American Chemical Society ACS Spring 2024 Meeting New Orleans, Louisiana March 17 – 21, 2024

Councilor Report:

Summary of Governance Issues and Actions

The following document is provided to report to Local Sections and Divisions on key actions of the ACS Council meeting held on March 20, and the Board of Directors meetings held on March 15 – 17, 2024.

Actions of the Council

Election Results:

Candidates for President-Elect, 2025

·       The Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E) presented to the Council the following nominees for selection as candidates for President-Elect, 2025: Rigoberto Hernandez, Thomas Holme, Ingrid Montes, and Laura Sremaniak. By electronic ballot, the Council selected Rigoberto Hernandez and Laura Sremaniak as candidates for 2025 President-Elect. These two candidates will join Mukund Chorghade, a petition candidate, and any additional candidates selected via petitions to stand for election in the fall 2024 national election.

Nominee                         1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round

*Rigoberto Hernandez     124             151             188

Thomas Holme             107             124               -

Ingrid Montes                       60               -               -

*Laura Sremaniak             124             139             180

a415 valid electronic ballots were cast, with 208 being the majority. The results of the first preference vote totals are shown in the 1st round column. No nominee attained a majority. Following the procedures approved by Council, the lowest vote-getter, Ingrid Montes, was dropped and her second-preference votes were distributed in the subsequent round. Those marked with an asterisk (*) were declared elected as candidates.

Candidates for Districts I, V, and International

·       The Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the results of the election held prior to the Council meeting; to select candidates from the list of nominees for Directors from District I , District V, and the International District on the Board of Directors for the term 2025-2027. By electronic ballot, the Councilors from these districts selected Katherine L. Lee and Matthew Grandbois as District I candidates; Lisa M. Balbes, Mark C. Cesa, and Silvia S. Jurisson as District V candidates; and David Wu and Hooi-Ling Lee as International District candidates. Ballots will be distributed to members residing in District I, District V, and the International District around October 1, 2024, for election of a Director from each District.

DISTRICT Ia

Nominee           1st Round 2nd Round

*Katherine L. Lee           26               -

*Matthew Grandbois   12             27

Alyssa C. Thomas           4                6

Barbara R. Hillery             1             9

Total                         43             42

DISTRICT Vb

Nominee                     1st Round 2nd round    3rd Round

*Lisa M. Balbes             25       28               -

*Mark C. Cesa             11       12             24

*Silvia S. Jurisson              9               11             24

Joseph A. Heppert     7               - -

Total                             52       51             48

INTERNATIONAL DISTRICTc

Nominee         1st Round 2nd Round 3rd Round

*David Wu         93               106             140

*Hooi-Ling Lee 84               100             127

Csaba Janaky 54               64               -

Hassan S. Bazzi 39                 -               -

Total               270               270             267

a The results of the first preference vote totals are shown in the 1st round column. 43 valid electronic ballots were cast, with 22 being the majority. Katherine L. Lee attained a majority. Following the procedures approved by Council, the majority vote-getter, Katherine L. Lee, was excluded and her second-preference votes were distributed in one subsequent round. Those marked with an asterisk (*) were declared elected as candidates.

b The results of the first preference vote totals are shown in the 1st round column. 52 valid electronic ballots were cast, with 27 being the majority. No nominee attained a majority. Following the procedures approved by Council, the lowest vote-getter, Joseph A. Heppert, was dropped and his second-preference votes were distributed in a subsequent round. Lisa M. Balbes attained a majority, and was excluded from a third round, with her second- preference votes distributed to subsequent candidates. Those marked with an asterisk (*) were declared elected as candidates.

c The results of the first preference vote totals are shown in the 1st round column. 270 valid electronic ballots were cast, with 136 being the majority. No nominee attained a majority. Following the procedures approved by Council, the lowest vote-getters, Csaba Janaky and Hassan S. Bazzi, were dropped and their second-preference votes were distributed in two subsequent rounds. Those marked with an asterisk (*) were declared elected as candidates.

Candidates for Directors-at-Large

·       In November, the Petition to Add International Representation on the Board of Directors was approved and ratified. As a result of its implementation, there is a reduction of the total number of Directors-at-Large (DAL) on the Board of Directors from six to five beginning in 2025. Because of the timing of candidate selection and petition approval processes, N&E opted to select the usual four candidates for the two possible DAL positions in case the petition failed. Since the petition was passed and ratified, in fairness to those selected, N&E planned to run all four candidates for one DAL position; however, one candidate withdrew leaving three candidates. There will be no down-select process and all three will run as candidates. Preferential voting will be used in accordance with Standing Rule IV, Section 4., c.

·   The Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the selection of the following candidates for Director-at-Large for the 2025-2027 term: Christopher J. Bannochie, Natalie A. LaFranzo, and Sergio C. Nanita. The election of one Director-at-Large from among these three candidates and any selected via petition will be conducted in the fall. Ballots will be distributed to the Council around October 1, 2024.

·       By electronic ballot, the Council elected Debbie C. Crans to the Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E) for an unexpired term of less than one year (2024) and a subsequent full three- year term (2025-2027) in accordance with Standing Rule IV, Section 9., e.

Brian B. Brady                          121               *Debbie C. Crans                                                    156

Other Council Actions:

Highlights from Committee Reports and Key Actions

•   On the recommendation of the Council Policy Committee (CPC), Council approved the Petition to Remove Inconsistencies and Add Missing Provisions. The petition clarifies language about membership on the elected committees of Council and adds a provision for filling a vacancy in the position of Director-at-Large. This petition is now presented to the ACS Board of Directors for action.

•  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 Budget and Finance (B&F) to better reflect their charge of making recommendations on the Society’s budget for approval by the Board of Directors. The petition also removes an outdated provision to reflect that the funding of the official organ of the Society has been made independent from dues revenue. This petition is now presented to the ACS Board of Directors for action.

·       ConC announced that the opening of the online preference form to all ACS members began on March 1 and will run through July 1, Councilors interested in serving on an ACS Committee in 2025 should go to CMTE.acs.org to complete their preferences.

·       On the recommendation of the Committee on Divisional Activities (DAC), Council approved changing the name of the Division of Biological Chemistry (BIOL) to the Division of Biochemistry and Chemical Biology (BIOL). This name change takes effect January 1, 2025.

·       On the recommendation of DAC, Council approved an amendment to the distribution formula for Division funding. This will allow a greater amount of funding to be distributed to Divisions.

·   On the recommendation of the Committee on International Activities (IAC), Council approved the creation of International Chemical Sciences Chapters in Egypt and Guangdong, China, subject to the concurrence of the ACS Board of Directors.

·   On the recommendation of the Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC), Council approved changing the name of the Auburn Section to the East Alabama/West Georgia Section. This name change takes effect on January 1, 2025.

·       On the recommendation of the Committee on Membership Affairs (MAC) and with the concurrence of the Council Policy Committee, Council approved the Petition on Dues and Benefits to change the name of the Schedule of Membership to the Schedule of Dues and Benefits. The petition also defines the role of Community Associates. This petition is now presented to the ACS Board of Directors for action.

·       On the recommendation of MAC and with the concurrence of the Council Policy Committee, Council approved the 2025 Schedule of Dues and Benefits.

·       The Committee on Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) reported the certification of bylaws for four Local Sections (Columbus, Permian Basin, University of Arkansas, and Central Pennsylvania), five technical Divisions (Colloid and Surface Chemistry, Biological Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, and Environmental Chemistry), and two International Chemical Sciences Chapters (Singapore and Switzerland) since the fall 2023 meeting.

·   The Committee on Education (SOCED) invited students to participate in a SOCED Discussion Session to be held in conjunction with the ACS Fall 2024 meeting in Denver, and invited Councilors to their upcoming virtual open meeting on April 25.

·   The Committee on Younger Chemists (YCC) plans to expand the concept of Local Section Younger Chemists Committees to include International Chemical Sciences Chapters and reported on the inaugural Younger Chemists’ Caucus and their plans to continue holding this event.

Resolutions

The Council passed several resolutions:

-   In memory of deceased Councilors.

-   In recognition of ACS Secretary, Flint Lewis, on the occasion of his retirement after 28 years.

-   In sincere appreciation of the Louisiana Section, host Section for the ACS Spring 2024 meeting, the Divisional program chairs, symposium organizers, and ACS staff for the planning and execution of the meeting.

The ACS Spring 2024 meeting was held from March 17 – 21. As of March 19, there were 14,368 registrations (13,122 in-person and 1,246 online). The ACS Fall 2024 meeting will be held in Denver, CO from August 18

– 22, 2024.

Actions of the Board of Directors - Executive Session

The ACS Board of Directors met in Executive Session on March 15-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA. They considered several key strategic issues and responded with numerous actions. The meeting was opened with a reflection on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect (DEIR).

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

The CEO and his staff reported on the 150th anniversary of ACS, the ACS DEIR Maturity Model, the future of ACS meetings, the ACS brand, financials, and other ACS activities. This was followed by a strategic discussion on sustainability. The CEO also introduced the new ACS General Counsel, Tokë Vandervoort, who joined ACS on March 4.

Board Committees

The Board received and discussed reports from the Governing Board for Publishing as well as its Committees on Professional and Member Relations, Executive Compensation, Audits & Risk Management, and Pensions and Investments. Several of these committees requested and obtained Board action on one or more items, as follows:

•         Upon the recommendation of the Editor Search Committee, the Board voted to approve the appointment of an Editor-in-Chief of the ACS journal Electrochemistry. The appointment will be announced after the individual has been notified and appropriate arrangements for their service has been made.

•         Upon recommendation of the Society Committee on Publications, the Board voted to approve the reappointment of several ACS journal editors. The reappointments will be announced after the individuals have been notified and appropriate arrangements for their continued service have been made.

•         The Board voted to approve the reappointment of two members of the Governing Board for Publishing. The reappointments will be announced after the individuals have been notified and appropriate arrangements for their continued service have been made.

•         Upon recommendation of the Committee on Professional and Member Relations (P&MR), the Board approved recommendations for establishing the Dong Qin ACS Award in Nanochemistry, the 2025 Othmer Gold Medal nominee, and the screened lists of five nominees each for the 2025 Priestley Medal and the 2025 Award for Volunteer Service to the ACS.

•         The Board received an extensive briefing and approved several recommendations from the Committee on Executive Compensation. The compensation of the Society’s executive staff continues to be reviewed regularly by the Board.

•         Items related to ACS benefits and budgets were reviewed and approved.

Other Society Business

By consent, the Board took multiple actions including recommendations from the Committee on Meetings and Expositions to change the date of the ACS Spring 2030 meeting in New Orleans from March 17-21 to March 10-14, and the ACS Fall 2032 meeting date and location to August 22-26, 2032, in Chicago, IL were approved, and several interim actions were ratified.

As is customary, the Board heard reports from the Presidential Succession on their current and planned activities for 2024 and 2025. They received an update on the status of the search for the new Secretary of the Society. There were also discussions on how to further improve the ongoing process of raising items of strategic concern expressed by members to the Board and to improve Board efficiency.

Finally, the Board adopted a resolution in honor of retiring ACS Secretary and General Counsel, Flint H. Lewis.

Committee Preference Form                                                                                       www.cmte.acs.org 

Nominations for President, Directors, and Elected Committees                                     nominations.acs.org

ACS Governing Documents                                                                                         www.acs.org/govdocs

Councilor's Report from the fall national ACS 2023 meeting from Brent Eldridge:

The Councilors had a Caucus meeting on August 13 from 6-7 pm. We met on August 16 from 8-Noon for the Councilor's Meeting and following business was conducted:

§   Election Results:

• • • By electronic ballot, the Council elected Martha G. Hollomon, Elizabeth M. Howson, Jeanette M. Van Emon, and Lydia E. M. Hines for a three-year term (2024-2026) on the Council Policy Committee (CPC). James C. Carver was elected for a one-year term from 2024-2025 to fill the unexpired term of Will E. Lynch, who was elected to the ACS Board of Directors.

    • By electronic ballot, the Council elected Anna G. Cavinato, Andrea B. Twiss-Brooks, Thomas R. Gilbert, Jeanne R. Berk, and W. Matthew Reichert for a three-year term (2024-2026) on the Committee on Committees (ConC).

    • By electronic ballot, the Council elected Linette M. Watkins, Arlene A. Garrison, Zaida C. Morales Martinez, Amber F. Charlebois, and Jetty L. Duffy-Matzner for a three-year term (2024-2026) on the Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E). Kevin J. Edgar was elected for a one-year term from 2024-2025 to fill Silvia Ronco’s vacancy.

§   Highlights from Reports and Key Actions:

• • • Chief Executive Officer Albert Horvath honored the memory of our newly appointed Editor-in Chief of C&EN, Mohammed Yahia, who passed away on the way to the San Francisco meeting. Our thoughts go out to his wife Ola and their two young children.

    • Horvath also shared ACS’s efforts to engage more members while recruiting and retaining talented staff as we continue to adapt to the post-pandemic workplace. He shared an update on the ACS Strategic Initiatives and the Society’s continued strong financial performance.

    • On the recommendation of the Council Policy Committee, the Council approved the Petition to Amend the Council Executive Function. This amendment codifies the current practice in the Standing Rules, removing the oral reporting requirement for non-elected Society Committees. CPC welcomes oral reports from all Society Committees including those without action before Council.

    • CPC voted to discontinue the Councilor Travel Expense Program, effective December 31, 2023, and replace it with the Councilor Attendance Incentive Allotment, effective January 1, 2024. This new approach will provide a single payment of $2,000 per Councilor, per meeting, directly to Local Sections and Divisions that opt into the program. · CPC also voted to move oversight for the Non-Councilor Reimbursement Program to the Committee on Committees with the recommendation that it be renamed the “Volunteer Committee Reimbursement Program.”

    • On the recommendation of the Committee on Committees, and with the concurrence of the Council Policy Committee, Council approved the Petition to Amend the Duties of the Committee on International Activities (IAC), providing the committee with the same authority permitted to its unit counterparts to assist International Chemical Sciences Chapters with issues arising from officer turnover and other administrative difficulties.

    • On the recommendation of the Committee on Nominations and Elections, and with the concurrence of the Council Policy Committee, Council approved the Petition to Add International Representation to the Board of Directors, decreasing the total number of Councilor Talking Points and Summary of Governance Issues and Actions American Chemical Society 3 Directors-at-Large from six to five and creating an International District Director. Following approval by the Board of Directors, the amendment to the ACS Constitution will require the support of two-thirds (2/3) majority of voting members.

    • On the recommendation of the Committee on International Activities, Council approved the creation of the Singapore International Chemical Sciences Chapter.

    • The Committee on Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) reported the certification of bylaws for six Local Sections in 2023: Cornell, East Tennessee, Idaho, Puerto Rico, Tennessee-Virginia Highlands, and Wooster.

Council Special Discussion

The Board of Directors shall be composed of the President, the President-ACS President Judith Giordan introduced and led a special discussion on "ACS Council: Equitable Governance for the Future.” She sought Councilor input on ideas to improve representation, broadly defined, on Council and across ACS governance.

Three specific prompts were posed to Councilors for their input and suggestions:

           1. Ideally, for ACS Council to equitably represent all members we would...

2. The key areas where we need to ensure greater equity and inclusion in Council are…

3. I wish ACS Council would/could… ...to engender greater equity and inclusion.

Councilors provided their ideas and thoughts, and relevant Society units will receive this input within the next several weeks. Please share further input with secretary@acs.org.

Resolutions

The Council passed several resolutions:

-          In memory of deceased Past President Ned D. Heindel

-          In memory of deceased Past President Paul H.L. Walter

-          In memory of deceased Councilors

-          In appreciation of the California and Silicon Valley Sections, host Sections for the fall 2023 ACS meeting, the Divisional program chairs, symposium organizers, and ACS staff for the planning and execution of the meeting

-          In appreciation of the outgoing Chair of Council, Judith C. Giordan

This concludes the major highlights of the fall national councilor’s meeting.

If there is additional information that you would like me to include in the report, then please email me at brent.eldridge@kctcs.edu

Councilor's Report from the spring 2023 national ACS meeting from Brent Eldridge:

The Councilors had a Caucus meeting on March 26. We met on March 26 from 8-Noon for the Councilor's Meeting and following business was conducted:

• Dorothy J. Phillips and Florian J. Schattenmann were chosen as 2024 President-Elect.  Councilors will vote in the fall.

• The Council Policy Committee is looking to streamline the process for reimbursement to attend the Councilor's meetings.

• Petition to Amend the Duties of the Council Policy Committee which will allow removal of a Councilor or Alternate Councilor from their position upon determination of at least 2/3 of the members of the Council Policy Committee when warranted, passed.

• Committee on Committees stated the committee preference form was to be sent out April 3 and should be submitted by ACS members no later than July 3:  https://www.cmte.acs.org/s/dashboard

• Petition to Amend the Name and Duties of the Committee on Environmental Improvement passed.  The committee will be named the Committee on Environment and Sustainability

• Petition to Add Plan B to Council Meetings passed,  "... an event ...beyond the Council control, such as natural disasters or technology failures, will negatively impact the ability of a significant number of Councilors to cast their votes during a Council meeting...can be postponed until after the Council meeting."

• Due and Benefits packages were tweaked,  Disabled Waiver was changed from "totally disabled to has a long-term disability" and Emeritus was changed to 35 years of paid membership and retired from full-time professional employment.

For Consideration which will be voted on in August:

The Board of Directors shall be composed of the President, the President-Elect, the most recent Past President (all ex officios) six District Directors, one elected from each of six geographical Districts by the membership of the Districts from which they are to serve, one International Director elected by the SOCIETY members residing outside of the United States and Canada who are not members of a Local Section, and five Directors-at-Large elected by the Council.  The Chief Executive Officer shall be a nonvoting ex officio member of the Board of Directors.

If you have thoughts on this Petition to Add International Representation to the Board of Directors, then send them to brent.eldridge@kctcs.edu.

This concludes the major highlights of the spring national councilor's meeting.

As an Associate of the Society Committee on Education (SOCED) and the subgroup Science Education Policy, we met on March 24 to discuss:

• Mission and Vision Statements

• The Strategic Plan

• Reports from each Sub-Committee

SOCED Science Education Policy:

• Created a Science Education Policy which was passed by the ACS last fall.  The policy can be viewed at:  https://www.acs.org/policy/publicpolicies/education/educationpolicies.html

• We are currently working on a VISA/Immigration policy which we hopefully will present at the fall meeting.

• Participated in the SOCED open meeting.

• Participated in the Undergraduate Poster Session from Noon to 2pm on Monday, March 27.

Science Education Policy - American Chemical Society

This concludes the major highlights of SOCED for spring 2023.

The Lexington Section of the ACS was invited to participate in the ACS Local Section Showcase ACS Spring 2023.

On behalf of LSAC, I am excited to invite you to participate in a new initiative that is planned for the ACS Spring 2023 Meeting in Indianapolis.   The ACS Local Section Showcase will make its debut at Sci-Mix on Monday, March 27, 2023, from 8:00-10:00pm.

For this inaugural event, we are inviting all local sections from District II to participate and showcase their unique programming.  This event will provide an opportunity for you to highlight your local section events and activities, connect the value of being engaged with ACS through local sections and attract new members/volunteers. In addition to District II local sections, the Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC) will participate in this event to promote our mission of providing opportunities, resources, and networks to partner with and serve our diverse member communities.

Our Chair, Erin Peters produced a poster and stickers promoting our section for the event.  Stationery for the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) that will be held at the University of Kentucky in 2024 was also handed out.  It was nice talking to Jennifier Muzyka from Centre College,  Gary Anderson from Marshall University, and numerous students during the poster session from our region.