Councilor Report on Spring, 2023 NationalACS Meeting

Indianapolis, IN

Linda Schultz – Councilor, DFW Local Section

I attended the Annual Spring Meeting of the ACS in Indianapolis, IN, March 26-30, 2023, accompanied by two Tarleton State University undergraduate students. We arrived in the early afternoon on Saturday, March 25, checked into our hotel, and walked to the Convention Center, which was only about 5 minutes away. Very few rooms or services were set up yet, but the personnel who were there were able to answer all our questions.

The theme of the meeting was “Crossroads of Chemistry”. The meeting was held in a hybrid format. As of March 29, there were 12,623 registrations (10,792 in-person and 1,831 virtual).

I was pleased that 85% of the attendees were in-person, which signaled a return to the variety of experiences, networking opportunities and chances to visit with old friends that have always been the trademark of National ACS Meetings. At the same time, one had to appreciate the value of allowing attendees who were unable to physically be present, such as those in foreign countries, to participate. The Expo was very nice.

I missed the ACS Board of Directors Open Meeting, which I have always enjoyed, because I could not find it. However, I am told that it addressed Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect (DEIR), followed by an extensive report from the new CEO on issues including employee engagement, C&EN, and upcoming events/activities.

Council Meeting on Wednesday began with a series ofActions and Committee Reports.

The Financial Health of the ACS continues to be strong.

The Candidates for President-Elect 2024 will be Dorothy Phillips and Florian Schattenmann. In my opinion, these are both highly qualified individuals and either would be an excellent choice, although they are very different individuals. I strongly encourage all of you to exercise your right to vote next fall.

We are in District IV, so we did not have to select a new director this year.

The council received reports from the past, present, and future presidents about their activities the past year.

The Council voted to approve a petition to allow the Council Policy Committee (CPC) to review the conduct of Councilors., since no current policy existed.

The Council voted to amend the duties of and change the name of the Committee on Environ- mental Improvement to the committee on Environment and Sustainability, since it really cannot change the environment anyway.

The Council approved formal addition of a Plan B to authorize postponement of voting in case of technology failures or natural disasters, such as our recent extreme weather.

The Council approved a new Schedule of Membership for next year which will decrease the age and/or years of membership for some membership categories.

The Committee on Local Section Activities announced the launch of a new ACS Speaker Directory which would allow access to a wide range of speakers for section events.

The Council then held a Special Discussion on Society Committees. This got interesting a few times, and I was impressed with President Giordan’s sense of humor and ability to run a meeting.

The meeting concluded with reports from several Board committees. Most of these consisted of issues dealing with Publishing, Compensation, and Member Relations.

ABoard Working Group on Structure and Representation provided an update on their efforts to add an International District Director to the Board. This is to be discussed at the spring meeting.