ACS Breaks Membership Record

ACS membership has hit a new record. By the end of 2011, 164,215 people were counted on the society’s rolls, the highest number in ACS history, says Denise Creech, director of the Division of Membership & Scientific Advancement.

ACS recruited 16,092 new regular members and 8,157 new undergraduate student members in 2011, Creech notes. The number of new undergraduates, she says, was the highest ever recruited in a year. During last year’s International Year of Chemistry, ACS added 877 new international members—a group that now represents more than 15% of the membership, she says.

The records are “a testimonial from our members and the new people who’ve joined that ACS is their professional home for life,” says Madeleine Jacobs, ACS executive director and chief executive officer. “Especially in challenging economic times, our members are turning to ACS for networks, resources, and opportunities that we can provide.”

ACS publishes C&EN, which is generally viewed as the number one benefit of membership in the society. The society also provides members with numerous professional resources, including free webinars, career services, and access to the ACS Network. Last year, ACS released a report outlining plans for a new entrepreneurship initiative (C&EN, Nov. 7, 2011, page 47). For unemployed members, ACS offers a dues waiver for up to two years.

Jacobs praised the efforts of individual members involved in the ACS Member-Get-a-Member campaign. “The most powerful way to get a member is through a testimonial,” she says. Word of mouth “is more powerful than anything you get in writing or any kind of social media.”.