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Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 10:10:17 -0400
Reply-To: Ralph Stuart <rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**uvm.edu>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: Ralph Stuart <rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**uvm.edu>
Subject: Philadelphia ACS Council Report
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:26:50 -0400
From: "George H. Wahl, Jr"
COUNCILOR TALKING POINTS
SUMMARY OF GOVERNANCE ACTIONS/REPORTS
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
228TH ACS NATIONAL MEETING
PHILADELPHIA, PA
AUGUST 22-26, 2004
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 2004 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 2005-2007 term: Lawrence Barton, Cherlynlavaugh
Bradley, George F. Cowperthwaite, Franklin A. Davis, Lissa Dulany,
Larry K. Krannich, Melanie J. Lesko, Mary Virginia Orna, Eleanor D.
Siebert and James Visintainer. By written ballot the Council elected
Lawrence Barton, Lissa Dulany, Larry K. Krannich, Mary Virginia Orna,
and Eleanor D. Siebert for the 2005-2007 term.
- The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to Council the
following slate of nominees for membership on the Council Policy
Committee for the 2005-2007 term: Rita R. Boggs, Dean W. Cooke, Ann
H. Hunt, Thomas J. Kucera, Robert A. Pett, Yorke E. Rhodes, Peter J.
Stang, and Mark Wicholas. By written ballot the Council elected Rita
R. Boggs, Dean W. Cooke, Yorke E. Rhodes, and Peter J. Stang for the
2005-2007 term.
- The Council Policy Committee presented to Council the following
slate of nominees for membership on the Committee on Nominations and
Elections: Roger F. Bartholomew, R. Gerald Bass, Frank D. Blum,
Michael P. Doyle, Carol A. Duane, Merle I. Eiss, Ruth Ann Hathaway,
Frederick G. Heineken, Roland F. Hirsch, Warren D. Hull, Jr., Robert
A. Pribush, Kathleen M. Schulz, Herbert B. Silber, and Ellen B.
Stechel. By written ballot the Council elected Frank D. Blum,
Michael P. Doyle, Carol A. Duane, Ruth A. Hathaway and Kathleen M.
Schulz for the 2005-07 term; and to fill two vacancies on the
committee, Merle I. Eiss for a 2005-06 term, and Ellen B. Stechel for
a 2005 term.
Candidates for President-Elect and Board of Directors
- The Council was informed of the candidates for the fall 2004 ACS
national election as follows:
President-Elect 2005
E. Ann Nalley, Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma
F. Sherwood Rowland, University of California, Irvine, California
Isiah M. Warner, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Director-at-Large, 2005-2007
David F. Eaton, Light Insights, LLC, Wilmington, Delaware
Judith C. Giordan, Visions in Education, Inc., Pleasanton, California
Howard M. Peters, Peters, Verny, Jones & Schmitt, LLP, Palo Alto, California
David N. Rahni, Pace University, Pleasantville, New York
Director, District II, 2005-2007
Thomas H. Lane, Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, Michigan
Diane G. Schmidt, Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio
Director, District IV, 2005-2007
Eric D. Bigham, GlaxoSmithKline, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Paul R. Jones, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
Robert L. Lichter, Merrimack Consultants, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia
John L. Massingill, Jr., Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas
Candidate Statement Guidelines: President-Elect and Board of Directors
- The Council discussed a recent decision by the Committee on
Nominations to reduce the allowable length for candidate statements
(President-Elect and Board of Directors) from 1000 words to 750. A
resolution was defeated at Council that would have allowed candidate
statements to be 1000 words or more.
Proposal for an Ethics Committee
- The Committee on Committees presented to Council a proposal for
establishing an Ethics Committee as an Other Committee of the
Council. The charge of this committee would be as follows: To
coordinate the ethics-related activities of the Society; serve as an
educational resource and clearinghouse, but not as an adjudicatory
body, for ACS members seeking guidance on ethics issues; raise
awareness of ethics issues through meeting programming and
columns/editorials; review recognition opportunities for
acknowledging ethical behavior; and develop and oversee such other
ethics-related activities as will serve ACS members and promote the
Society's standards of ethical conduct within the profession of
chemistry and its related disciplines. The Council voted to refer
the recommendation back to the Committee on Committees for further
study.
Registration Report, 2005 Advance Registration Fee, and Future
Locations of National Meetings
- As of August 24, 2004, the ACS fall national meeting had attracted
13,805 registrants as follows: Regular attendees 7,741; Students
2,919; Guests 482; Exhibit only 734; and Exhibitors 1,929. The 2005
advance registration fee was announced as $295. The Council approved
2014 meeting sites as follows: Washington, D.C. (March 16-20) and
San Francisco (August 24-28). The Committee on Meetings and
Expositions will be requesting that the Board of Directors agree to
switch the New York 2010 meeting with the Boston 2012 site due to
projected construction on the New York Convention Center.
Membership Statistics
- The Council was informed that as of June 30, 2004, total ACS
membership stood at 154,945. Compared to last year, this represents
less than a 1% decrease in the overall membership number. The good
news is that the very impressive 50% increase in the recent graduates
joining the Society experienced at year-end last year is continuing.
At the end of June, more than 6,800 new members had been added to the
membership rolls, which aligns well with the number at the same time
last year.
Approval of Petitions
- The Council voted to accept three amendments to the ACS
Constitution and/or Bylaws (Petitions): Petition for Electronic
Balloting, Petition to Change Division Annual Report Deadline, and
Petition for Membership Requirements for Teachers. The Petition for
Electronic Balloting proposed changes to the Society's Constitution
and Bylaws allowing for the option of electronic balloting. The
first Society implementation will be internet-based, similar to those
currently used by several divisions, sister societies, and other
organizations, such as public corporations polling their shareholders
prior to annual meetings. The Petition to Change Division Annual
Report Deadlines makes the annual report deadline consistent with
that of Local Sections. This allows the Council Committee on
Divisional Activities more time to evaluate Division Annual Reports
for making selections for the ChemLuminary Awards program. The
Petition for Membership Requirements for Teachers allows experienced
qualified chemistry teachers, who may not otherwise fully meet the
requirements, to become members based on their status and experience.
The petition also allows a pre-college chemistry or allied science
teacher to become an associate member.
Special Discussion Item
- A special discussion item was put on the Council agenda for this
meeting. ACS President Charles Casey and Board Chair James Burke
lead the Council in a discussion on the
multidisciplinarity/dispersion of chemistry as a discipline and its
impact on ACS members and the profession. Questions were raised
about the way the federal government identifies jobs held by chemists
as one of many indicators of how multidisciplinarity has come to
affect the status of chemists. The Board of Directors and the ACS
President have established a joint Board-Council task force to assess
the challenges and opportunities that multidisciplinarity presents to
the ACS and chemical scientists in general. The discussion at
Council revealed an interest in this topic, particularly as it
applies to the future of the discipline.
Local Section Actions
- On the recommendation of the Local Section Activities Committee,
the Council approved a name change for the Peoria Local Section to
the Illinois Heartland Local Section. The Council also approved the
inclusion of four additional counties to the Wichita Falls - Duncan
Local Section.
Approval of the ACS Professional Employment Guidelines
- On the recommendation of the Committee on Economic and Professional
Affairs, the Council voted to approve the seventh edition of the ACS
Professional Employment Guidelines. These guidelines offer a variety
of recommended practices in employment for professional scientists
and their employers in today's workplace.
ACTIONS OF THE BOARD
ACS Award Activity
- The Board of Directors voted to recommend a nominee for both the
2005 Perkin Medal and the Othmer Gold Medal. The Perkin Medal, the
highest award of the Society of Chemical Industry, is awarded for
outstanding contributions to the applied chemistry industry. The
Othmer Gold Medal recognizes a chemical scientist of multiple talents
and achievements and is awarded by the Chemical Heritage Foundation.
The Board also approved financial support for the James Bryant Conant
Award in High School Chemistry Teaching for 2006. The Board agreed
that the award addresses for the Award for Volunteer Service to the
Society will be presented at annual ChemLuminary Award Ceremonies.
The Board's Committees and Task Forces
- The Board received a report from its Audit Committee and voted to
approve the committee charter and a subsequent board amendment
referencing the charter. The Audit Committee assists the Board with
fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the quality and
integrity of the accounting, auditing, internal control and financial
reporting practices of the Society.
- The Board received a progress report from its task force on
strategic alliances, which is drafting a framework "stage gates" of
sequential decisions to guide the Society as it pursues new
endeavors. The Board also was updated on its continued discussions
with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
- Earlier this year a task force on ACS development activities began
studying opportunities for an expanded development program at the
Society. At this meeting, the Board voted to centralize and expand
the Society's development activities, effective January 1, 2005.
The Society's Finances
- The Board received a report from the Committee on Budget and
Finance and was advised that the Society is projected to end 2004
with a net contribution from operations of $1,531,000, which is
$60,000 favorable to the approved budget.
- The Board of Directors received and discussed three program funding
requests for 2005: ChemCensus 2005; a Leadership Development Project
and the PROGRESS Project. On the recommendation of the Society's
Budget and Finance Committee, the Board voted the following actions:
to include funding for ChemCensus 2005 in the '05 proposed budget at
a cost of $229,000; to fund the PROGRESS Project in the proposed 2005
budget at a cost of $160,000, $94,000 in 2006, and $98,000 in 2007;
and to defer consideration of the Leadership Development Project for
further clarification of the project's focus and metrics and to
resubmit a modified proposal at the earliest opportunity.
The Society's Staff
- The Board received a report from the Executive Director on the
overall activities of the Society and detailed reports on the
activities of the Governing Boards for Publishing and Green
Chemistry, the Membership Division, Human Resources and the Society's
General Counsel. The Board continued its review of executive
compensation through a report presented by Aon Consulting - a
nationally recognized human resources consulting firm.
Special Presentations
- The Board received two special presentations. The first
presentation detailed the American Chemistry Council's (ACC) Long
Range Research Initiative and was presented by Dr. Nance Dicciani,
President and CEO of Honeywell Specialty Materials, and Chair of
ACC's Board Research Committee. The second special presentation took
place at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, where the Board received a
tour of the Foundation followed by an overview of its history and
current activities as presented by its president, Dr. Arnold Thackray.
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