2005
ACS Fall Meeting in Washington
DC - Councilor Report
For
the 2005 ACS Fall Meeting in Washington
DC, North
Jersey had full representation at the Council meeting.
Representing the section were the following Councilors and Alternate
Councilors: Anita Brandolini, Jeannette Brown, Maureen Chan, Alan Cooper,
Jacqueline Erickson, Susan Fahrenholtz, Robert Goodnow, Stan Hall, George
Heinze, Bettyann Howson, Anne Kelly, Diane Krone, Valerie Kuck, Les McQuire,
and Stephen Waller.
While
in Washington DC, many of the councilors participated in
committee meetings and other governance activities, including the Town Hall
Meetings and Mid-Atlantic Councilor Caucus. The Mid-Atlantic Councilor Caucus
was chaired by Steve Waller.
Some
of the Committees with North Jersey Councilors are Budget and Finance, Corporation
Associates, Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs, Divisional
Activities Committee, Local Section Activities Committee, Membership Affairs
Committee, Nominations and Elections, SOCED, WCC and others. Below are a few
highlights from some committee meetings and other activities.
Town
Hall meetings were held by the Committee on Nominations and Elections. One
meeting focused on election procedures and the results of a survey conducted by
the committee. The other town hall meeting was a forum for candidates for the
Director at Large position. These
candidates include James Burke, Edwin Chandross, Gordon McCarty and Frankie
Wood-Black.
Les
McQuire, a member of the Local Section Activities Committee (LSAC), attended
the LSAC meetings, and he chaired the subcommittee on Alliances and
Partnerships. He is also a member of Corporation Associates (CA), and he
chaired the Program Subcommittee, during that committee meeting. Les is also
involved in a number of other governance activities, including the Regional
Activities Coordination Team (ReACT), and he gave a presentation at the Mid-Atlantic
Councilor Caucus. This presentation provided an overview of the recommendations
for changing the role of regional meetings and regional meeting steering
committees in the society.
Anne Kelly is a member of the Divisional Activities Committee
(DAC). DAC discussed future plans to support
the changes within the ACS: increasing
multidisciplinarity and attracting members from fields outside the traditional
definition of Chemistry. Ideas included
possibly merging some divisions, having sessions of interest to multiple
divisions located in the same geographical areas to facilitate attendance, and
ideas to increase collaboration / multidivisional activities. This discussion will continue at the spring
national meeting.
George
Heinze and Jacqueline Erickson attended the Membership Affairs Committee (MAC)
meeting and their respective subcommittee meetings. MAC has reorganized its
subcommittee structure to have 3 subcommittees (Membership Categories and Dues,
Recruitment and Retention, and Member Benefits), and a significant amount of
time was spent on the committee’s strategic plan. The Categories and Dues
subcommittee also spent time discussing possible recommendations for task force
on ACS Governance Review, and the future of the ACS Council and Committee
structure. Also, MAC adopted a
resolution that expressed its concern that “the
education requirements for an ACS-approved degree, and thus for immediate and
welcoming eligibility for membership, should be revised to be more encompassing
of the multidisciplinary and evolving nature of chemistry."
At
the Council meeting, reports were given by the President, President-Elect, Immediate
Past President, Chair of the Board of Directors, and the Executive Director
&CEO of the ACS. Reports were also given by committees.
The Committee on Nominations and Elections
presented councilors as candidates for the elected committees which include the
Committee on Committees, Council Policy Committee and Committee on Nominations
and Elections. Valerie Kuck of this section was elected to the Council Policy
Committee.
The Committee on Nominations and Elections
withdrew its petition on election procedures prior to the spring national
meeting. This action was to allow the
committee to discuss further the issues raised by the Committee on Constitution
and Bylaws and to solicit additional input from councilors and other
members.
A
report was also given by James Burke, chair of the ACS Board of Directors
during the Council meeting. One of the main items in the report was the
requests for the Society’s 2006 proposed budget, which include:
o
A
two-year pilot program for ACS High School Chemistry Clubs
o
ACS
activities in connection with the
International Science and Engineering Fair
o
A
Leadership Development Program that
delivers a pool of capable, effective and motivated leaders for volunteer roles
throughout the Society
o
Reauthorization
of, and continued funding for the Green Chemistry Institute
o
A
complete reinvention of the Society’s Web Presence
A
special discussion item was also put on the Council agenda for this
meeting. ACS President William F.
Carroll described the process being used to develop a Society vision hypothesis
(vision statement) that is to be tested with members, customers, governance and
other interested parties. Dr. Carroll
described the methods used to get member input at the national meeting. ACS national meeting attendees reported 15
common themes to be considered as important to the Society’s future. Dr. Carroll sought Council input on the most
frequent themes: diversity, young people, governance, multidisciplinarity,
globalization and outreach. Councilors then engaged in a thoughtful, yet lively
exchange of their vision of the Society’s long-term future.
After
the Council meeting, a special briefing on executive compensation was held. The
purpose of this meeting was to describe the processes used to compensate executive
staff positions within the ACS (e.g. Executive Director, Secretary, etc).
Various professional societies and non-profit institutions were used as a
benchmark for executive compensation, as were several for-profit institutions.
It was noted that there are few non-profits similar to the ACS, and that the
Publications division is much more similar to a for-profit institution, thus
the inclusion of these organizations. Following the briefing, there was
extensive discussion by the councilors on the process used.
If
any North Jersey members would like more
information on these topics or would like to provide feedback on this report,
please contact the Chair at
.
