document offers guidance for Society members in various professional dealings, especially those involving conflicts of interest.

 

ACTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

The Board’s Committees and Task Forces

 

·        The Board of Directors voted to recommend a nominee for both the 2007 Perkin Medal and the 2007 Othmer Gold Medal.  The Perkin Medal, the highest award of the Society of Chemical Industry, is awarded for outstanding contributions to American industrial chemistry.  The Othmer Gold Medal recognizes a chemical scientist of multiple talents and achievements and is awarded by the Chemical Heritage Foundation.  The Board also received a report from the ACS Petroleum Research Fund Steering Committee.  The Steering Committee has been charged with developing a set of focusing proposals that will be important to the future success of the Fund.

 

·        On the recommendation of the Board Committee on Professional and Member Relations, the Board voted the following:

 

o       To approve revisions to the Guidelines for Society Cosponsorships with other organizations; 

o       To proceed with “phase one” plans to arrange the 2008 ACS/AIChE joint meeting, which involves working within the framework of the cosponsorship guidelines, engaging the support of the relevant technical divisions, and developing a suitable budget;

o       To approve the request for cooperative cosponsorship of Pacifichem 2010, to be held December 14-19, 2010, in Honolulu, Hawaii, contingent upon approval of an acceptable budget for the conference. 

 

·        The Board received and expressed support for a report presented by its Contingency Planning Working Group. The Contingency Planning Working Group was charged with developing a set of actions that could be undertaken if risks became reality for the Society. The Board’s Task Force on the Timing of Committee Appointments also presented a report. This task force was asked to review the timing of committee appointments and seek opportunities to engage the Board Chair and President earlier in the appointment process.  The Board also discussed plans for a third conference in Malta entitled, Frontiers of Chemistry III:  Research and Education in the Middle East and agreed to recommend inclusion of $50,000 for this meeting in the 2007 budget.  The conference will take place in December 2007.

 

The Society’s Mission

 

·        On the recommendation of the Committee on Planning, the Board voted to adopt a revised ACS mission statement:  “To advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people.”

 

 

 

The Society’s Publications

 

·        The Board voted to approve the reappointment of several of its journal editors.

 

The Society’s Staff

 

·        The Board received a report from the Executive Director/CEO and several of her senior staff members on the activities of the Publications Division, Chemical Abstracts Service, Human Resources, the Web Presence Project, and the Society’s General Counsel.  On the recommendation of the Committee on Executive Compensation, the Board agreed to a proposed list of 2007 organizational objectives.  The Board also received a status report from its consultants, who are helping to review the Society’s executive compensation system.  The compensation of the Society’s executive staff receives regular review by the Board.

 

The Society’s Finances

 

·        The Board, through the Committee on Budget and Finance, voted to approve funding requests for the Society’s Green Chemistry Institute and for workshops with Hispanic and Native American-serving institutions and to include these funding amounts in the Society’s 2007 proposed operating budget.  

 

The Board also received a report from the Program Review Advisory Group (PRAG).  PRAG is charged with reviewing programs of the Society (with some exceptions) on a periodic and regular basis.