Author: Matt Grandbois, Councilor
The ACS Council is scheduled to convene on Wednesday, March 24th, 2021. There are several items that are up for Council action that could impact you as chemists and professionals. This blog post is my promised update to you, a PROF member, so that you can share any concerns, support, or dissent to these petitions. Much more detail on these items, as well as information about ACS governance processes, can be found in the upcoming Council Agenda located at the following publicly available link. As your Councilor, I am very interested in hearing from you and hearing your thoughts, perspectives, and preferences on the proposed items that are coming up for vote in Council.
During the Spring 2021 meeting of the ACS Council, several nominees for 2022 ACS President-Elect will be presented by the Committee on Nominations and Elections. All these individuals have the necessary collection of experience, perspective, and character that is warranted for an ACS President. Two of the following will be selected by Council based on popular vote and advance to the open election for all ACS members later this year:
Gerard Baillely
Anne M. Gaffney
Judith C. Giordan
John C. Warner
In addition to the introduction of 2022 President-Elect Candidates, several ACS Board of Directors positions need to be filled in 2021. This includes District I, District V, and two Director-At-Large positions. The following is a list of candidates that will be voted on by Councilors from their constituency groups. As PROF Councilor, I will be able to vote for candidates for Director-At-Large during an election held later in 2021.
District I
D. Richard Cobb
Warren D. Hull Jr.
Katherine L. Lee
Gerard F. Parkin
District V
Lisa M. Balbes
Kenneth P. Fivizzani
Joseph A. Heppert
Martin D. Rudd
Director-At-Large (2 Open Positions)
Rodney M. Bennett
Arlene A. Garrison
Natalie A LaFranzo
Lee H. Latimer
The Committee on Nominations & Elections (N&E) is open to suggestions for consideration of 2023 Society Directors and Officers to include: 2023 President-Elect, Director-At-Large, District II Director, and District IV Director. If you have suggestions, please complete the suggestion form found here.
The ACS Committee on Committees (ConC) has put forth a petition for Council action to “harmonize committee structure, processes, and terms”. This petition is meant to harmonize the Committee structure with the current ACS governing documents. A major change proposed in the petition is the removal of the requirement to have a finite number of Councilors on certain committees. This change would allow ConC to select qualified individuals from the greater ACS Membership base to serve on ACS Committees without requiring them to hold Councilor positions.
The Committee on Membership Affairs (MAC) has put forth a petition for Council action to initiate a new Schedule of Membership (SoM) that would create tiered membership options aimed at increasing both ACS revenues and membership. This proposal would reduce the current annual ACS membership rate down to $165, while also creating two lower tiered options that cost significantly less due to restricted access to certain ACS membership benefits. These new membership options have been modeled and evaluated by the ACS Committee on Budget & Finance (B&F) and have strong upside potential with minimal projected downside risk to membership and revenue goals.
The Committee on Divisional Activities (DAC) has put forth a petition for Council action to adjust the Divisional Allocation Formula. This formula will be used to determine the annual allotment distributed to the technical divisions (e.g. PROF) for the 2022-2025 calendar years. This new allocation formula was created to better reflect the impact of virtual, hybrid, and physical National ACS meetings on Divisional activities and reduce the annual fluctuations in the Divisional Allotment so technical Divisions can conduct long-term planning with more stability and confidence.
The Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC) has put forth a petition for Council action to amend the duties of their Committee. If approved, new language incorporated into the ACS Standing Rules would enable LSAC to appoint interim Executive Committee and facilitate a local section election if the existing local section is experiencing a lapse in leadership.
Again, I am very interested in hearing what you think as a valued member of PROF. Please feel free to contact me at councilor@acsprof.org prior to the planned Virtual ACS Council meeting on March 24th, 2021 so that I can take your input into account prior to my vote on these items. Stay safe and take care!
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