Financially, this has been a difficult year for ACS, as it has been for the global economy as a whole. One year ago, the picture was rosier, and the board funded $9 million in new initiatives (C&EN, Sept. 18, 2000, page 71). This year, the report of the Society Committee on Budget & Finance was considerably more somber. The committee noted that the core programs of the society are projected to end 2001 with a net contribution of $220,000. With the inclusion of projected net program expenses from the Member Insurance Program of $2.6 million, and the society's board appropriations of $5.6 million (which cover the ACS Scholars Program, the ACS Matching Gift Fund, and information technology development projects), the society's overall general operations are projected to end 2001 with a net deficit of $8 million.

The projected net contribution from core operations is $222,000 unfavorable to the approved budget, but it is less than 1% of the projected expenditures for ACS Core Programs of $331 million.

The financial performance is primarily attributable to unfavorable performance in the society's investment program. The shortfall in revenue in the investment program is largely a result of the interest rate cuts initiated by the Federal Reserve Board in an effort to bolster a weakening U.S. economy.

These losses were cushioned by favorable performances from Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) and the society's indirect cost centers. The strong performance in CAS is the result of better-than-expected revenues from SciFinder. Several factors contribute to the favorable variance in the indirect cost centers, including the resolution of a legal issue with a publisher of educational materials.

There has been some belt-tightening, and capital expenditures are projected to total $29.1 million in 2001, which is $925,000 better than the approved budget.

THE BOARD and council also heard a report on ACS President Attila E. Pavlath's recent electronic survey of ACS members. The survey was intended to gauge member satisfaction with the society and its products and services.

?While a substantial majority of ACS members are satisfied with their ACS memberships, there is still room for improvement. The survey indicates that younger members are somewhat less knowledgeable and/or satisfied with their memberships than older members and that the primary draw of ACS membership is society publications. A more detailed discussion of this survey will be published in a future issue of C&EN.

The Committee on Grants & Awards recommended and the board approved that the ACS Award in Applied Polymer Chemistry and the ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry be supported by the society for the 2003 award term unless a sponsor is found.

Under delegated authority, the committee also voted to amend the purpose and eligibility for the ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry so that neither commercialization nor patents are required, as expressed in the current language. The new language states that the work must be done by a person whose primary employer is industrial and who is based in North America. The committee also accepted a proposal from Procter & Gamble to change the name of the ACS Award in Colloid or Surface Chemistry to the ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry and to amend its scope accordingly.

On the recommendation of the Committee on Professional & Member Relations (P&MR), the board voted to cosponsor the 2005 International Congress of Pacific Basin Societies. Also on the recommendation of P&MR, the board approved nominal cosponsorship of the American Meteorological Society's 82nd annual meeting and exhibition to be held next January in Orlando, Fla.

AT THE REQUEST of the Committee on Public Affairs & Public Relations, the board approved an International Historic Chemical Landmark recognizing the discoveries in biological oxidation, particularly related to vitamin C and fumaric acid catalysis by Albert von Szent-Györgyi. Szent-Györgyi received the 1937 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for this work. The landmark designation will be held in late November in Hungary.

The board of directors also endorsed, in principle, the plan of the Board/Presidential Task Force on Women in the Chemical Professions. Pending a funding decision that may occur later this year, the committee will embark upon a series of pilot programs. These activities will aim to lower barriers to and increase participation of women in the chemical sciences professions.

Among the task force recommendations are that ACS convene an academic awareness summit and produce "Thriving in the Workplace" road shows, a Web-based resource center, and a business and leadership course.

The board also set into motion the 2001 component of assistance to local sections and divisions with an allocation of $50,000 to the Local Section Activities Committee to distribute to local sections and $100,000 to the Divisional Activities Committee for distribution to divisions. This assistance had been approved at the 2001 spring board meeting.

International guests at the board meeting included Anthony Ledwith, chairman, and David Giachardi, secretary general, of the Royal Society of Chemistry, U.K.; Gerhard Erker, president of the German Chemical Society; and Pudupadi (Sundar) Sundararajan, president of the Canadian Society for Chemistry.

At its meeting, the ACS Council dealt with three petitions to change the society's bylaws, and elected members to the ACS Committee on Committees, the Council Policy Committee, and the Committee on Nominations & Elections.

The first petition, which was slated "for urgent action," would increase the limit on the number of councilors who can serve on society committees from 15 to 20. The society committees are the Committees on Budget & Finance and on Education. Their members are appointed by the ACS president and the chair of the board of directors.

Urgent action, which must be approved by council, means that the petition would be acted upon at this, its first council appearance. As it turned out, the council did not believe that the petition was sufficiently urgent to bypass normal procedures. The petition will be voted on at the ACS national meeting in Orlando next spring.

Another petition up for action would ensure that ACS members--regardless of where they live--would enjoy discounted registration rates at national, regional, and divisional meetings of the society. For example, for the ACS meeting in Chicago, the advance registration fee for a non-U.S. resident--regardless of membership status--is $255. So ACS members who have non-U.S. addresses pay the same fee as nonmembers with foreign addresses. Petitioners believe that ACS members, wherever they live, should enjoy discounted registration fees, and their petition aims to take care of that.

There was some discussion among division councilors who were concerned that this petition did not contain an exception for invited speakers from abroad and could, thus, impose a burden on some divisions. Nevertheless, the petition passed overwhelmingly.

THE THIRD PETITION aimed to clarify requirements for full ACS membership by making it clear that those who have attained an associate's degree or equivalent in a chemical science or chemical technology along with five years of employment in a chemical science are eligible for full membership. This passed unanimously.

On the recommendation of the Committee on Divisional Activities, the council voted to create a probationary Division of Laboratory Automation. The scope of this division shall be "to openly exchange and/or disseminate technical information regarding the use of computers, robotics, automation tools, and other related enabling technologies as applied to the study and practice of biological and chemical sciences." The division shall begin its probationary period on Jan. 1, 2002.

The council also passed a resolution thanking Halley A. Merrell, ACS secretary, for his 38 years of service on the society's staff and offering him its warmest wishes on his retirement.

The next meeting of the ACS Board will be in December and ACS Council will be at the 223rd national meeting, April 7–11, 2002, in Orlando.

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Seated Makeup of elected council committees for 2002
During their meeting, councilors elected seven members to the Committee on Committees, five to the Council Policy Committee, and four to the Committee on Nominations & Elections. For 2002, the membership of the committees will be as follows:
COMMITTEE ON	COUNCIL POLICY	COMMITTEE ON
COMMITTEESa	COMMITTEEb	NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS
ELECTED IN CHICAGO	ELECTED IN CHICAGO	ELECTED IN CHICAGO
William H. Breazeale Jr.	Warren V. Bush	Rita R. Boggs
Peter K. Dorhout	Dean W. Cooke	Michael P. Doyle
Carol A. Duane	Merle I. Eiss	Kathleen M. Schulz
Lydia E. M. Hines	Thomas J. Kucera	Peter J. Stang
Mary V. Orna	Kent J. Voorhees
Eleanor D. Siebert
Herbert B. Silber
CONTINUING MEMBERS	CONTINUING MEMBERS	CONTINUING MEMBERS
Ronald D. Archer	Bonnie A. Charpentier	Jeannette E. Brown
Janan M. Hayes	Ann H. Hunt	Peter A. Christie
Joe W. Hightower	Paul R. Jones	Donald D. Clarke
Neil D. Jespersen	Ted J. Logan	Richard L. Deming
Dorothy J. Phillips	Howard M. Peters	Thomas W. Gilbert
Wanda W. Rauscher	Charles F. Rowell	Valerie J. Kuck
Barbara A. Sawrey	Kathleen D. Trahanovsky	Bonnie Lawlor
Isiah M. Warner		Mamie W. Moy
		Barbara J. Peterson
		Robert A. Pett
		H. David Wohlers
a The president-elect is a member (ex officio) of this committee. b The president, president-elect, immediate past-president, and executive director are members (ex officio) of this committee.

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Voted on Council adopts two petitions, postpones another
PROPOSED AMENDMENT	ARTICLE OR BYLAW AFFECTED	MAJOR PROVISIONS	COUNCIL ACTION
Increase the Size of Society Committees (For Urgent Action)	Bylaw III, Sec. 3,e,7	Increases the limit on sizes of society committees from not fewer than nine to not fewer than 12 and from not more than 15 to not more than 20.	Postponed
Meeting Registration Categories	Bylaw VI, Sec. 4,b and Sec. 4,e (para. 1)	Removes geographical distinctions in defining a nonmember of ACS to ensure that all members receive lower registration fees for ACS meetings.	Carried
Clarify Requirements for Membership	Bylaw I, Sec. 3,a	States explicitly that a person with a two-year degree orequivalent in chemical science or chemical technology and five years of employment in the chemical sciences is eligible for full membership in ACS.	Carried

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