ACS has scheduled a member briefing on August 18. Please attend and make your voice heard

ACS has now announced a virtual “ACS Brand Evolution: Member Briefing” for Tuesday, August 18, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. EDT.

This is a welcome development. A member briefing and open question period should ideally have happened before the historic ACS logo was replaced rather than after the rollout, but ACS is at least creating an opportunity for members to hear directly from leadership and ask questions about the decision. We should make use of it.

According to ACS, the briefing will cover how the Strategic Plan led to the brand evolution, the research behind the process, and how stakeholder feedback informed the final decision. ACS has also explicitly said that questions will be taken from the audience.

You can register here:

https://events.zoom.us/e/view/2QJAJDWdRLqzxp0birrfXg

Importantly, the registration form is not limited to current ACS members. It asks whether you are a current member, past member, future member, or prefer not to say. That means people who are considering joining ACS can participate too. If you are a chemistry student, early-career scientist, former member, or someone who may become an ACS member in the future, this is also an opportunity to make your perspective heard. The registration form also gives you an opportunity to submit a question or comment in advance, so please do not wait until the webinar itself to make your concerns known.

For everyone who has signed this petition, especially ACS members, this is an important opportunity to ask the questions we have been raising from the beginning. We encourage you to register, attend if you can, and ask clear, respectful questions about the logo decision, including:

1. What did the research specifically show about member support for replacing the historic ACS logo, and will ACS publish the methodology and results?
2. How many ACS members participated, how were they selected, what alternatives were they shown, and were they shown the final logo?
3. Were members specifically asked whether the phoenix, Liebig bulb, and cobalt-blue-and-gold identity should be retained?
4. Who formally authorized replacement of the historic logo, and how does the new logo fit with the current ACS Governing Documents?
5. What did development and implementation of the new logo cost, and will ACS disclose those figures?

Please also ask whether ACS is willing to reconsider the logo decision in light of the response from members and the broader chemistry community.

We are glad ACS is engaging with members now, but one briefing does not resolve the concerns around transparency, accountability, member involvement, governance, and the decision to discard a historic chemical identity. What matters is whether ACS provides substantive answers and whether members are genuinely heard.

If you have signed the petition, please continue sharing it with colleagues and across LinkedIn, Bluesky, X, Facebook, chemistry forums, professional groups, and other communities. If each signer shares it with even 5 to 10 people, we can keep building the momentum before both this briefing and ACS Fall 2026.

And if you are attending ACS Fall in Chicago, please continue the conversation there. Talk with Councilors, committee members, Local Section and Division leaders, and ACS leadership. The August 18 briefing gives us an opportunity to ask questions virtually, and ACS Fall gives members another opportunity to make sure those questions are not forgotten.

Thank you again to everyone who has signed, shared, commented, and helped get this issue in front of ACS leadership. Please register for the briefing, submit your questions in advance, attend if you can, and keep the conversation going.