For president-elect: Laura Sremaniak

North Carolina Section. North Carolina State University, North Carolina.

Academic record: University of South Carolina, BS, 1991; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, PhD, 1996.

Honors: ACS Fellow, 2021; Marcus Hobbes Award, North Carolina Section, 2012; NC State University Equity for Women Award, 2018, UNC System Bridges Leadership Program, 2016, NC State Provost Faculty Fellow, 2020–2021.

Professional positions (for the past 10 years): North Carolina State University, Teaching Professor, 2014–present; Associate Department Head, 2022–present.

Service in ACS national offices: Committee on Membership Affairs, 2018–present, Chair, 2022–24; Board of Trustees for Member Insurance, 2022–24; Women Chemists Committee 2007–17, Chair, 2017; Task force on the Future of Meetings, 2019–20.

Service in ACS offices: North Carolina Section: Councilor, 2005–present, Alternate Councilor, 2004. Chair, Women Chemists Subcommittee 2012–16, Co-chair Education Subcommittee, 2014–present. Chair, Project SEED Subcommittee, 2013–16. Southeastern Regional Meeting: Meeting Organizer, 2012, 2023.

Member: Member of ACS since 1991. ACS Divisions: Physical Chemistry; Professional Relations. American Association of Chemistry Teachers; Alpha Chi Sigma; Sigma Xi.

Related activities: NC State Chapter Advisor, Alpha Chi Sigma; NSF Panel ADVANCE IT, 2014; Symposium organizer: WCC “The Nons-Non-tenure Track Faculty in a Changing Academic Landscape,” 2017; “Issues Facing Non-tenure Track Faculty,” 2010; COACh workshop organizer, “The Art of Negotiations” and “Career Launch and Acceleration for Graduate Students,” 2012, 2016, 2018, and 2023; IPG Grant Award for “Safety First: what you need to know to run safe laboratory experiments with students,” 2017; Project SEED grantee from Golden Corral Charitable Fund, 2015; NC State Extension, Engagement, and Economic Development Seed Grant, 2014.

Sremaniak’s statement

It is an honor to be a candidate for the American Chemical Society president-elect. The ACS is an incredible organization, and I have had the privilege of serving as a member since my undergraduate studies, and as an ACS leader since 2004. Like all of us, I have valued the commitment of the ACS to its chemical information resources, journals, meetings, outreach, and support of chemists at all stages.

As we move into the future, the ACS must remain relevant to its members when there are paradigm-shifting forces at work in education, our workplaces, communication, technology, and continued pressures on research funding.

As president-elect, I would focus my efforts on membership, education, and advocating for a diverse workforce. Above all else, I will help cultivate a thriving professional home in the ACS for all those passionate about the chemical sciences.

Membership

ACS’s mission, “to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people,” is wonderfully people-focused and the ACS, at its essence, is a member organization.

Now in my final year as chair of the Committee on Membership Affairs (MAC), I have gained a deep understanding of what our members value, the reach and effectiveness of our marketing campaigns, and the insights from our survey and demographic data that highlight where we must improve if we are to strengthen our membership.

As ACS president-elect, I would continue to work with MAC and other committees to focus on how to enhance ACS membership to drive not only membership growth, but also the improvement of the member experience, facilitating member engagement, and fostering an inclusive and global member community. We need to harness technological solutions to help us manage many aspects of membership, to provide a more personalized approach to our messaging, and to better support our volunteers at all levels. We need a clearer value proposition, especially for our industrial members, and better ways for new members to navigate ACS as an organization to quickly find connections and a sense of belonging and support within our community.

Education

As a faculty member and administrator at a large university, I understand the pressures that are shaping the future of higher education and the need for student preparedness before entering the chemistry workforce. Enrollment declines, escalating costs, and student mental health, are three areas of concern among many. Other areas where educators and institutions will need to adapt is with the use of robotics and AI in our classrooms and laboratories.

Within ACS, there are many existing programs that could assist, and we need to make sure that they are up to modern standards and easy to find and use. As enrollments decline, it will also be crucial that our K-12 educational initiatives support high school teachers, a key step to sparking interest in students to consider further studies in chemistry. As with membership at large, I would promote ideas that will grow our student communities: ChemClubs in high schools, ACS student and international student chapters, and graduate student organizations. I would seek to create more coordination between these groups and local sections, divisions, and international chapters, including opportunities for exchanges between US and international student chapters, and between students and industries that are local to them.

Advocating for a diverse workforce

Life-long learning is essential for a skilled and flexible workforce. The ACS offers many programs to help members at all stages of their careers and opportunities for networking, but many members aren’t always aware of what is available. We need to develop better ways of helping members find these networking and mentoring opportunities, and continue to create and refine high impact content so members can adjust to global changes throughout their careers. Related to this, exciting changes are also planned for our future national meetings, and I am eager to support this transition.

How can my ACS and academic leadership experience be valuable to members? My numerous past and current leadership roles at all levels directly support the goals of the ACS’s strategic plan. I pledge to bring my enthusiasm, knowledge, and expertise to this role so we can retain our focus on attracting, retaining, recognizing, and engaging current and future members of the ACS and in a broader context, those individuals working in the chemical enterprise.

I want to work with all of you to make ACS an inclusive and welcoming professional home to ALL of our members. Thank you for considering me for president-elect! To learn more and contact me, visit laura4acs.org.