ACS:
Riegel Board Chairman The ACS Board of Directors has elected Byron Riegel as its Chairman for 1971. Dr. Riegel's post as Chairman of the 15-member Board will run concurrently with his official ex-offido position on the Board as Past-President of ACS; his term as President of the Society expires at the end of this month. Stepping down, Milton Harris, Board Chairman since 1966, said, "In a democratic Society, nobody should stay in office too long. I have two more years on the Board [as directorat-large] and Til be working for the Society just as hard as I ever have." Dr. Harris has been energetically helping shape ACS policy for more than 20 years. Dr. Riegel did not hesitate to indicate some of the problems that he expects to come up against in 1971. "ACS is feeling the effects of the current financial crunch," he told C&EN. "We are right now operating under one of the most severe austerity budgets we have had in the last decade . . . Let me stress that we are financially sound; we have reserves, but we also have a huge budget deficit for 1971." Dr. Riegel said that there is much belt-tightening going on now at ACS and that the Society will need some very careful planning to guide it through the next few years. The employment situation was pointed out as another vital ACS concern by Dr. Riegel. "ACS's officers, Board, and staff are very worried about unemployment," he says. Deciding what ACS should do to aid unemployed chemists is not an easy matter. "It is a terribly involved problem.
Byron Riegel The Society is the membership 14 C&EN DEC. 14, 1970
I hope we will leave no leaves unturned in seeking solutions . . . and we welcome everyone's suggestions on the matter." There has been a marked increase in member interest in ACS affairs in the past few years, Dr. Riegel points out. Members are finding that they can directly affect what the Society does. "The Society is the membership," he emphasizes. Dr. Riegel has been involved in varied activities of ACS for many years. He served more than 15 years on the ACS Council and was a member of the Board of Directors just prior to his election as President-Elect of ACS in 1968. He is presently director of chemical research at G. D. Searle & Co. As Board Chairman, Dr. Riegel also becomes chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board. Board members elected to the four-man Executive Committee are Dr. Harris, ACS's 1971 President Melvin Calvin, and directorat-large Robert W. Cairns. CANCER:
Crusade of Conquest An independent National Cancer Authority (NCA) should be established to lead a "national crusade" for the conquest of cancer. This is the substance of a report issued last week by a Senate-sponsored panel of cancer consultants (C&EN, Dec. 7, page 31) and of an implementing bill introduced at the same time by Sen. Ralph W. Yarborough (D.-Tex.). The 26-member panel, established by the Senate in April, was headed by Renno C. Schmidt, a managing partner of J. H. Whitney & Co., and Dr. Sidney Farber of the Children's Cancer Research Foundation, Boston, Mass. The panel specified three major ingredients which it deemed necessary for an effective national program to develop a cure for cancer: •An effective administrative body with clearly defined authority and responsibility. •Development of a comprehensive national plan for a coherent and systematic attack on cancer. •Provision of the necessary financial resources. The central recommendation of the report is the incorporation of all facets of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)—currently a part of the National Institutes of Health—into NCA. The new agency would be given sufficient additional powers to enable it to operate a comprehensive program effectively. The head of NCA would be appointed by the President and be responsible to him.
Sen. Yarborough National crusade against cancer
An 18-member national cancer advisory board, composed of scientists and laymen, would be created to work with NCA in establishing a program of action. The board (which would replace the National Advisory Cancer Council) would also approve NCA's yearly program plans and budget. The report calls for a substantial strengthening of existing multidisciplinary cancer study centers, and establishment by NCA of several new centers. The panel emphasizes that these centers—and all phases of the program—should be devoted solely to fundamental research, with care for cancer patients provided only as an adjunct to research and teaching. These aspects of the report are embodied in the bill introduced by Sen. Yarborough. Senate sources say the bill has little chance of passing this year, and will probably be reintroduced next year by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D.-Mass.). The report also calls for an immediate doubling of cancer appropriations to $400 million to make full use of existing manpower and facilities. Funding would then be increased by $100 to $150 million per year until $1 billion annually is reached. An increased use of the grants mechanism is also urged by the report. Increased funds would stimulate continued independent exploration, particularly in areas where knowledge is not sufficiently mature for a coordinated program with defined objectives.
