Conclave Deadlines and Frequently Asked Questions
Important Dates:
June 1: Due date for biennial reports from DCs, PRs, and SC. Please submit those as soon as possible if you have not already submitted your reports.
June 1: Last date for DCs and SC to submit officer citations and SC Certificates of Appreciation to National Office. Please submit those as soon as possible if you have not already done so.
June 3: Conclave T-Shirts will become available for purchase.
June 6: Last day for Chapters to elect delegates.
June 7: Legislation submitted prior to Conclave to send to delegates.
June 10: Last day to order Conclave T-Shirts for delivery before Conclave.
June 15: Last day for Conclave Registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Meeting Platform and Sign Up Information
The Supreme Council has selected Zoom as the platform for the 55th Biennial Conclave. Information will be sent to delegates in the coming weeks regarding what needs to be done to sign up for this.
Legislative Process Tutorials
Online meetings will be held prior to Conclave for new Conclave attendees to familiarize them with the legislative process. Those dates and meeting information will be announced soon.
Tontines
The Conclave tontines are established at each Conclave, and its membership consists of all Brothers who attended that Conclave. A member drops out of the tontine for a given Conclave when he or she fails to attend a succeeding Conclave. Thus each tontine member has attended all Conclaves since a particular tontine was established. Tontines are a way of recognizing attendance at successive Conclaves.
As the 55th Biennial Conclave is going to be held online, in order for Brothers to keep their current tontine, they will need to register for Conclave. Brothers registered for Conclave will be considered to have attended the 55th Biennial Conclave.
Awards
Kuebler Award
The highest award Alpha Chi Sigma bestows on one of its members is the John R. Kuebler Award presented for outstanding service to the Fraternity and outstanding service to the profession or accomplishment in the science of chemistry. The Kuebler Award winner for 2020 will be announced at Conclave and it is hoped that the acceptance speech will be able to be give at an in-person Conclave in 2022.
Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame Awards
The Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame was established in 1982 to recognize outstanding members of the Fraternity and to publicize their contributions to the science and profession of chemistry. Nominations to the Hall of Fame may be made by any member of the Fraternity. Selections are made by the Supreme Council. Currently, the Supreme Council inducts up to two new members each biennium with the presentations made at Conclave. The costs of the administering the Hall of Fame are borne by the Alpha Chi Sigma Educational Foundation. The 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees will be announced at Conclave.
Pflaum Award
Instituted in 1992 in honor and memory of Dr. Ronald T. Pflaum, Alpha Theta 1953, the Ronald T. Pflaum Outstanding Chapter Advisor Award is presented at Conclave each biennium to a Chapter Advisor as recognition of his or her ongoing contributions to the success of a chapter and his or her continuing service to the interest of the Fraternity. The Ronald T. Pflaum Awardee will be announced at Conclave.
Scholar Award
In July 1913, Alpha Chi Sigma initiated a scholarship program "To emphasize the belief that to encourage scholarship is one way to strive for the advancement of chemistry." The award consists of a $2,500 prize, a gold scholarship key, and an inscribed certificate. The biography of the recipient is also featured in the awards issue of The Hexagon. This award is administered by the Alpha Chi Sigma Educational Foundation. The Alpha Chi Sigma Scholar Awardees will be announced at Conclave.
T. Dale Stewart Best Collegiate Chapter Award
The Best House Chapter was selected from among the house chapters of the Fraternity, and The Best Non-House Chapter was selected from among the non-house chapters of the Fraternity. The awards were combined into the Best Collegiate Chapter Award beginning in 2014. The winning chapter is chosen by the District Counselors and is awarded every two years at the Grand Chapter Conclave.
The winner of the award is selected by the District Counselors and will be announced at Conclave.
J. Haworth Jonte Award for the Most Improved Collegiate Chapter
The Jonte Award was established by the Grand Chapter at the 2002 Grand Chapter Conclave to recognize the collegiate chapter that demonstrates the most improved over the previous biennium. The winning chapter is chosen by the District Counselors and is awarded every two years at the Grand Chapter Conclave.
The Jonte Award winner will be announced at Conclave.
Clyde B. Hutchison Award for Best Professional Activities
The Hutchison Award is earned by the collegiate chapter that demonstrates the most outstanding professional activities at Conclave. The winning chapter is chosen by the Professional Representatives and is awarded every two years at the Grand Chapter Conclave. The Hutchison Awardee will be announced at Conclave.
Walter T. Schrenck Award for Conclave Attendance
Walter T. Schrenk Award for Conclave Attendance will be tabulated based on the number of collegiate member registrations from each chapter. Only Collegiate members attending count towards the award, not Professionals. The winner of the Schrenck Award will be announced at Conclave.
The Vincent A. Sedlak Professional Chapter Award
The Vincent A. Sedlak Professional Chapter Award is awarded to the best professional chapter. The winning chapter is chosen by the Professional Representatives and is awarded every two years at the Grand Chapter Conclave. The winner of the Sedlak Award will be announced at Conclave.
Star Chapter Awards
The Star Chapter Awards recognize chapters for exemplary performance in several areas. The Star Chapter Awards are earned by collegiate chapters that participate and document a set number of professional, service, and alumni activities. These documented activities are well above and beyond the level required for Alpha Chi Sigma to retain its tax classification status. Winners of the Star Chapter Awards will be announced at Conclave and the actual awards will be given to the chapters at a later date.
District Counselor Citations
District Counselor Citations will be announced at Conclave and the citations mailed to the recipients following Conclave.
Supreme Council Member Citations and Supreme Council Certificates of Appreciation
SC Member Citations and SC Certificates of Appreciation will be announced at Conclave and mailed to the recipients following Conclave.
Elections
The Fraternity will be electing a new Supreme Council at Conclave. The process may be slightly different to accommodate the online format; however there will still be opportunities for nominations from the floor and for all the candidates to make statements and answer questions.
Legislation
Legislation is an important aspect of Conclave and is how the business of the Fraternity is transacted. With the online format and limited legislation time, it is strongly recommended that legislation to be sent to the Grand Recorder prior to Conclave so it can be distributed to the delegates beforehand.
Standing Rules
Those who have attended previous Conclave are familiar with the Standing Rules of the Legislative Sessions. The proposed Standing Rules have been slightly modified for the online format. The proposed Standing Rules will be provided to delegates prior to Conclave.
Attendance
Do I have to attend all Conclave Sessions? If you are a voting Delegate, yes and on time. Conclave Delegates are Delegates for the entire Conclave. It is not permitted for voting privilege to be passed back and forth between chapter members. If for some reason a Delegate cannot continue as a Delegate, the GMA may appoint an alternate to take over the duties, but it has to be for a good reason. Passing on Delegate duties in order to sleep late is not a good reason. All Conclave participants are encouraged to attend as many sessions as possible.
Health and Safety Policy
The Health and Safety Policy will be in effect at the virtual Conclave. Conclave, virtual, or otherwise, is a Fraternity event. As such, conclave attendees should follow all federal, state, and local laws as appropriate, and treat this Conclave the same way you would treat an in-person Fraternity event.
Ritual
As a consequence of the online format, there will not be a demonstration of the Ritual at the 55th Biennial Conclave.
Conclave Committees
As a consequence of the online format, several Conclave committees will not be needed. As such several delegates may not be assigned to a committee. Please let the GMA know if you have any questions or concerns about this. If you have a strong desire to serve on a particular committee, please let the GMA know as well.