Councilor Report: American Chemical Society Fall 2021 National Meeting The ACS held its Fall National Meeting August 22-26 in Atlanta, GA, in a hybrid format. As of August 25, there were 8,205 registrations (1,895 hybrid and 6,310 virtual). Of approximately 1,200 oral sessions held, 71 were in-person-only, 244 were hybrid, and 855 were virtual. I registered early in anticipation of the meeting having face-to-face components, before I realized that the meeting dates coincided with the first week of classes at my institution. Therefore, I was unable to attend in person. I did speak with colleagues who presented – in both oral and poster format – and they reported that all went well. However, an issue that many reported was that since they were still physically at their work place, they were expected to be doing their normal activities unless they were actively participating in a session. Therefore, they missed all additional sessions that they might have attended, as well as the networking opportunities that make these meetings so refreshing and inspiring. I attended Councilor Meetings and the ACS Council Meeting, and these were very informative. Some of the information that I picked up is as follows: Spring and Fall 2022 National Meeting Registration fees will be $399 in-person, hybrid and $199 virtual. ACS is in good financial health. 2021 (through June) showed a Net Surplus from Operations of $55M, which is $6M greater than the same period in 2021. Over 90% of the revenue is due to Information Services.
For the past 5 years, there has been a steady decrease in industry members. A special discussion was held on this issue to address ways to decrease cost and increase value for this group. One factor which may help is the 2022 membership schedule. The new schedule will officially launch to the public January 1, 2022. The new membership options will be presented to renewing members for the upcoming 2022 term beginning in fall 2021. Three options will be available: Premium Package (Member, Affiliates), $160/yr.; Standard Package (Members Only), $80/yr., and the Basic Package (Associates), $0/yr. Finally, the ACS Officer Election period is September 27th through October 22nd at noon. You should have already received your ballot. So now, go vote! Respectfully, Linda Schultz
October 2021
The Southwest RETORT
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