Comment: Celebrating 30 years of CEPA helping ACS members

This year marks a significant milestone for the American Chemical Society Committee on Economic and Professional Affairs (CEPA) as the committee celebrates its 30th anniversary. At the ACS National Meeting in Denver in March 1993, councilors approved the petition Governance Restructuring: A Council Standing Committee on Economic & Professional Affairs by a single vote more than the two-thirds threshold required. The formation of CEPA was a controversial decision that took place as part of a wider ACS governance restructuring, described at the time as “committeemania” by Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN, April 1993, page 40). This petition and other ACS Council actions resulted in creating five new committees and shuttering through consolidation or declining to form eight other committees. CEPA was created through the merger of the Council Committee on Professional Relations and the Joint Board-Council Committee on Economic Status and the closing of the Joint Board-Council Professional Programs Planning and Coordinating Committee. Arguments against the petition did not question the value of the society’s focus on professional matters. Rather, those opposed expressed concerns about fewer available committee seats for interested ACS volunteers resulting from the committee consolidation and jurisdictional considerations related to council versus board committees, which ultimately preserved the board standing Committee on Professional and Member Relations.

While quite a bit has changed in the past 30 years, such as CEPA no longer investigating corporate “multiple terminations” (layoffs), key aspects foundational to CEPA and its predecessor committees remain. For example, CEPA still has oversight for the ACS Career Consultants program, which has grown to 116 consultants in 5 countries—including 2 certified retirement coaches—and generates more value than ever thanks to virtual career consultations (369 in 2023 for +37% year-over-year growth).

Ethical and professional guidelines

Another consistent and important role for CEPA is the stewardship and updating of the ACS ethical and professional guidelines. The ethical and professional guidelines are an important part of ACS, derived from the society’s core value of “professionalism, safety, and ethics” and specified in the society’s 1937 congressional charter, which charges ACS with “the improvement of the qualifications and usefulness of chemists through high standards of professional ethics.” The first of these, The Chemist’s Creed (now The Chemical Professional’s Code of Conduct), was passed at the National ACS Meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 1965 following 6 years of work from the Council Committee on Professional Relations and Status and derived from the Chemist’s Creed prepared by the Dayton Section (C&EN, Sept. 27, 1965, page 86).

The ethical and professional guidelines have evolved over time and for the past 30 years have been the purview of the CEPA Subcommittee on Policy and Ethics (SPE), formed in 2017 and currently chaired by Penny Beuning. The guidelines include The Chemical Professional’s Code of Conduct, Academic Professional Guidelines, and Professional Employment Guidelines. The subcommittee reviews and updates all three documents as needed on a 5-year cycle. This process starts with SPE, engages stakeholder committees, and invites feedback from councilors before the final documents are presented to the ACS Council for approval. The guidelines provide a consistent framework for safety, ethics, integrity, responsibility, professionalism, and respect for employers, employees, students, and trainees across the global chemistry enterprise; they are especially valuable for employees in organizations that otherwise do not have stated core values. The Chemical Professional’s Code of Conduct and the Academic Professional Guidelines are both on the council agenda for approval at ACS Fall 2024 in Denver.

Committee news

Earlier this year, CEPA published a substantial revision to CEPA: The Member’s Manual. This document provides a thorough overview of CEPA’s role, mission, vision, operations, and history. Hard copies were provided to CEPA members, associates, and guests at ACS Spring 2024 in New Orleans; the electronic version is on the CEPA web page. The updated manual has proved to be a helpful tool, especially for those who are new to the committee.

A recent and popular addition to CEPA’s meeting has been the inclusion of a guest speaker to discuss economic trends. At ACS Spring 2024, Martha Moore, chief economist from the American Chemistry Council, spoke to CEPA about the economic outlook for chemistry and related industries. Moore discussed macroeconomic themes, including persistent inflation and the economic uncertainty that accompanies a US presidential election year, as well as more granular topics such as shifts in industry and consumer spending—and the implications of all these matters for the chemical industry. This helpful and insightful information enables CEPA to work more effectively to achieve its mission “to provide programming, resources, and advocacy for all ACS members to achieve fulfilling professional lives.”

CEPA looks forward to celebrating our 30th anniversary in Denver!

Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of C&EN, ACS, or Agilent Technologies.