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The major actions taken by the ACS Board of Directors at its June meeting in Baltimore are reported here.
The chairs from the following subcommittees of the ACS Board Committee on Grants & Awards (G&A) reported the following:
The 2010 Awards Review Committee reported that the committee has completed its review of 14 of the ACS national awards to ensure that the awards program continues to meet the objectives of the society.
The Fellows Oversight Committee reported that the committee has developed goals and metrics for the Fellows Program. The call for nominations for the Fellows Program closed on May 7. The Selection Committee is currently reviewing nominations. Selections will be completed by the end of June.
The Subcommittee on Nominations & Selection proposed a new, shorter nomination form for the national awards program, which the committee approved.
The Subcommittee on Funding reported that the subcommittee has begun to review the list of national awards without sponsors and make recommendations to the Development Office for new sponsors.
The committee voted to approve a new eligibility statement for the Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Management, effective July 1.
G&A also voted the following: to recommend to the board of directors that the Arthur W. Adamson Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Surface Chemistry be terminated unless a sponsor is identified by relevant technical divisions by July 1, 2011 (the award will lie fallow for the 2012 presentation); to recommend to the board that the ACS Award in Theoretical Chemistry be financially supported by ACS for the 2012 presentation unless a sponsor is found to support this award; to recommend to the board that the E. Bright Wilson Award in Spectroscopy lie fallow for the 2012 presentation; to recommend to the board that the George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education be financially supported by ACS for the 2012 presentation unless a cosponsor is found to support it.
The committee also voted to accept the recommendations of the ACS Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) Advisory Board (May 2010 meeting) for funding grants totaling $5.75 million and voted to approve a list of recommendations for appointments to the various PRF Advisory Board committees.
Finally, the committee voted, upon the recommendation of the Joint Board-Council Committee on Patents & Related Matters, to recommend to the board of directors that it approve three nominations to the National Inventors Hall of Fame: Lloyd M. Robeson, for his cutting-edge polymer research leading to significant technical developments; John Uri Lloyd, for the invention named the Concentrator for Solutions, a device that has come to be known as Lloyd's cold still; and Bruce David Roth, for the invention of Lipitor, which has become the largest-selling drug in pharmaceutical history.—Kent J. Voorhees, Chair
The Committee on Professional & Member Relations (P&MR) affirmed two interim votes, including the cosponsorship of an upcoming International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) education conference in Taiwan.
The committee agreed with the priority and next steps assigned by the Professional Advancement subcommittee to various recommendations by the Presidential Task Force on Implementing the ACS Diversity Reports.
The committee also agreed with the proposed action plan and provided guidance to staff on efforts to help members adapt to an increasingly global scientific workforce, including training, member education, and policy-related issues—working with the Committee on Public Affairs & Public Relations (PA&PR).
P&MR reviewed preliminary recommendations from the Task Force on Electronic Dissemination of Meeting Content and provided feedback on several recommendations, including the number and types of presentations recorded, pricing models, and the continued need to address journal prior publication policies and related copyright issues.
The International Strategy Subcommittee reported on recent work to advance ACS global alliances, and the Office of Public Affairs provided an update on communications activities related to the International Year of Chemistry 2011. P&MR also agreed to send a letter to various committee chairs encouraging them to review sustainability ideas developed by 10 S3G-related action teams.
Finally, P&MR discussed a recent request for ACS support and financial contribution to the "SESAME" international science project under construction in Jordan. P&MR voted to endorse, and make a $5,000 annual contribution for a chemist travel to, the SESAME international science project, for a three-year period.—Diane Grob Schmidt, Chair
The Committee on Public Affairs & Public Relations (PA&PR) highlighted a number of governance advocacy activities that occurred since the last meeting, and the chair shared that a working group has agreed to conceptual language amending Bylaw XII to align it with other position development provisions in ACS Bulletin 5. The current schedule anticipates presenting a proposal to ACS Council for consideration at the ACS spring 2011 meeting and for final action at the ACS fall 2011 meeting.
The chair reviewed progress on three goals outlined at the beginning of the year: Effectively manage the ACS policy statement review, approval, and prioritization processes; enlist more ACS members in advocacy and communications outreach at the local section level, and; partner more effectively with other ACS committees to generate an actionable ACS policy statement that will seek to create and retain new U.S. science-based jobs.
The committee also received several reports from ACS Office of Public Affairs (OPA) staff that provided updates on key programs and projects from the following areas:
Federal Relations. Recent visits were held with officials at several federal agencies, and research results were discussed which identified ACS members serving on federal advisory committees in an effort to help broaden ACS's outreach to these advisory boards on behalf of the chemistry enterprise. The committee reviewed recommendations from three ACS committees on candidates to be considered as the new science adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State. Committee members voted by secret ballot for their top six candidates, and the results were shared with the ACS Board.
Policy. Updates were shared on policy statements in development for 2010 as well as the biennial 2011–2012 ACS Public Policy Priorities Statement. Special efforts are being made to include maximum ACS member input on the development of the new climate-change statement, which will include online questions to the membership in July and a presidential forum on climate science at the fall national meeting. Committee members learned of the Legislative Action Network database update to remove those who are no longer ACS members; 2010 Science & the Congress briefings and expanded efforts to partner with Capitol Hill offices and peer organizations; and the 2010–11 congressional and public policy fellows.
Advocacy. ACS federal and state government affairs advocacy highlights were shared, including the complex congressional consideration of the reauthorization of the America Competes Act, the stalled federal budget process, K–12 education reauthorization, publications and open access policy, ACS contributions to science education policy successes in Tennessee, and education policy testimony in California. The committee also received a strategic analysis of the rapidly changing political and economic landscape for U.S. public policy, including how the unprecedented budget environment and eroding bipartisanship could affect future R&D and STEM education.
Science Communications. Media coverage analysis for the first quarter of 2010 was shared indicating that ACS content is reaching an increased audience in both print and electronic formats. Downloads of ACS podcasts (Bytesize Science, Science Elements, and Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions) are quickly approaching the 500,000-download milestone. The committee was updated on the launch of a joint ACS-Royal Society of Chemistry online sustainability primer; a media analysis to benchmark ACS's success in securing media placements compared to similar organizations; and digital video projects under way for ACS staff units and governance committees.
Society Communications. The committee reviewed and commented on several videos that resulted from on-camera interviews with ACS members at the 2010 San Francisco spring national meeting in which they describe their job and research to the average person. The "before and after" videos showed how, with a little coaching, members could succinctly describe their work and its importance and relevance to everyday life. The videos will be posted on the Chemistry Ambassadors website as a training resource for all ACS members.
ACS members can review the entire PA&PR report to the ACS Board of Directors by visiting the PA&PR website www.acs.org/papr. —William F. Carroll Jr., Chair
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