C&EN: ACS COMMENT - ACS'S NEXT CEO: AN UPDATE

NINA I. MCCLELLAND, CHAIR, ACS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

In her June 30 C&EN editorial, editor-in-Chief Madeleine Jacobs wrote about "The Awesome Responsibility" to provide ACS members with a world-class publication. She referred to C&EN's credo; that is, "to achieve the highest standards of journalistic reporting, ethics, and integrity." I want to echo her words. The board of directors for our world-class organization--ACS--has an "awesome responsibility," indeed, and each of us is fully committed to its success! This is our "credo."


	John Crum has led us--through times both prosperous and challenging--to a state of excellent health and high standing among our peers worldwide, and he leaves us with boundless opportunities for the future.

One of the primary responsibilities of any board of directors is to recruit and retain the organization's chief executive officer. John Crum has been the executive director and CEO of ACS for 20 years (ACS staff for 39 years; ACS member for 41 years). He has announced his retirement, effective Dec. 31. John has led us--through times both prosperous and challenging--to a state of excellent health and high standing among our peers worldwide, and he leaves us with boundless opportunities for the future. His legacy is "awesome." All of us are grateful for his personal commitment and his outstanding career success!

Now, we must make certain that we capitalize on the good status we enjoy. Every member of your board of directors is involved in the search for John's successor, who will be the fifth executive director of ACS, and each of us is fully committed to recruiting and retaining the best available candidate to ensure the future of our society and to meet the expectations of our members. We have said from the start that the search process would be transparent, and, again, your input is requested. Here is our update of current status.

1. We have retained the services of a highly respected, experienced executive search firm, Korn/Ferry International (K/FI) to lead us through the process. If you have suggestions for qualified candidates to be contacted, please give them directly to one of the members of our K/FI team by Sept. 2. Their names are Leslie Hortum, Sally Sterling, and Mary Ann Herbst, and they can be reached at (202) 822-9444.

2. We have written and advertised the position description and the candidate's required and preferred qualifications. This advertisement appeared on page 45 of the June 9 issue of C&EN, and in other publications such as the Washington Post, Chemical Engineering Progress, the Wall Street Journal, Science, and the American Society of Association Executives' magazine (Association Management).

3. Each member of the board of directors has been assigned to one of three search committees (see box). The Résumé Prescreening Group will review all applications and referrals with the K/FI team to ensure that the strongest, best qualified candidates are interviewed. "Sort criteria" have been established for their task. The Search Committee will conduct the first two interviews and prioritize a short list of candidates to be interviewed by the Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee will select and prioritize two finalist candidates to be interviewed by the full board.

4. On Nov. 13, the full board will elect our new executive director and CEO and authorize the terms of employment, which K/FI will negotiate on our behalf with the successful candidate.

I urge any of our members who have questions, concerns, or issues to address them to any director using the dedicated e-mail box we have established for these communications: search@acs.org.

We are attempting to schedule opportunities for board-member networking at the New York City national meeting, and we will keep you informed of our progress through other vehicles, as well.