News of the Week (nonvoting). Nevill will be the only new member on the seven-person committee. It was decided that chairmanships of the four society committees for 1991 will remain the same as in 1990. T h u s , for P u b l i c a t i o n s , Shreeve will continue as chairman; for Budget & F i n a n c e , Joan E. Shields (Region I director); for Chemical Abstracts Service, Law rence F. Thompson (Division of Polymeric Materials: Science & En gineering councilor); and for Educa tion, Glenn A. Crosby (Division of Chemical Education councilor). C h a i r m a n s h i p s of the board's three standing committees have not yet been decided. The board acted on a number of other matters, including approval of a 1991 general-fund budget for ACS that calls for expenditures of nearly $188 million and revenues of about $193 million, including $3 million in income from reserves. It also ap proved a capital expense budget of $16.4 million for 1991. Among other actions, the board authorized $14.5 million for Petro leum Research Fund grants in 1991 and adopted a revised pension plan for ACS employees necessitated by recent tax changes. It also approved an ACS pension policy statement for all U.S. scientists and engineers that recommends that federal pension legislation include several specific provisions on benefit plans, porta-
ACS Board, 1991 CHAIRMAN Joseph A. Dixon (at-large)a EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS S. Allen Heininger, president3 Ernest L. Eliel, president-elect3 Paul G. Gassman, immediate past-presidenf John Κ Crum, executive director (nonvoting)3 REGIONAL DIRECTORS Joan E. Shields, Region I Frederick E. Bailey, Region II Ned D. Heindel, Region III William A. Nevill, Region IV3 John G. Verkade, Region V Jeanne M. Shreeve, Region VI 3 DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE Joseph A. Dixon3 Attilla E. Pavlath Stanley Kirschner Paul H. L. Walter C. Marvin Lang Peter E. Yankwich a Executive Committee members.
8 December 10, 1990 C&EN
bility, indexing, and plan reversion or termination. Additionally, the board acted on several other matters, including: • Increasing travel funds for ACS councilors to attend council meet ings. • Approving meeting sites and dates in 2000 and 2001 for ACS na tional meetings already recommend ed by ACS Council. • Setting discounts of 45% for re tired ACS members in national meeting registration fees. • Setting member advance regis tration fees of $125 for the spring 1991 national meeting, and of $150 for both national meetings in 1992. • Establishing a new develop ment office at ACS headquarters, be ginning in second-quarter 1991, that w o u l d take over general fundraising activities of ACS after the Campaign for Chemistry has com pleted its solicitations. The board also received a staffwritten report on streamlining ACS governance and agreed to send it to the council's Committee on Com mittees for evaluation and possible implementation. Ernest Carpenter
Arco Chemical head Sorgenti to retire H a r o l d A. S o r g e n t i (56), w e l l respected president and chief execu tive officer of Arco Chemical Co., has unexpectedly announced his re tirement, effective next June 30. He intends to start his own business within the chemical industry. As of Jan. 1, Sorgenti will become vice chairman of Arco Chemical, and following his retirement he will con tinue as a director of the company. Alan R. Hirsig (51), a senior vice president of Arco Chemical and pres ident of Arco Chemical Europe, will succeed Sorgenti, effective Jan. 1. Sorgenti tells C&EN that he had a hand in selecting his successor. Hir sig "has done an excellent job in Eu rope building a billion dollar opera tion," says Sorgenti. Profits during Hirsig's six-year tenure grew from $100 million to $300 million. And in addition to his European perfor mance, Sorgenti adds, Hirsig also
Hirsig: new chief in January has a broad engineering, technical, and financial background. Sorgenti chose the current eco nomic downturn as a good time to retire from Arco Chemical because, he says, the slowdown will provide opportunities to own and operate his own business in the chemical in dustry. "If I can make out as well as Jon Huntsman or Gordon Cain, Γ11 be a happy man." Starting in the downturn of 1982, Huntsman formed polystyrene pro ducer Huntsman Chemical from units of Shell and Hoechst. Recently he attempted to buy Aristech Chem ical. Cain was a Conoco vice presi dent when he left to go into busi ness for himself. Along with his Sterling Group he formed Cain Chemical, Sterling Chemical, and Vista Chemical in a series of lever aged buyouts. Sorgenti says now is the time to strike out on his own, because he has reached his career potential within Arco, and a restructuring of parent Atlantic Richfield Co. blocked his chances of becoming that company's president or chairman. He denies that the Channelview, Tex., plant ex plosion that killed 17 people in July, or a partial shutdown of Bayport, Tex., operations had any effect on his decision to retire. "When I leave, we will be running on an even keel. . . . In spite of our probems we will still be among the top four in earnings growth in the chemical industry this year." Marc Reisch
