SUMMARY OF GOVERNANCE ACTIONS/REPORTS
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
229TH ACS NATIONAL MEETING
SAN DIEGO, CA
MARCH 13-17, 2005
ACTIONS OF THE COUNCIL
Election Results
• The Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to the Council the following nominees
for selection as candidates for President-Elect, 2006: Pat N. Confalone, Catherine T. Hunt, John W.
Kozarich, and Cynthia A. Maryanoff. By written ballot the Council selected Catherine T. Hunt and John
W. Kozarich as candidates for 2006 President-Elect. They join George E. Heinze, who was certified as
a petition candidate for 2006 President-Elect.
• The Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the results of the election of nominees
for candidates to represent District III and District VI on the Board of Directors for the term 2006-2008.
Nominees for District III included: Catherine C. Fenselau, Edward J. Grabowski, Madeleine M. Joullié,
and Willie E. May. Nominees for District VI included Bonnie A. Charpentier, Janan M. Hayes, Clayton
H. Heathcock, and Stanley H. Pine. By written ballot the Council selected Catherine C. Fenselau and
Madeleine M. Joullié as District III candidates; and as District VI candidates, Bonnie A. Charpentier and
Stanley H. Pine. Ballots will be mailed on or before October 10 to all members in District III and District
IV for election of a Director for each District.
Candidates for Directors-at-Large
• The Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the selection of the following
candidates for Directors-at-Large for a 2006-2008 term: James D. Burke, Edwin A. Chandross, C.
Gordon McCarty, and Frankie Wood-Black. The election of two Directors-at-Large will be conducted
in the fall, with ballots mailed to the Council on or before October 10.
Committee Review
• As part of a regular review, the Council VOTED to continue the Committee on Project SEED.
The Committee on Project SEED oversees the Society’s summer educational experience program for
disadvantaged youth.
Proposal for a Committee on Ethics
• The Committee on Committees presented to Council a proposal for establishing a Committee on
Ethics 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 adjudication 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 to 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. After defeating a motion to
assign the proposed duties of the committee to the Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs,
the Council VOTED to establish a Committee on Ethics as an Other Committee of the Council.
Registration Report
• As of March 15, 2005, the ACS spring national meeting had attracted 15,385 registrants as
follows: Regular attendees 8,372; Students 4,160; Exhibitors 1,624; Exposition only 628; and Guests
601.
Member Statistics
• Membership in the American Chemical Society was 158,127 as of year-end 2004. Compared to
the previous year, this represents less than a 1% decrease. In 2004, more than 13,000 new members
were added to the rolls.
Petition for Consideration
• The Committee on Nominations and Elections withdrew a petition on election procedures. The
committee plans to offer additional changes to the Society’s election procedures and introduce a new
petition at the fall national meeting.
Special Discussion Item
• A special discussion item was put on the Council agenda for this meeting. ACS President
William F. Carroll presented an overview of Chemistry Enterprise 2015, posing the question, “Where
will our students come from in the next ten years, and where will they go?” Councilors then
participated in a lively discussion of this issue. The issue was framed as follows: Currently the U.S.
has a strong university system and U.S. graduate education in science is widely recognized as the
best in the world, but problems loom on the horizon. In addition, a variety of factors in the nation’s
academic infrastructure are likely to produce change in the training and careers of new chemists. The
discussion at Council intensified awareness of this issue and possibilities for solutions.
2006 Member Dues
• The Council VOTED to set the member dues for 2006 at the fully escalated rate of $127.
ACTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Special Temporary Assessment
• In December 2002, the Board of Directors enacted a special temporary assessment to cover the
costs of increased funding for divisions and local sections, as stipulated in the Petition for Division and
Local Section Funding, which was subsequently approved by the ACS Council, Board, and
membership in March 2003. The Board accepted the temporary assessment with the understanding
that it would be reviewed each year to determine whether it could be reduced. The Board reviewed
the temporary assessment for 2006 and, in light of the Society’s strong financial performance, VOTED
to reduce it to $5, rather than proceeding with the scheduled $6 assessment.
The Society’s Current Finances and Financial Future
• The Committee on Budget and Finance reported that the Society ended 2004 with a net
contribution from operations of $5,099,000 on revenues of $419,200,000 and expenses of
$414,700,000. This was $3,628,000 favorable to the approved budget. After including the results of
the Belmont Conference Center, recorded as a discontinued operation, and the Member Insurance
Program, the Society’s overall net contribution for 2004 was $4,465,000, which was $3,229,000
favorable to the approved budget.
• The Board reviewed and VOTED to accept several recommendations from the recent Financial
Planning Conference held January 2005. The purpose of this conference was to provide a
comprehensive assessment of the Society’s financial position; to review the appropriateness and
adequacy of the Society’s current financial guidelines; and to assess the Society’s changing risk
profile and the potential implications on major ACS funding sources over the next three years.
The Board’s Committees and Task Forces
• The Board received a screened list of candidates from the Committee on Grants and Awards for
the 2006 Priestley Medal and the Volunteer Service Award. The Board will announce the two winners
at its June meeting.
• The Board, through its Committee on Professional and Member Relations (P&MR), reviewed the
approval process for recurring meeting cosponsorship requests and VOTED to streamline and simplify
the process. The Board also VOTED to authorize P&MR to approve requests where ACS seeks the
cosponsorship of other organizations.
• The ACS/AIChE governance-to-governance task force and the ACS/AIChE Joint Membership
task force have concluded formal discussions and have agreed on several points. At this meeting, the
Board VOTED to discharge both task forces with thanks.
The Society’s Staff
• The Board received a report from the Executive Director/CEO and several of her direct reports
on the status of the Society’s website project, special issues associated with Chemical Abstracts
Service and the Publications Divisions, the Green Chemistry Institute, and the activities of the General
Counsel. The Board also reviewed and approved several recommendations from the Committee on
Executive Compensation relative to compensation for the Society’s executive staff. The compensation
of the Society’s executive staff receives regular review from the Board.
The Society’s Publications
• The Board VOTED to approve the appointment of an editor for a new Society journal, ACS
Chemical Biology. ACS Chemical Biology is scheduled to debut in 2006.
ACS Governance Review
• The Board of Directors VOTED to support the creation of a Joint Board-Council Policy
Committee Task Force on Governance Review with the charge to conduct a review of the Society’s
governance structure and Constitution and Bylaws to ensure that the Society has a governing
framework to enable it to best fulfill its mission, meet member needs, and remain a world-class
organization.