MILWAUKEE SECTION
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Councillors' Report

Councilors Report for ACS National Meeting at New Orleans, LA, March, 2003.

1. Nominations. The first order of business for the Council was to determine from a list of four possible candidates which two would run for ACS President elect in the fall elections. The two candidates who were elected by ballot of the Council were Dr. William Carroll from Occidental Chemical Corporation in Dallas, Texas and Dr. Michael Strem from Strem Chemicals Inc. in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Members are likely to hear more about these candidates and can learn more from articles in C&EN as the election approaches. Chemistry.org, the ACS website will include links to the candidates web pages as well.
2. Report from the President. Dr. Elsa Reichmanis presented her report to the Council. She noted that the Society was active in the political process of setting up the new Department of Homeland Security, successfully helping lobby for an Undersecretary for Science within this new cabinet level federal agency. The importance of basic research in assuring the future of homeland security is among the items this position should be helpful to assure. These messages were delivered with the backdrop of the war in Iraq which began just days before the national meeting was set to begin. Travel restrictions kept some members from attending the meeting, and others had to drive for 20 or more hours to attend because flight restrictions were issued by their companies.
3. Report from President-elect. Dr. Chuck Casey (from UW-Madison) noted his interest in maintaining the emphasis that Dr. Reichmanis has placed on communications. He also has plans for somewhat unique presidential events at the ACS meeting in Anaheim where emphasis will be on new technical advances with a range of activities. In addition to research symposia, tutorial style sessions will be used to introduce more chemists to the techniques and theories of new and emerging fields for chemical study. Moreover, he hopes to explore ways to communicate about these new technologies to the general public.
4. Report from the Past-president. Dr. Eli Pearce discussed his two major agenda items, the issues of diversity and "re-inventing" chemistry education. He noted several successes in each category. He is particularly interested in tapping the time and energy of newly retired chemists, a group he calls the "silver circle". Programs to help local sections enlist the efforts of retired chemists will be increased based on the efforts of Dr. Pearce.
5. Report from the Chair of the Board. Dr. Nina McClelland reported on the main challenges facing the ACS Board of Directors. The two major issues are the development of the strategic plan for 2004-2006 and the search for a new Executive Director to replace the retiring John Crum. It was also noted that the Chief Financial Officer, Frank Young, is also retiring, so the Board will be active in making sure that high quality executive leadership of the Society is secured.
6. Committee on Ethics. The Council Policy Committee reported that they are recommending that a Committee on Ethics be explored for the ACS Council. This recommendation will be considered by the Committee on Committees.
7. By-law Change. Perhaps the single most important issue before the council was a vote on a by-law change for the funding of local sections and divisions. This issue has been debated for roughly the past 3.5 years and required changes to both the by-laws and the constitution of the ACS. Because of the constitutional changes, there will be a ballot to members in the early summer looking for votes about the issue. Essentially, the net result of the changes is to increase the funding that the technical Divisions receive from the Society. The majority of the money the Divisions receive is used to improve programming at National Meetings. Many Divisions have struggled significantly to be able to put together programs for these meetings due to limited funds.
8. (Continued) The changes were passed with a 2/3 majority on a voice vote. There are, however, some concerns that were noted by councilors from the floor. In particular, as a temporary measure, because the change will have a major effect on the finances of the Society, an assessment on dues will be implemented during the next four years to provide a transitional time period to work out how to afford the changes permanently. These assessments are for $2 in 2004, $4 in 2005, $6 in 2006 and $8 in 2008. There is no additional assessment in 2009 and by that time the Society will be able to fund the financial assistant to the technical Divisions as part of the regular dues from members and fees for services.
9. (Continued) Members of Council expressed concerns that these assessments are paid by ACS members who do not attend the National Meetings. It is important, however, to remember that these meetings are the premier way that the Society generates positive news about Chemistry. Most stories that have received press coverage in the past 5 years are the result of papers that have been presented at National Meetings. To the extent that all members of the Society benefit from the positive images that result from the exciting research carried out by members of the Society, this assessment benefits even those chemists who do not attend the national meetings. Improved quality of programs at the national meeting will only lead to even more positive new coverage of Chemistry at future national meetings.
10. Budget and Finance. The committee on budget and finance reported that the Society had a deficit of $789,000 in 2002. This was less than the budgeted deficit. The primary reasons for the deficit were associated with difficult economic times. Investment performance was quite weak and the ACS pension plan suffered an erosion in its financial position. Advertising revenue in ACS publications also suffered. Reserves dipped from $192,000,000 to $136,000,000 which is 38% of operating expenses. This value is below recommended levels for organizations such as ACS (which should be in the 40-60% range). Cost cutting efforts are being considered for the next 2-3 years and hopes for improved economic climate in the future will also lead to an improvement in ACS performance. The core businesses of the ACS are faring well, even in these difficult economic times.
11. 2004 Dues. The standard dues escalator calculation was approved by Council. Dues for 2004 will be $120.
12. Society Committee on Education (SOCED). SOCED has noted with concern the low retention rate of science teachers and is exploring ways that the Society can help remedy this situation. SOCED also noted concerns about the increase in Visa denials for overseas students who wish to come to the US for graduate studies. This policy is starting to erode the research programs in chemistry at many universities. The same statement is also being developed by the Committee on International Affairs.
13. Committee on Science. The Committee on Science has instituted a new form of symposium for National Meetings that they call the Lunch Box Forum. They occur over lunch and address a topic of current interest. In New York one entitled "National Security versus Sciences Openness" will be held. The Committee on Science also noted its concerns about visa denials and is working on the issue.
14. Meetings and Expositions. The attendance at the New Orleans meeting was affected by the outbreak of war in Iraq, but was still strong. With some small additional numbers expected on Wednesay afternoon and Thursday for the conference the attendance was 14,576. The exposition had 290 companies occupying 504 booths. The financial aspects of the 2002 meetings were also discussed. The Orlando meeting had a net loss of $400,000 and the Boston meeting lost $40,000. The committee has noted that there are now only a few cities in the US where the meeting does not lose large amounts of money and that these few "tier-1" cities should always be host for at least one of the meetings per year.
15. Membership. Membership in the Society as of the end of 2002 stands at 161,144. Of those who renewed their dues this year, 9,300 did so on-line and demand for this option is likely to grow. There is a new member benefit where insurance for auto, home and property at competitive rates is now available (the insurer is Liberty Mutual).
16. Economic and Professional Affairs. The National Employment Clearing House (NECH) has completed its migration to a paperless (on-line) operation. In doing so they have achieved some remarkable operating efficiencies. The number of computers needed dropped from 135 to 66 (because of advance registrations) the number of printers dropped from 20 to 2 and the staffing dropped from 29 to 8. At the New Orleans meeting there were 1151 candidates seeking positions. 96 companies were trying to fill 303 jobs and held 1717 interviews. The committee hopes to launch a new, electronic version of the career consultants service and requests that members who might be interested in serving as career consultants step forward to volunteer.
17. Project SEED. Project SEED has now included the involvement of 6300 High School students. 49 SEED scholarships have been awarded in the past two years and this program is scheduled to continue and hopefully grow in the near future.
18. Minority Affairs. The minority affairs committee is celebrating its 10th anniversary of activities.
19. Technician Affairs. The committee on technician affairs noted their interest in establishing a certificate program. This program will recognize students who complete an appropriate technician education curriculum and provide them with evidence that they have met an accepted standard of training upon completion of their technical degree.

- Submitted by Tom Holme