The Spring Meeting of the ACS Council was held in hybrid format on March 29, 2023. As of March 29, there were 12,623 registrations (10,792 in-person and 1,831 virtual).
Actions of the Council
Candidates for President-Elect, 2024
- The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to the Council the following nominees for selection as candidates for President-Elect, 2023: Mary K. Engelman, Dorothy J. Phillips, and Florian J. Schattenmann. The fourth nominee withdrew for personal reasons prior to the Council meeting. By electronic ballot, the Council selected Dorothy J. Phillips and Florian J. Schattenmann as candidates for 2024 President-Elect. These two candidates, along with any candidates selected via petitions, will stand for election in the Fall 2023 National Election.
Other Council Actions
Highlights from Committee Reports and Key Actions
- On the recommendation of the Council Policy Committee (CPC), Council approved the Petition to Amend the Duties of the Council Policy Committee to authorize CPC to review the conduct of Councilors.
- As required by the ACS Governing Documents, CPC has set the divisor for Local Section and Division representation at Council for the period 2024-2027. The formula is based on membership numbers as of December 31, 2022. Notification will be sent by the Secretary to all affected units by May 1, with details on how they will be impacted.
- CPC reviewed the Councilor Expense Program and voted to approve a streamlined process for fall 2023. The committee also voted to review further streamlining options for the program going forward.
- On the recommendation of the Committee on Committees (ConC), and with the concurrence of the Council Policy Committee, Council approved the Petition to Amend the Duties of the Committee on Environmental Improvement to change the name of the committee to the Committee on Environment and Sustainability.
- ConC announced that the opening of the online preference form to all ACS members begins on April 3 and will run through July 3. Councilors interested in serving on an ACS Committee in 2024 should go to https://www.acs.org/cmte to complete their preferences.
- On the recommendation of the Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E), and with the concurrence of the Council Policy Committee, Council approved the Petition to Add Plan B to Council Meetings, which authorizes the postponement of voting at Council in case of technology failures or natural disasters.
- N&E reminded Councilors that any petition candidates to ACS National Office must certified by the July 15 deadline to be placed on the ballot this fall.
- On the recommendation of the Committee on Membership Affairs (MAC), Council approved the 2024 Schedule of Membership.
- The Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC) announced the launch of the ACS Speaker Directory, a new resource for our component group leaders to access a wide range of speakers for their in-person, hybrid, and asynchronous events.
Council Special Discussion
President Giordan introduced and led a special discussion on the ongoing review of Society Committees. She sought Councilor input of positive ideas, key issues, and opportunities to improve the structure of committees.
Four specific prompts were posed to Councilors for their input and suggestions:
- Ideally, for ACS to have a committee structure that is forward thinking and able to address opportunities for members, ACS and the chemistry enterprise, we would…
- Current and future key issues impacting ACS, the chemistry enterprise and our committees include…
- I wonder what the positive impact on committees, member involvement, and ACS would be if we were to…
- I wish that committees at ACS could…
Councilors provided their ideas and thoughts, and relevant Society units will receive this input within the next several weeks.
If there are benefits that you would like to see added to your membership or if there are changes that you would like to see instituted, please contact your Councilor, Darlene Slattery at dslattery1@cfl.rr.com or call her at 321-632-2535.