Madam Chair – Mister President – Members of the Board, - My Fellow Councilors…
Let me begin by thanking you for your support. I am deeply honored to have been chosen as President-Elect of our Society and I will work tirelessly, with the governance bodies and staff, to assure that our vision and newly developed strategic plan are leveraged to their fullest advantage.
I have been extremely impressed with my colleagues on the Board and am thankful for their thoughtful guidance as I continue to grow into my new role. I am proud of the outstanding working relationship that has developed within presidential succession. Although I am humbled when standing with Bruce and Katie, our working relationship is supportive, directed and focused. We are a powerful team with many shared interests and this synergy will not be lost as I continue to develop programming for 2009.
Friends, I pledged to focus on three areas during my term in the presidential succession: Education, Relationships, and Outcomes. The time has come for us to seriously engage; to begin defining activities that will allow us to make a difference and ultimately, to polish the tarnished face of chemistry. The hardest part of any new venture is deciding where to start, and so I am putting a stake in the ground and I am asking for your help. In my C&EN statement [September 3, 2007, 85 (36), 48-59] I said, “Through relationships, we build trust, new friendships, and the capacity to make ACS stronger.” The statement went on to say: “We must unleash the power of our membership, get deeper into our communities, and provide science-based experiences that stimulate imaginations and offer opportunities for continued discovery and learning.” With this as a backdrop, I would like to set forth the following challenge to all local sections, divisions, and committees: I challenge our membership to:
I plan to sponsor presidential programming and events during the 2009 Fall National Meeting in Washington DC which would highlight some of the successes and failures from this challenge as we celebrate the spirit of relationship building while putting a human face on chemistry. Expect to hear more about this “call to arms” in the very near future.
Programming for the Spring Meeting will likely celebrate the connection between education and leadership, putting chemistry into everyday context, and understanding the needs for chemistry in the larger economic enterprise. Although nothing is confirmed at this time, there have been many lively and creative discussions.
I am pleased to announce that the Dow Corning Foundation has made a $90,000 restricted gift to the ACS ($30,000 per year for three years) to support some of my strategic programming initiatives during my term in the presidential succession.
Finally, I would like to challenge each of you to use your imagination; to wonder what this Society might be. Then, help me define the path for our continued success. I look forward to working with each of you as I progress along the presidential succession. Thank you.
Mister President – this concludes my remarks.