The Council selected two candidates to run in the fall as President Elect. Each of the candidates gave short talks on what they would try to accomplish as President. The candidates were Judith Giordan, John Marvel, John Norell and Edel Wasserman. The Council chose Giordan and Wasserman. They will stand with any petition candidates (deadline July 15) in the October election. The Regional Councilors selected Ann McNally to fulfill the unexpired term on the Board of Directors. President Anderson reported on his visits to various local sections and efforts to increase research funding.

President-Elect Walter reported on the importance of committee assignments and efforts.

Past President Breslow reported on his efforts to improve the image of Chemistry (or at least make it more visible). He also reported on meetings with government officials and also on his support of the chemical arms treaty which the U.S. has not yet radified.

Chairman of the Board Shields reported on the actions of the ACS relative to its strategic thrusts. A significant effort is underway to increase involvement by industrial members.

The ACS has established new initiatives in health insurance including major medical, short-term major medical and catastrophic medical plans.

Executive Director Crum reported on the membership drive with a goal of 175,000 members by 2000. Society members will be asked to help in this drive.

Council passed the proposed bylaws changes allowing for the establishment of a Governing Board for Publications and allowing the financial control for journals to be passed to that Board. This will allow the Society to more effectively and timely establish new journals and explore new media. As a side note, it was discussed that ACS books (currently running a yearly deficit of $1m/year) reposition itself to produce mainly symposium proceedings.

Budget and Finance reported a net income of about $900,000 for 1996. Dues increases have been held at $99 for several years. The projected budget for 1997 is expected to be negative by as much as $600,000. Allocations to dues-related programs exceed that paid by dues. The dues escalation factor was calculated to be $3.00 for 1997. After some discussion, Council voted to increase the dues by this amount. (It is my opinion that Council felt that since we have held the line on dues for so long, we need to finally break the $100 barrier before the deficit in dues-related activities becomes too great.)

The publications division has done very well this year and will establish a group to explore new products. The Society Committee will be eliminated and replaced by a Joint-Board Council Committee on Publications.

The Committee on Economic and Professional Development reported that the Employment Clearinghouse has expanded job offerings and believes that the employment situation for chemists is improving.

A proposal to amend the bylaws to establish a separate dues category for academic post-doctoral chemists was sent back to Committee primarily because the group selected (post-docs) were not the only lower income group in need of dues assistance.

Meetings and Expositions reported a total registration of 14,599 and 450 booths for 272 companies, for a total attendance of 17,159. This is the highest attendance for a national meeting in 40 years. In Las Vegas, hotel policies required the technical sessions to start on Monday instead of Tuesday. Electronic Abstract forms are now available on the www.

A rule for local sections for the removal of local section officers was passed. These will be incorporated into the bylaws of new local sections. This does not have to be adopted by existing local sections.

The meeting was adjourned around 11:30 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Frank D. Blum, Councilor

A detailed agenda book can be found in my office and I would be happy to discuss these items with section members.