ACS NEWS
COMMENT
Senior Chemists Committee: Making progress THOMAS R. BEATTIE, CHAIR, ACS SENIOR CHEMISTS COMMITTEE
T
he Senior Chemists Committee’s Another area in which the Senior Chemmission is to address and support ists Committee has been working is in the needs and ambitions of senior promoting engagement through our local chemists and to use their experisections. For example, we are encouraging ence and knowledge. As the newest ACS naconnections between senior ACS members tional committee, we are keenly interested and teachers who are members of the Amerin measuring our progress as we proceed. ican Association of Chemistry Teachers. We have made strides The committee recently in the past year. For distributed a letter to local example, to facilitate section leaders detailing better communication how the committee can with our constituents, facilitate these connecwe have replaced our tions. A similar message e-mail address with was broadcast in the
[email protected]. latest Newsletter for Senior This easily recognizable Chemists. e-mail address will be Eight ACS regional the point of contact for meetings will take place both outgoing messages, in 2017, and the Senior such as the Newsletter for Chemists Committee will Senior Chemists, and inbe encouraging an event coming feedback, such as at six of those meetings responses on our Senior to capture the interest Chemists Group on the ACS Network, as of senior chemists. Although there are no well as general inquiries. This modification statistics on senior chemist attendance at to the e-mail address has increased our regional meetings, if seniors do attend, the newsletter open rate by 25%, a substantial Senior Chemists Committee wants to enincrease considering that our e-mails are hance their meeting experience. In the fall, distributed to 45,000 recipients. we will evaluate our experience and decide We have also expanded our recognition whether to continue in 2018. efforts. ACS has long honored 50- and 60The committee was present at the ACS year members. During a Leadership Development committee discussion, Conference Resource Fair the question was raised, in Dallas in January and “What about the 70-year made numerous contacts members?” I am pleased with attendees, particuto report that for the first larly new local section of▸ Our vision: Improving lives time, local sections reficers. It was a productive ceived 70-year certificates using the knowledge and experience, which has to give out in addition to experience of senior chemists. convinced us to return in ▸ Our mission: To address and the usual 50- and 60-year January 2018. member certificates. Resupport the needs and ambitions We will also have a markably, we recognized of senior chemists and to utilize booth in the exhibition 118 70-year members their experience and knowledge. hall at the ACS national ▸ Strategic goals: 1. Develop representing 70 local secmeeting in Washington, tions, and in a letter to all and implement an active senior D.C., in August to meet local section officers, the network to provide two-way and engage in discussions committee encouraged communication. 2. Increase the with our senior chemist them to include these number of local section senior colleagues. Please stop by members in their recogchemists committees to 35–40 and learn more about us nition efforts. Now, the in the next three years. 3. Develop and how we can enhance question of 80-year memactivities that engage senior your ACS experience. bers has been raised—and, chemists to use their expertise Our Senior Chemists yes, there are some! and experience. Group on the ACS Net-
CREDIT: PETER CUTTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Senior Chemists Committee Strategic Plan
work is up and running. We are pleased with the number of visits to the site, and we are encouraging more committee members to post messages and interact. Our site also contains information about how to organize a local section senior chemists group. We were pleased, too, with the outcome of a symposium at the ACS national meeting in San Francisco in April, which was cosponsored by the Younger Chemists Committee and the Division of the History of Chemistry. Five speakers described highlights in industrial chemistry. Because of the strong attendance, we are exploring a symposium for the 2018 spring ACS national meeting in New Orleans, possibly with an academic focus. While most of the initiatives I’ve described are new, I want to mention progress made in our continuing programs. This year, more local sections described having a senior chemists committee in their annual report. On the basis of self-nominations in the annual report, we will be awarding a ChemLuminary Award for an outstanding local section senior chemist activity. We are also offering local sections the opportunity to apply for grants to establish senior chemist activities with younger chemists and with the public. Our participation in the Student Speed Networking with Chemistry Professionals event at ACS national meetings is continuing and will happen again at the fall ACS national meeting in Washington, D.C., along with the Tuesday morning Senior Chemists Committee breakfast. And the Newsletter for Senior Chemists is thriving, with some new features in the May 2017 issue. Please check for a May 19 e-mail from seniorchemists@ acs.org if you have not already found it. Finally, the Senior Chemists Committee added five new associate members in January, which helped increase diversity on our committee. Overall interest within the committee is very high, and members have already committed to a strategic planning follow-up meeting at the 2018 fall ACS national meeting in Boston. If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, please contact me at
[email protected].
Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of C&EN or ACS. MAY 29, 2017 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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