American Chemical Society

                                                             Carolina – Piedmont Section

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Report from the Council, 238th  ASC National Meeting, Washington, DC, August 2009.

 

Meeting registrants: 15,603.

 

Candidates for President-Elect and Board of Directors

 

The candidates for the fall 2009 ACS national election were announced as follows:

 

President-Elect 2010

      Nancy B. Jackson, International Chemical Threat Reduction Department

       Manager, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM

Cheryl A. Martin, Currently on sabbatical; former Corporate Vice President and   

       General Manager, Rohm and Haas Company, Philadelphia, PA

Mary Virginia Orna, Professor of Chemistry, College of New Rochelle,

             New Rochelle, NY

 

PLEASE VOTE!  Every vote counts!

It is name recognition vs experience and service to ACS.  Choice is you, please VOTE.

 

Petitions for Action

 

·         The Council received two amendments to the ACS Constitution and Bylaws for action: The Petition on Candidate Selection by Member Petition – (to be considered for Urgent Action) and the Petition on Election Timelines and Procedures 2009.

 

o   The Petition on Candidate Selection by Member Petition proposes to permit candidates to be selected by a petition process from members.  To be considered for urgent action, the petition required a ¾ affirmative vote.  After considerable discussion, a vote to consider the petition at the 2009 fall meeting FAILED.   Absent urgent action, the Petition on Candidate Selection by Member Petition will now be up for action at the 2010 spring meeting of the Council.

 

o   Next, the Council discussed in great detail the Petition on Election Timelines and Procedures 2009.  This petition proposes to shorten certain election timelines and change petition candidates (who go straight on the ballot if they obtain enough signatures) to petition nominees (who need to be screened by Council along with other nominees chosen by the Committee on Nominations and Elections).  After rejecting a request to have a recorded vote, the Council VOTED to recommit the petition to the Committee on Nominations and Elections with instructions.  Following this action, N&E sought input through a nonbinding survey to help guide their revisions.  A revised petition will likely be up for action at the 2010 spring Council meeting.  

 

(For Consideration)

 

The Council received one petition for consideration:  the Petition on Admissions Committee.  This petition removes the Admissions Committee from the Bylaws and transfers its functions to the Council Committee on Membership Affairs.  Action is expected on the petition at the 2010 spring meeting.

 

 

Committee Review and Committee Change in Status

 

·         As part of a regular performance review, the Council VOTED to continue the Committees on Chemical Safety, Minority Affairs, Chemical Abstracts Service, Technician Affairs, and Analytical Reagents.  Continuing the first three committees requires Board of Directors concurrence.

 

 

Registration Report and 2010 National Meeting Registration Fee

 

·         As of August 19, 2009, the ACS fall national meeting had attracted 14,319 registrants. This was the largest Washington meeting in history.  Totals in select categories are as follows:  Regular attendees 8,575; Students 3,159; Guests 462; Exhibit Only 676; and Exhibitors 1,447.  In keeping with the objective of the National Meeting Long Range Financial Plan, previously approved by the Board of Directors and Council, the Meetings and Expositions Committee recommended to the Board an increase of $10 for the 2010 national meeting registration fee.  The Board will act on this recommendation shortly.

 

The Society’s Membership

 

·         The provisions of the Petition on Membership Categories and Requirements were fully implemented this past June with the transfer of former Student Affiliates to Student Member status, and Associate Members to regular Member status.  As of July 31, the Society had 9,732 Student Members – 6,500 of them former Student Affiliates and more than 3,000 of them new Student Members. 

 

Dissolution of the Division of Chemical Technicians

 

·         At the 2009 spring Council meeting, the Divisional Activities Committee (DAC) reported that it had voted to accept a recommendation from the Division of Chemical Technicians (TECH) that the division disband and to recommend this action to Council in the fall.  On recommendation of DAC, as recommended by TECH, the Council VOTED to disband the Division of Chemical Technicians effective December 31, 2009.  DAC agreed that TECH has accomplished its mission of enhancing the status of technicians in the American Chemical Society, and now they are integrated into the other technical divisions.   

 

Changes to Charter Bylaws for New Local Sections and International Chemical Sciences Chapters and Bylaws for Divisions in Probationary Status

 

·         The Council VOTED to accept changes to charter bylaws for new local sections and international chemical sciences chapters, and bylaws for divisions in probationary status.  These changes, which were developed in cooperation with the Committees on Divisional Activities, Local Section Activities, and International Activities, are a result of changes to the Constitution and Bylaws made as a result of the Petition on Membership Categories and Requirements, which became effective on June 30.

 

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

M. Chan

Councilor, Carolina-Piedmont Section

Committee of Minorities Affairs, Member

Project SEED, Liaison from CMA

Committee on Constitution and ByLaws

Divisional  Activities Committee, Liaison from C&B