Chicago National Meeting Highlights for Local Sections

I wanted to update you on a few of the activities that went on during the recent national meeting in Chicago that are directly related to local sections and how the Local Section Activities Committee is addressing them.

Several activities and discussions related to local sections occurred at the ACS national meeting in Chicago and were addressed by the Local Section Activities Committee (LSAC):

Student Members. As you may be aware, the Membership Affairs Committee is likely to put forth a petition that will make Student Affiliates student members of the Society. This potential change in the status of our future chemists at the undergraduate level has many positive implications for local sections. If Student Affiliates become members, they will automatically be assigned to the local section they claim as their home address. Included in this would be accurate updated contact information for communication with these undergraduates. This improved communication should help increase our impact at the local level by being able to better provide activities for and communicate opportunities to this group. LSAC is also monitoring the transition process for these potential new members as it relates to local section activities, voting, and finances, among other things. If this issue continues to move forward, LSAC will make certain the process is smooth for local sections.

Merged Newsletters. LSAC and the Committee on Community Activities met in Chicago and decided to merge the newsletters of the two committees. Both feel that this will improve the content presently being offered while ensuring that the needs of both groups (local section officers and community outreach coordinators) are being met. A combined newsletter will increase the subscribership for both and allow the committees to deliver higher-quality information in a more timely manner. The name of the newsletter will remain Leading Together. You can look for implementation of this change in the Summer 2007 newsletter.

Summit II. In early March, LSAC hosted the second Local Section Summit, which was designed to help position our sections for maximum impact as we move into the future. Summit I was held in May 2006 to craft a vision for the future of local sections. The new vision statement that was realized at Summit I is “local sections connect chemistry and the community.” We also achieved six focus areas of activities for local sections: community building, mentoring and leadership, professional development, career development, advocacy and public outreach. These points will guide us through the upcoming initiatives that will come out of Summit II, with a particular focus on innovation and technology. Although the final report of Summit II is not yet available, I would like to call your attention to a couple of items that have happened already and others that will happen soon. Outcomes from Summit I include a complete reorganization of the Local Section Annual Report related to our focus areas, a public relations video that was mailed out in February, and the Science Café initiative. In 2007, we will continue supporting initiatives that emerged from Summit II. These include Round II of the Science Café project coming in the fall of 2007. The response to the first call for Cafés was outstanding: 56 local sections agreed to host an event in 2007. Also, look for an LSAC initiative to help local sections provide a great public outreach experience for the 20th anniversary of National Chemistry Week. This new initiative will be announced soon and is designed to help local sections increase their reach and impact as they host activities for the 20th year of National Chemistry Week.

Will Lynch, Chair
ACS Committee on Local Section Activities

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