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Report from Council
at the 236th Meeting of the ACS
Salt Lake City, just like I pictured it; snow squalls and
everything! Continuing on this allegory to Stevie Wonder’s
Living for the City would find your Councilor doing 10 years
hard labor for violating SLC’s strict open-container laws.
I was hoping to run into Marie during my stay so that I could
ask her whether her fainting spell on Dancing with the Stars was
due to her rapid, NutriSystem-induced weight loss but the only
Osmond I ran into was Donny, who can usually be found outside
the Salt Lake Temple gates singing “I’m a Little Bit Country …”
for quarters. It’s very sad but once a week or so Steve
Young comes by to take Donny out to lunch. OK, enough LDS
jokes. Too bad I don’t have enough room to tell you about
all the waitress tattoos.
Speaking of food, it was the usual fare at the Council
Breakfast. There were even a few tables, although too few.
My big gripe — and if you know me, you know that I always have
at least one — was that they ran out of cream, half-and-half,
and milk for the coffee. How can we poor, decrepit,
sour-stomached Councilors be expected to drink black coffee?
I’m sure the ACS Board had cream for their coffee! The
little quiz below demonstrates just how unpredictable Council
can be: A
Councilor became publicly verklempt during: A) The
reading of the names of Councilors who have died since the last
meeting of Council. B) The
memorial for deceased Past President of the ACS, Dr. Ernest
Eliel. C) The
discussion about setting the member dues for 2010 at the fully
escalated rate of $145. The
answer, of course, is C. A Councilor at the microphone
pleaded for 2008 member dues of $140 and got all choked up as he
apparently felt the anguish of all the recently unemployed
chemists in the US. During one painfully long pause,
several Councilors murmured, “I think he’s crying!” One
Councilor in my row wasn’t empathetic; he took $5 out of his
wallet and told me to pass it down to the Councilor at the mike.
And I’m the one who got dirty looks for laughing.
Previously, at the Town Hall Meeting, I once again used my
patented 4-point system to select the two candidates who would
go on to win the nominations for 2010 President Elect—Nancy B.
Jackson and Cheryl A. Martin. I later saw an excited Nancy
Jackson talking animatedly to a friend of hers. If she
were more like this onstage, she might have place first instead
of second in my ratings. Below is
a more traditional summary of Council Actions:
Election Results The
Committee on Nominations and Elections presented to the Council
the following nominees for selection as candidates for
President-Elect, 2010: Berkeley W. Cue, Jr., Nancy B. Jackson,
Cheryl A. Martin, and Dorothy J. Phillips. By electronic
ballot, the Council selected Nancy B. Jackson and Cheryl A.
Martin as candidates for 2010 President-Elect. These two
candidates, along with any candidates selected via petitions,
will stand for election in the Fall National Election. The
Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the results of
the election to select candidates from the list of nominees to
represent District I and District V on the Board of Directors
for the term 2010-2012. Nominees for District I included:
D. Richard Cobb, Neil D. Jespersen, Wayne E. Jones, and James L.
Kallmerten. Nominees for District V included Thomas
J. Barton, Judith L. Benham, Peter K. Dorhout, and John W.
Moore. By mail ballot, the Councilors from these districts
selected D. Richard Cobb and Neil D. Jespersen as District I
candidates; and as District V candidates, Judith L. Benham and
Peter K. Dorhout. Ballots will be mailed on or before
October 10 to all members in District I and District V for
election of a Director from each District.
Candidates for Directors-at-Large The
Committee on Nominations and Elections announced the selection
of the following candidates for Directors-at-Large for a
2010-2012 term: Dennis Chamot, H. N. Cheng, Ray A. Dickie,
and Valerie J. Kuck. The election of two
Directors-at-Large will be conducted in the fall. Ballots
will be mailed to the Council on or before October 10.
Committee Elections The
Committee on Nominations and Elections presented Roger F.
Bartholomew and Roland F. Hirsch to Council as candidates for
election to the Committee on Committees (ConC) to fill a vacancy
created by a committee member’s resignation. By written
ballot, the Council elected Roland F. Hirsch.
Candidates Carol B. Libby and Robert A. Pribush were presented
to Council for election to the Committee on Nominations and
Elections (N&E) to fill a vacancy created by a committee
member’s resignation. By written ballot, the Council
elected Robert A. Pribush.
Petition to Amend Bylaws (For Consideration) The
Council received one petition for consideration: the
Petition on Election Timelines 2009. According to the proposing
committee, this petition presents election procedure refinements
that are intended to provide a fair, consistent, and equitable
process, which balances the concerns and needs of participants,
as requested by Councilors and candidates. Action is
expected on the petition at the fall Council meeting.
Change in Committee Charge The
Council VOTED to permit the Committee on Chemistry and Public
Affairs to amend a portion of its charge from: “a.
Identify and analyze legislative, regulatory, research and other
science policy issues that impact upon the chemical sciences and
technologies” to “a. Identify and analyze legislative;
regulatory; research; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
(STEM) education funding; and other science policy issues that
impact upon the chemical sciences and technologies.”
The Society’s Finances The
Council and Board of Directors received extensive briefings on
the Society’s finances, which showed that in spite of the
economic challenges faced in 2008, the Society’s operating
performance held up well. Total revenue was approximately
$450 million, up just over 3% from 2007. The Society’s Net
from Operations was $9.7 million, and $560,000 favorable to
budget. This is the fifth consecutive year of positive
operating results.
However, in 2008 ACS was adversely impacted by the historic
collapse in the capital markets, which resulted in a sharp
decline in the Society’s unrestricted net assets from $212
million at December 31, 2007, to $60 million at December 31,
2008. There were two factors driving this decrease, both
related to the poor performance in the capital markets.
These are substantial investment losses and a sizable increase
in pension liability from the Society’s Defined Benefit Pension
Plan. For this and other reasons, action was taken in 2007
to close the Defined Benefit Pension Plan, and, in 2008, to
freeze benefit accruals for all Defined Benefit Pension Plan
participants in 2009. It
is in this context that the Board received a detailed briefing
from management at this meeting on the framework of the 2009
Contingency Plan. In 2006, the Society had the foresight
to develop a robust Contingency Plan that contemplated potential
threats from many different sources, their probability of
occurrence, likely duration and financial impact. The
updated 2009 Plan covers all operating and administrative units
as well as member programs, and identifies new and emerging
threats. ACS management has also updated the mitigation
strategies to respond to the threats and ensure the Society’s
long-term financial sustainability.
Society management and the Board of Directors are closely
monitoring financial performance versus the budget. In
addition, significant reductions in discretionary spending have
already been implemented and additional cost control measures
are under consideration. However, despite the adverse
impact of the economic downturn, the Society remains highly
liquid with more than $275 million in cash and investments, and
limited debt of $30 million.
2010 Member Dues
After a lengthy discussion and rejection of two amendments, the
Council VOTED to set the member dues for 2010 at the fully
escalated rate of $145. This rate is established pursuant to an
inflation-adjustment formula in the ACS Constitution and Bylaws.
The vote was 348 to 70.
Member Statistics At
the close of 2008, Society membership totaled 154,024, compared
to 160,052 for year-end 2007. In 2008, ACS completed the
transition of its 15 year-old membership fulfillment system to a
new, more robust system. The year-end 2008 membership
numbers reflect a drop in membership of approximately 2% due to
the economy and a correction to the counts of 2,589 Emeritus
members whom ACS has not been able to reach for many years.
Compared to its sister societies, ACS experienced a smaller loss
of members in 2008.
Special Discussion Item A
special discussion item was again put on the Council agenda for
this meeting. ACS President Thomas H. Lane invited
the Chair of the Committee on Membership Affairs to present the
results of a Councilor survey as a preface to the discussion on
what can ACS do to attract new members while better serving our
membership during these challenging economic times.
Following the presentation, President Lane led Councilors in a
lively discussion that focused on the value of ACS membership
and on growth opportunities among students, international
scientists, high school teachers, technicians, diverse ethnic
groups and others.
Attendance Report As
of March 25, 2009, the ACS spring national meeting had attracted
10,668 registrants as follows: Regular attendees 5,781;
Students 3,439; Exhibitors 780; Exposition only 411; and Guests
257.
Professional Employment Guidelines The
Council VOTED to approve the Professional Employment Guidelines,
as submitted by the Committee on Economic and Professional
Affairs. These guidelines offer a broad spectrum of
recommended practices in employment for professional scientists
and their employers.
Your faithful Councilor, Steve Trohalaki
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