New local section boundaries and strategic planning retreats

It’s been my pleasure to serve as chair of the American Chemical Society Committee on Local Section Activities (LSAC). Over the last 3 years, the committee has made significant progress, and I am extremely gratified for the opportunity to have served alongside my fellow committee members in support of our 185 ACS local sections.

In 2022, LSAC implemented a new strategic plan with a mission to provide opportunities, resources, and networks to partner with and serve our diverse member communities. As I reflect on our strategic plan, I am proud to report that the committee has achieved significant progress toward our three main goals of providing accessible operational resources, improving communications to and among our local section leadership, and enriching and supporting our volunteer community.

Notable accomplishments that contributed to the main goals were the launch of the ACS Speaker Directory and Local Section Showcase events at ACS Spring and Fall meetings, enhancements to our local section grants program, the development of a new monthly webinar series for local section leaders, and a peer mentoring pilot program launched this spring.

A core goal for LSAC that drives many of our actions is for all members to have an opportunity to be part of a local community. However, as I reported in my May 23, 2024, C&EN Comment, there were nearly 1,000 members residing within the US that did not belong to an ACS local section. These members reside in US counties that fall outside existing local section territory boundaries and therefore do not receive the benefits of belonging to a local section.

Last year, an LSAC working group on unassigned territory reviewed existing and unassigned territory and made recommendations to assign all counties within the US to local sections. The working group’s recommendations were widely shared with all local section leaders. Then, based on the feedback received, LSAC prepared the Petition for Changes in Local Section Territory.

The ACS Council voted to approve the petition at the ACS Fall 2025 council meeting in Washington, DC. The new local section boundaries will be effective as of Jan. 1, 2026. With this change, all members residing in the US will be automatically assigned to a local section based on their primary address, or they may elect to join an alternative local section of their choice. This September, LSAC will begin contacting members residing in the newly assigned territories to connect them with their local section.

Having accomplished our goals, LSAC is now ready to revisit our strategic plan. Later this fall, LSAC will conduct a strategic planning retreat with the goal of implementing our new strategic plan by year-end. I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues as we revisit our mission and vision and define a new set of goals and strategies to enhance local section operations and provide additional resources to support our volunteers.

Our strategic planning retreat will provide LSAC with the opportunity to review the 2025–29 ACS Strategic Plan to ensure our plan’s alignment with the society’s goals and core values. We look forward to sharing our new strategic plan with all local section leaders and relevant parties. Likewise, we encourage all sections to review the society’s newest strategic plan and consider opportunities to enhance and develop programming that supports the ACS mission to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community, and champion scientific integrity.

Once again, LSAC will offer a limited number of Strategic Planning Retreat Grants for local sections that wish to conduct strategic planning retreats in 2026. Details about the grants will be shared with local sections in October.

To learn more about LSAC and how to get involved with your local section, please visit acs.org/localsections.

Views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of C&EN or ACS.