STATEMENT

I am proud to be an American Chemical Society (ACS) member volunteer and truly honored to be the 2023 ACS President-Elect.  

When our professional and home lives have been upended by a global pandemic, and society as a whole is also dealing with other significant challenges, including systemic racism, inequality, and global climate change, the ACS provides connectivity, networking and continued professional development for its members and, with and through its members, is making significant contributions to society as a whole via ongoing education, research, advocacy, and outreach activities. As a result, I find it relatively easy to articulate and demonstrate the benefits of ACS membership to students and colleagues. Moreover, the upending of our usual structures provides us with an opportunity to renew our focus on two fundamental questions:

What is ACS uniquely positioned to do? 

That is, where can our collective expertise and efforts have the most significant impact? We must focus our efforts there. The global pandemic has demonstrated unambiguously the critical importance of performing and publishing rigorous scientific work, educating students, and communicating science to elected officials and other members of the general public. Simply put, science matters.

As an established teacher-scholar and entrepreneur who is an active participant in my local section and in national ACS governance, I have had the privilege of contributing to shaping and furthering the goals of our Society. For our Society to have the most influence and impact, ACS needs to nurture and maintain an engaged and diverse membership, capable of taking a multi-pronged approach:

  • Leading in evidence-based scientific education

  • Providing venues and journals for the dissemination of pure and applied research to the scientific community

  • Emphasizing the value to society of ethically and safely conducted pure and applied research, and describing that research in terms that can be understood by members of the public

  • Encouraging ACS units and individual members to engage in public outreach activities

  • Enhancing advocacy for policies based on and supporting sound science

  • Working to ensure that our community recruits a diverse membership, and subsequently respects the experiences, engages the talents, and welcomes the contributions of all our members.

How best can ACS engage the talents of all its members to do those things? 

In a time of rapid change, ACS must articulate and demonstrate the value of membership to new and continuing members, while they are students, throughout their careers and into retirement, wherever their paths take them. I support efforts to better represent and involve all members in impactful activities for the benefit of ACS and society. Although ACS has made important progress toward ensuring that our community of chemical professionals treats all its members with respect, including those from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences and our LGBTQ+ colleagues, there is still work to be done in this area. I am committed to advancing the ACS Core Value of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Respect.

ACS has a well-deserved reputation among professional societies for robust member volunteerism at the local and national levels. The established ACS governance structures enable and support continuous efforts but have traditionally required long-term commitments and travel to meetings. As a result, ACS has underutilized the talents of some members, including technicians and other industrial professionals, international members, high school, and two-year college faculty members, as well as both early-career and senior chemists. During the pandemic, it has become obvious that a considerable amount of professional activity can be accomplished remotely. I am committed to working within the governance structure to provide more focused, short-term opportunities for members with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences to contribute meaningfully, in ways that amplify their diverse perspectives, to initiatives that further the ACS Goals.  

What Can, and What Should, ACS Do?

In my time in the ACS presidential succession, I will work constructively, respectfully, collaboratively, and creatively with you to advance ACS for its members and society. Although I don’t claim to have all the answers, or even all the questions, I do have a considerable track record of leading positive, collaborative teams that get things done. I will focus on working within existing ACS structures to effect change, amplifying the work of committees, local sections and divisions, international science chapters and student chapters, rather than focusing on starting new initiatives from scratch.

It is an honor to serve as President-Elect and I thank all the ACS members for the opportunity.