Annual Report Shows A Resilient, Forward-Looking ACS

Despite the sharp economic downturn near the end of 2008, the American Chemical Society finished the year on solid ground, with total revenues up 2.3%, from $487 million in 2007 to $498 million in 2008. Among its accomplishments, the society launched a new journal, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces; added 16,000 members to the ACS Network; and published new guidelines and procedures for ACS approval of baccalaureate programs in chemistry. These and other highlights are included in the 2008 ACS Annual Report, which is available exclusively online for the first time. Visitors to www.acs.org/annualreport, which is slated to go live on Aug. 10, can also read the officers’ message, view the financial tables, and learn about the makeup of the ACS membership.

While an annual report traditionally looks at the past, this year’s annual report also looks toward the future. “Especially when times are tough, people need additional resources to help them enhance their skills and abilities so they can contribute more to the chemistry enterprise,” says Madeleine Jacobs, ACS executive director and CEO. “We believe that ACS now more than ever should be your professional home.”

As a companion to the 2008 annual report, the society has launched a dynamic new website, ACS Now More Than Ever (www.acs.org/now), to help members and potential members navigate ACS’s various programs and resources. The website, also slated for an Aug. 10 debut, groups all of the society’s programs and services under four headings: “Advance,” “Lead,” “Collaborate,” and “Learn.” In the “Advance” section, for example, members can learn about ACS’s career services, enroll in a short course, and find out about awards and grants. In the “Lead” section, members can find out how to join the ACS Legislative Action Network and contribute to educational programs such as Project SEED. In the “Collaborate” section, members can link up with other members through the ACS Network and join a local section or technical division. In the “Learn” section, they can access ACS journals as well as C&EN and find out what the Green Chemistry Institute is up to. The website also features videos and real-time polls.

“There are so many benefits of being an ACS member that you can lose sight of many of them,” says Doug Dollemore, senior science writer in the Office of Public Affairs, which produced the annual report. “This serves as a reminder of all the possibilities there are within the society.” Dollemore encourages members to visit the ACS Now More Than Ever booth during the national meeting in Washington, D.C., and participate in a real-time poll to win an iPod touch.