Chicago—Members of the American Chemical Society Council gathered on the morning of Aug. 26 during ACS Fall 2026 to begin their meeting. As this was a public meeting, those interested could watch from an observer section. Council members and observers unable to be there in person had the option to participate virtually.
Elections
The Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E) presented candidates to be voted on by the ACS Council for the Council Policy Committee (CPC), Committee on Committees (ConC), and N&E. For CPC, those elected were Sheila M. Murphy, Martha G. Hollomon, Veronica I. Jaramillo, and Rodney M. Bennett. For ConC, those elected were Anna G. Cavinato, Laura Sessions, Thomas R. Gilbert, Jeanne Berk, and Michelle Rogers for the 2027–29 term, Janet Asper for the 2026–27 term to fill a vacancy, and Matthew Reichert and Mary Ann Meador for a 1-year term to fill other vacancies. For N&E, those elected were Milagros Delgado, Amber Charlebois, Jennifer Maclachlan, Arlene A. Garrison, and Patrick Gordon for the 2027–29 term, Jingbo Louise Liu for the 2027-28 term, and Erin Dotlich for the 2027 1-year term.
Ballots for the 2026 fall election, which includes voting for ACS president, director-at-large, District III director, and District VI director, will be distributed starting Sept. 14; candidate statements will appear before that in C&EN.
Reports and council actions
For the first time (at least in recent history), and outside the above N&E election results, there were no additional proposed actions to be voted on during this council session.
The president, president-elect, and immediate past president gave their reports to the council. ACS president Rigoberto Hernandez revealed that he is officially the first lifetime member, as part of a lifetime membership program pilot happening this fall—with ACS CEO Albert Horvath noting that he’s signed on as lifetime member number 2. ACS president-elect Christina “Chris” Bodurow gave us a preview of her upcoming priorities, which included interdisciplinary global challenges programming at next year’s ACS meetings, which are focused around energy, chemistry in space, medicine development, and sustainability. She also has a focus on chemistry and art. ACS past-present Dorothy J. Phillips updated us on her continued work around inclusion and belonging and fostering a skilled technical workforce.
This meeting also marked the final reports given to the council by Phillips and ACS Board chair Wayne E. Jones Jr.
CPC, ConC, and N&E gave oral reports, as did the ACS Committees on Membership Affairs, Meetings and Expositions, Economic and Professional Affairs, Divisional Activities, Chemistry and Public Affairs, and Constitution and Bylaws. Notably, the Committee on the Advancement of LGBTQ+ Chemists (CALC) also gave its very first oral report.
Resolutions
The council meeting opened with a resolution to mark the momentous milestone of ACS’s 150th year. This was followed by a reading of names of councilors who have passed and a moment of silence.
The resolutions passed at the close of the meeting included one appreciating the cordial hospitality of ACS Fall 2026 meeting registrants, division chairs, symposium organizers, ACS staff, and more, and one recognizing Hernandez’s leadership and energy for advancing chemistry and ACS during its 150th year.
Councilor Talking Points can be found online at www.acs.org/councilors. The council agenda, which includes all of the committee written reports, and minutes for this meeting will also be available on the council web page.
