Impacts of the 2018 Division of Chemical Education Bylaw Changes

Aug 22, 2018 - An annual audit of the Division is required, and the communication of signature authority for financial accounts is assigned to the Sec...
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Report Cite This: J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

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Impacts of the 2018 Division of Chemical Education Bylaw Changes on the Division’s Executive Committee Composition and Work Marcy H. Towns*,† and Thomas A. Holme‡ †

Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906, United States Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States

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J. Chem. Educ. Downloaded from pubs.acs.org by 185.251.71.91 on 08/22/18. For personal use only.

S Supporting Information *

ABSTRACT: This communication updates our earlier publication pertaining to the Division of Chemical Education Executive Committee and Boards. With the certification of revised bylaws in 2018 by the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Constitution and Bylaws, a new member was added to the Executive Committee, recusal of specific Executive Committee members during discussions of appointments was modified, and the method of appointment for chairs of standing committees was clarified. The revised bylaws also change and clarify the fiduciary responsibilities of the Executive Committee and its Boards. An annual audit of the Division is required, and the communication of signature authority for financial accounts is assigned to the Secretary of the Division. Finally, those serving on the Executive Committee are briefly discussed, and a full listing of members of the Executive Committee and Boards is included in the Supporting Information. KEYWORDS: General Public, History/Philosophy, Administrative Issues, Professional Development, Women in Chemistry

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INTRODUCTION In March 2018, the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Committee on Constitution and Bylaws certified a revised set of the Division of Chemical Education bylaws, which had been voted on and approved by the Division membership. Some of the changes interact with information published in 2016 in our historical retrospective of the Executive Committee and the Boards of the Division.1 Thus, this communication seeks to report the changes and their impact on the Executive Committee and its work.

discussions of candidates, and the recusal is enacted during the voting process as shown in Table 1. This change mitigates the potential conflict of interest without losing the helpful information that these experienced members can provide. The method of appointment for the chairs of the three standing committees of the Division, Committee on Personnel and Nominations, Program Committee, and Biennial Conference Committee, has been clarified. The 2018 bylaws clearly state that the “Chair of the Division, in consultation with the Chair-Elect, Immediate Past Chair, and the existing chair” of the respective committee appoint a new chair with approval from the Executive Committee.2

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IMPACTS OF BYLAW CHANGES ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The bylaws revision adds one member to the Executive Committee of the Division, the Chair of the Biennial Conference Committee (BCC). Figure 1 updates the Executive Committee figure from our 2016 publication.1 The 2018 revised Division bylaws also address recusal of Executive Committee members on votes pertaining to appointments where there is a conflict of interest as shown in Table 1. Previously, the bylaws required recusal of the Editor-in-Chief, Director, and Chair of the Board or respective Committee Chair during discussion of all candidates for the relevant board or committee chair. As this recusal was put into practice, however, the Executive Committee recognized that the people who could enrich the deliberations pertaining to candidate qualifications, performance, contributions, and accomplishments were missing. This absence led to a knowledge deficit that has been addressed by removing the recusal requirement pertaining to all discussions. The current bylaws allow for the participation of these members in © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

CHANGES IN THE BYLAWS IMPACTING POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES AND FINANCIAL MATTERS Previously, the bylaws did not address who communicated changes in signature authority for financial accounts nor did they direct the Division to conduct a regular audit of finances. The revised bylaws identify the Secretary as the officer with the fiduciary responsibility to communicate signature authority of financial accounts. Every day financial activities are not associated with this action, but large-scale changes are. When a new officer (e.g., the Treasurer or an Exams Director) is put in place, proper financial practice forbids them from giving themselves permission to withdraw all funds in and close a bank account. This type of activity must be overseen by the nonprofit Board, which in the case of the Division is the Received: June 16, 2018 Revised: July 19, 2018

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DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00421 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

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Figure 1. Membership of the Division of Chemical Education Executive Committee and year of changes made, when appropriate. Officers, Councilors, and Alternate Councilors serve by election. The Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chemical Education is appointed by the Board of Publication, and the ACS Examinations Director is appointed by the Board of Trustees. The Executive Committee appoints members to the respective boards, and then each board elects a Chair from the members. The Executive Committee appoints the Program Committee Chair and the Biennial Conference Committee Chair.

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UPDATE ON THE OFFICERS OF THE DIVISION Two more individuals have been elected to serve as the Chair of the Division of Chemical Education, as shown in Table 2.

Table 1. Executive Committee Members and Their Respective Recusal from Votes Regarding Appointments Executive Committee Member Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Chemical Education, and Chair of the Board of Publication Director and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the ACS Examinations Institute Chair of the Program Committee Chair of the Biennial Conference Committee

Entities Requiring Recusal on Votes Regarding Appointments

Table 2. Chairs of the Division of Chemical Education in 2018 and 2019a

Board of Publication Board of Trustees Program Committee Biennial Conference Committee

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Executive Committee. The Secretary is generally responsible for communication of the Board, and thus is explicitly designated for this specific communication of fiscal authority as well. For the first time in Division history, an annual audit is required as part of the revised bylaws. This audit of the Treasurer’s books and any other financial transactions pertaining to Division funds is to be conducted by a professional firm, or “two or more disinterested [Division] members or individuals”.2 The results of the audit report for the previous fiscal year are submitted to the Executive Committee by August 1. An annual audit will allow for the Division to check its financial records, ensure that appropriate accounting practices are used, and safeguard the Divisions resources for its members.

Year

Name

Institution

Board

2018 2019

Cheryl Frech Irv Levy

University of Central Oklahoma Gordon College

Publication Publication

The institution and Board appointment are listed.

Daniel King was elected as the Secretary/Councilor of the Division in 2017 and will serve in that role until at least 2019. In 2018, David Licata was elected Treasurer having previously filled the role of Treasurer of the Board of Publication and will serve in that role until at least 2020. A listing of all Executive Committee members and Board members from 1985 to 2016 was included in the Supporting Information of our first publication.1 The Supporting Information accompanying this communication lists the Executive Committee members and Board members from 2015 to 2018 and beyond if the term of service extends to 2019 or 2020. Additionally, the publication coordinators and managing editors of the Journal and the Division representative to the American Association of Chemistry Teachers are listed. B

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00421 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

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CONCLUSIONS This paper serves as an update to the division membership and readers of the Journal about changes in the CHED Division bylaws and their impact on the Executive Committee membership, appointments for standing committee chairs, and fiscal operations.

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ASSOCIATED CONTENT

S Supporting Information *

The Supporting Information is available on the ACS Publications website at DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00421. Listing of the members who have served on the ACS Division of Chemical Education Executive Committee, the ACSExamination Institute Board of Trustees, and the Board of Publication between 2015 and 2020, with the term of each person provided (to the extent possible), the position held, and if he or she simultaneously held another position on a Board or the Executive Committee (PDF, DOCX)

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author

*E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID

Marcy H. Towns: 0000-0002-8422-4874 Thomas A. Holme: 0000-0003-0590-5848 Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to Mary Saecker, Laura E. Slocum, Kristen Murphy, MaryKay Orgill, Ellen Yezierski, Chris Bauer, and Heather Johnson for their help in answering questions and providing documents and clarification that improved this article.

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REFERENCES

(1) Towns, M. H.; Holme, T. A. The Division of Chemical Education Executive Committee, Board of Publication, and ACS Examinations Institute Board of Trustees: A Historical Perspective from 1985 to 2015. J. Chem. Educ. 2016, 93 (7), 1163−1169. (2) Bylaws of the Division of Chemical Education, Inc., of the American Chemical Society, effective March 15, 2018.

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DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00421 J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX