ACS Governance Research Articles

Turning aspirations for inclusion into action

The American Chemical Society core values reflect the fundamental beliefs of the society and guide the activities of our volunteer members and staff to achieve our mission and vision. In short, they are why we do what we do. The conundrum, though, lies in the development and implementation of what we do in order to turn these tenets into practical and effective actions to support, promote, and enhance both ACS and the greater chemistry enterprise. If ACS governance could devise a straightforward program to ensure that ACS at all levels would achieve its laudable aspirations, the result would be fantastic. But doing so is difficult, if not impossible. We are all in this together, and all our efforts must be marshaled if we are to make progress, particularly if we are to make fundamental cultural changes. We want to focus here on our core value of diversity, inclusion, and respect.

Assessing ACS’s Society Program Portfolio Management process

This year marks the fourth anniversary of the American Chemical Society’s Society Program Portfolio Management (SPPM) process, which ensures that the society’s established programs and newly launched ones achieve their desired outcomes, support ACS’s strategic goals, and provide value to the membership, profession, and general public. The Society Committee on Budget and Finance (B&F), with the support of the ACS Board chair and executive director and CEO, has begun gathering feedback on how the SPPM process has performed. Background. SPPM is a partnership between ACS governance and staff that recognizes changing strategic environments and priorities. SPPM considers new concepts, prioritizes new program funding requests, and reviews ongoing programs. This includes the potential modification, expansion, downsizing, or cessation of a program. The annual process involves independent assessments for society program groupings within the Divisions of Education, Membership and Society Services, and Scientific Advancement and the Office of External Affairs and Communications.

Volunteer service award to D. Richard Cobb

D. Richard Cobb is the recipient of the 2017 Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society. Created in 2001, the award recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to ACS’s goals and objectives. Cobb retired from Eastman Kodak in 2011 as a senior research chemical technician. “Richard is very enthusiastic and has a tremendous passion for ACS,” says fellow ACS volunteer Mary K. Engelman, who is a technician at Eastman Chemical. “He has mentored multiple ACS volunteers into becoming highly active in ACS governance at the national and local level, as well as the broader scientific community within ACS.” Cobb says his passion for volunteering comes from his passion for making a difference. “Whatever committee I served on, whatever division, whatever role, the more sour the lemon, the more I loved it because I wanted to make a difference,” he says. “Where I saw a situation that was

ACS MEETS IN NEW ORLEANS

As American Chemical Society national meeting attendees slogged through 90-plus-degree days, nearly 100% humidity, and daily downpours, ACS governance was turning up the heat on the Kansas State Board of Education. Last week at its 218th national meeting in New Orleans, ACS added its voice to the growing chorus calling on the Kansas board to rescind its recent decision to remove all references to evolution and the origins of the universe from the state's education standards and assessments (see page 65). The official ACS statement, which was unanimously supported by the board of directors, drew applause from ACS councilors and was picked up immediately by the Associated Press. While protecting the nation's students from science curriculum changes that have nothing to do with science was foremost on the minds of governance groups at the New Orleans meeting, protecting Chemical Abstracts Service's (CAS) data collections from potential damage caused by inadequate facilities was not far behind. ...

ACS decides to expand several key activities

The American Chemical Society emerged from its national meeting last week in a stronger position to pursue several major activities identified earlier as vital to the society's future. During the meeting, which attracted about 12,000 attendees to Washington, D.C, ACS governance groups gave their nod to expanded activities in such areas as public outreach, education, and professional development. For example, the ACS Board of Directors endorsed efforts by the ACS Education Division to establish a collaboration with USA Today's Educational Services Division to produce a family and community science education page—based on existing ACS Education Division materials—to appear weekly in the daily national newspaper USA Today In addition, the board agreed to include funding in the society's 1993 budget for greatly expanded public outreach programs (more than $500,000 in new funding), a new technician resources and education program, and professional development programs. The board also agreed that an on-going pr...

University of Utah's Robert W. Parry Wins 1993 Priestley Medal

Robert W. Parry, an elder statesman of chemistry and a distinguished professor of chemistry at University of Utah, Salt Lake City, has been chosen as 1993 recipient of Priestley Medal, American Chemical Society's highest award. He is being honored for his accomplishments in a career devoted to research, education, and service to scientific community. Parry got nod, says one colleague who was involved in decision, be cause of the broad, positive influence he has had in chemical education, ACS governance, and as a spokesman for chemistry. He has utmost respect of so many people who value him not only as a scientist but as a person. Five months shy of his 75th birthday, Parry is still an energetic presence in lab, classroom, and halls of academe, not to mention on tennis court. For example, he still teaches beginning freshman chemistry—and ...

Council Rejects Proposal To Restructure Committees

A proposal to restructure the American Chemical Society's governance committees in the areas of professional relations and economic status was narrowly defeated by the ACS Council at its meeting earlier this month in San Francisco. The decision clouds efforts within the society, begun several years ago, to simplify and streamline ACS's governance structure. Rejection of the restructuring proposal was only one of several actions taken by the council during its nearly four-hour meeting, presided over by ACS president Ernest L. Eliel. Among other actions, as reported earlier (C&EN, April 13, page 4), councilors approved a shift in focus for uses of Corporation Associates dues, set 1993 ACS membership dues $2.00 higher than this year at $93, and selected two candidates for next year's president-elect. The unsuccessful restructuring proposal was included in one of two petitions to amend the society's bylaws acted on during the meeting. It ...