Your College: A Remarkable Organization

Much of the preparatory work for BOR meetings is done in the committees that meet just prior to the full Board meeting. I had the pleasure of being on the Honors Committee that selects Honorary Fellows of the ACS from regions throughout the world and selects Fellows for special awards such as the Distinguished Service Award, and on the Members Services Liaison Committee that concentrates on expanding ACS membership and on more fully informing the Fellows of BOR activities. Among several other important committees are the Central Judiciary Committee that is responsible for disciplining Fellows who breach the ethical standards of our College and the Finance Committee that assures responsible fiscal stewardship of the ACS. Deliberations of all of the committees are brought before the full Board for final approval

Although the BOR has been the policy-making body since the founding of the ACS 102 years ago, the structure of our society has evolved considerably, especially during the past 2 decades. The ACS is organized around five major Divisions: Advocacy and Health Policy, Education, Integrated Communications, Member Services, and Research and Optimal Patient Care. The Directors of these Divisions report on a regular basis to the BOR to keep the Regents’ knowledge up-to-date and to assist them in determining the strategic direction of the ACS. Much of the discussion, modifications, and innovations center around these Divisions, also represented as pillars in the recent BOG re-organization. I trust you are aware of the many achievements that have resulted: NSQIP, legislative elimination of the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, reorganization of the Clinical Congress, and a re-emphasis on global surgery and the Operation Giving Back Program to name but a few.

Finally, a key role of the BOR is to select the Executive Director of the ACS who manages the day-to-day operations of the College with the Board’s strategic guidance. The ACS has been blessed with a number of excellent Directors, none more visionary and competent than the present Director, David Hoyt, MD, FACS, who is 1 year into his second 5-year term.

I hope that this discussion provides you with a better understanding of the role and functioning of the BOR and the College of which you are a member. The grandeur of the BOR room appropriately parallels the excellence of what takes place within it.

Take time to visit the next time you are in Chicago. I am certain the ACS staff would be pleased and proud to meet you, show you around, and have you experience what I have tried to describe in this brief discourse.

Dr. Rikkers is Editor in Chief of ACS Surgery News.