The Regional Meetings Committee (RMC) is charged by the Division to:
1. Provide oversight of the ACS Division of Chemical Education Region Awards, which includes the development and maintenance of Award Guidelines, participation in the selection and presentation of the Region Award winners;
2. Ensure that a Chemical Education Program is part of each Regional Meeting; and
3. Promote the purpose and work of the ACS Division of Chemical Education.
Our committee’s activities strongly align with the following goals in the Division’s Strategic Plan:
Professional Development (Goal 2) - Engage chemistry educators and education researchers at all levels in a wide range of high-quality, accessible learning experiences.
Identifying & Communicating Value (Goal 3) - Build and communicate the unique benefits and role of DivCHED.
1. Region Awards - Two of the ten ACS Regions reported meetings in the Report Period, providing opportunities to recognize and reward excellence in high school chemistry.
2. Revised Operational Documents - The committee drafted revised versions of the Operations Manual and the Primary Responsibilities of RMC Members. The Chair drafted a revised version of the Primary Responsibilities of RMC Chair.
1. Vote to approve revised Operations Manual, revised Primary Responsibilities of RMC Chair, revised Primary Responsibilities of RMC Members.
2. Update RMC's DivCHED website.
3. Continue to work with ACS staff to develop a better system for processing of regional and national awards including a central location to post awardee information.
4. Rework, refine, and streamline the Guideline Packet for ACS Division of Chemical Education Regional Awards for Excellence in High School Teaching.
$2,000 was received for use in 2025.
Funding is being used to support chemical education programming at regional meetings for 2025. The RMC evaluates requests for regional meeting sponsorship. Funds are dispersed on a first come, first served basis with a maximum award of $500 to a regional meeting. All regional meetings that have inquired about 2025 funds are scheduled for October or November, so we have not yet received any formal funding requests.
As the regional meetings supported by our 2025 allocation have not yet occurred, outcomes are not yet available. We anticipate receiving post-event reports after the meetings take place in October and November.