Report of ACS Council Meeting - Fall 2017; Washington, D.C.
- Barbara Moriarty, Councilor
The 254th National Meeting of the ACS was held in Washington DC, from August 20 – 24, 2017. The theme of this meeting was “Chemistry’s Impact on the Global Economy” The Chicago section was represented at Council by nine councilors and one alternate councilor:Charles Cannon (Local Section Activities), Ken Fivizzani (Community Activities), Russell Johnson (Chemistry and Public Affairs), Michael Koehler (Chemical Safety), Margy Levenberg (Meetings and Expositions), Milt Levenberg (Senior Chemists), Inessa Miller, Barbara Moriarty (Ethics), Margaret (Peggy) Schott and Susan Shih (Education). The national activities of each are given, as I know them.
Finances: 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 ACS is expected to finish the year meeting 4 out of the 5 budgetary guidelines. The Society is expected to miss the fund balance ratio guideline.
Governance: The Council elected councilors to serve on the Committee on Committees, the Council Policy Committee and the Committee on Nominations. For the Committee on Committees – Mitchell Bruce, Jetty Duffy-Matzner, Martha Holloman, Diane Krone and Robert Pribush were elected for three-year terms (2018-2020). For the Council Policy Committee – Karl Booksh, Mark Frishberg, Zaida Morales-Martinez and Linette Watkins were elected to full three-year terms, while Ella Davis was elected to a one-year term. For the Committee on Nominations and Elections – Michael Appell, Neil Jespersen, Mamie Moy, Eleanor Siebert and Julianne Smist were elected to full three-year terms (2018-2020).
The candidates for the fall 2017 ACS national election for President-Elect 2018 are Bonnie A. Charpentier and Willie E. May. Candidates for Directors-at-Large, who are elected by Council, include our own Ken Fivizzani.
Meetings and Expositions: The attendance at the meeting was reported to be 12,904 with 2,997 students and 7,938 attendees. Once again, as part of their sustainability plan, only the mobile app was available. M&E recommended that the Early Member Registration fee for national meetings in 2018 be $475; this was approved by the Board of Directors.
Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs (CEPA): The Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs (CEPA) reported that the unemployment rate for member chemists was 2.8%, down from a high of 4.6%; this compares to the 4.4% total unemployment rate. The on-site career fair at the meeting had 364 job seekers and 36 employers.
Community Activities: The theme for National Chemistry Week (NCW), to be held this October, is “Chemistry Rocks.” This is the 30th anniversary of National Chemistry Week. In 2018, Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW) will be one week long. The inaugural theme of CCEW will be “Diving into Marine Chemistry.
Local Section Activities: The Chicago section won the Outstanding Performance by a Local Section - Very Large Size Category award at the ChemLuminary Awards Ceremony. In addition, at the ChemLuminary Awards ceremony, the Chicago section won the ACS President’s Award for Local Section Governmental Affairs.
If you have any questions and/or comments about the above actions, please contact me or one of your other representatives. You may contact me by email ([email protected]).
