The Program Committee’s main goal is to oversee the division’s technical program, start-to-finish, at the fall and spring national meetings. In working toward this goal, we interact cordially and professionally with the many people involved in programming, respond to their diverse requests in a timely manner and have to follow the protocols and enforce the rules by which all who contribute to the program must play.
During the reporting period, the Division celebrated a highly successful Spring 2026 meeting in Atlanta, held at the Georgia World Congress Center. Under the leadership of meeting co‑chairs Faith Yarberry and Craig Teague — and with strong support from Program Committee Chairs Pamela Clevenger and Ryan Sweeder — the event brought together an impressive team of organizers. Steven Fleming and Cathy MacGowen coordinated General Papers, while Sweeder and Sonja Underwood managed General Posters. Their collective efforts resulted in the submission of 1,290 abstracts, including an extraordinary 947 student posters, along with general posters, student chapter posters, and virtual oral presentations. The meeting also featured the GSSPC symposium organized by Lucy Huffman of the University of Rochester and a well‑received Sunday Teacher Day coordinated by Michael Mury.
As the Division looks ahead, planning for the Fall 2026 meeting in Chicago has entered its final phase. Technical program chairs Aimee Miller and Mitzi Erdman have already processed hundreds of posters and oral presentations, supported once again by Fleming, MacGowen, Sweeder, and Underwood in organizing General Papers and Posters. The upcoming GSSPC symposium will be led by Damilola Petinrin of the University of Kentucky, and Michael Mury has collaborated with AACT and ACS to design a Teacher Day program honoring long‑time Teacher Day organizer Sherri Rukes.
Preparations are also underway for the Spring 2027 meeting in New Orleans, chaired by Faith
Yarberry and Sonia Underwood. This cycle introduced a centralized Call for
Symposium Form on the DivCHED website, streamlining submissions. The Call for
Abstracts for New Orleans will open August 3, 2026, and close September 28,
2026. There are multiple symposiums that support incoming ACS President Dr. Christina Bodurow's theme of Chemistry in Art and Music.
The shift to a shorter meeting schedule has increased the importance of meaningful Joint Programming with other Divisions. For Spring 2027, the Division is excited to collaborate with POLY, ENVR, COMM, HIST, COMP, ANYL, as well as AACT, CPT, and SOCED. Even with these successes, programming large meetings continues to present challenges, including reductions in Half Day Session allotments and scheduling constraints. Members are encouraged to attend sessions to help maintain strong attendance metrics.
The Program Committee expresses deep appreciation for the ongoing support of
DivCHED members and the Executive Committee. Special thanks go to all Program
Co‑chairs and Committee Members, the ACS Undergraduate Program Office, AACT for
Teacher Day support, the ACS Abstracts team — Robin Green, Warren Lin, Josh
Blair, and Monique Ventura — and Heather Ryan for her consistent guidance and
organizational leadership.
The funding request is intended to take meeting co-chairs for a lunch during the meeting to discuss challenges and successes. The second use of the funding is to have coffee/beverage for committee members attending the Program Committee meeting in person.
It is expected to have limited use during 2026 due to travel and meeting schedules.