Committees

Endowment Committee

• Elected Committee
• 3-Year Term
• 3 Elected Members
• Chair, Treasurer

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The Endowment Committee meets 3–4 times per year, for 1 hour/meeting. The primary responsibility of the Endowment Committee is to provide fiduciary oversight of the ACT Endowment, and to follow the guidelines described in the Endowment Charter. This includes recommendations to Council regarding investment strategy and any disbursements from the Endowment. The Endowment Committee is also responsible for promoting development of the Endowment amongst ACT membership.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
A distribution of $40,000 was made from the Endowment in 2022 to help fund ACT student awards such as the North American Graduate Fellowships, student travel grants, and the Furst Award. The fund ended the 2021 year with an audited balance of $1,286,425, as reported in the 2021 Endowment Annual Report. ACT matched 2022 Endowment contributions 2:1, up to $150,000.

Finance Committee

• Elected Committee
• 3-Year Term
• 3 Elected Members
• Chair, Treasurer

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The primary responsibility of the Finance Committee is to provide fiduciary oversight of ACT’s finances, which includes review and submission of recommendations to Council for final approval of all fiscal matters for the College. This includes reviews of the annual budget and financial statements, audit and tax filings, review of investment accounts and investment strategy, and recommendations regarding unique budget requests. The Finance Committee meets approximately 4–5 times per year (1 hour per meeting), with email votes on an ad hoc basis. It would be beneficial for members with a finance/accounting background to consider joining the Finance Committee.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
The ACT 2023 budget was impacted by higher inflation, with budgeted expenses increasing by 10.7%, and estimated revenues increasing by 6.3%. The Committee will pay close attention to the year’s operating expenses and revenues. The Finance Committee also evaluated the ACT financial policy to enable utilization of dividend and interest income generated within the investment account to finance unique Council strategic initiatives. Finally, the Committee will issue a request for proposals to accounting firms for financial audits starting in 2024 per the ACT Finance Policy.

Nominating Committee

• Elected Committee
• 1-Year Term
• 2 Elected Members
• Chair, Council Member

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The Nominating Committee is responsible for developing the ballot for ACT elected positions. It is also charged with developing initiatives to identify and “grow” candidates for leadership opportunities within ACT.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
The Nominating Committee, working with the Leadership Development Working Group, identified and recruited prospects for ACT leadership, proposed a leadership development webinar (to be held in 2023), developed a ballot, and provided election results. The Nominating Committee evaluated the current nominating structure in the final phase of addressing the strategic plan.

Outreach Committee

• Elected Committee
• 3-Year Term
• 3 Elected Members
• Chair, Council Member

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:

• The Outreach Committee is an external-facing committee which acts to optimize two-way outreach with other societies and organizations to further the ACT mission to educate and serve the toxicologist community.
• Evaluating existing and new opportunities for ACT to partner with other organizations;
• Managing ACT’s strategic relationships with external partner organizations (in conjunction with other ACT committees, as necessary); and
• Developing key messages for internal and external audiences to bring awareness regarding the College’s outreach efforts, opportunities, and accomplishments.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
To address the ACT strategic plan initiatives, the Outreach Committee optimized two-way outreach to sister societies by prioritizing exchanges to better leverage ACT objectives and expand sister societies awareness within ACT. The Outreach Committee recommended to Council opportunities to support external training in toxicology for individuals who are unable to access ACT education. Lastly, the Committee continued the ACT Ambassador program, updated the University Tox Program contacts to ensure inclusion of HBCU, and worked on global outreach initiatives featured on the ACT website.

Sister Society Liaisons

• Appointed
• 3-Year Term
• Up to 8 Appointed Members

Responsibilities include:
ACT values our collaborative and mutually beneficial partnerships with “sister” societies - national and international organizations with missions similar or complementary to those of ACT. With the help of identified Liaisons, the ACT continues to develop, refine, and optimize our partnerships through collaborative educational courses, scientific sessions, training courses, and general communications.

The main role of a Liaison is to identify, develop, and manage the relationship and exchange between ACT and the sister society to benefit both organizations, their members, and the scientific community. In addition, the Liaison expands the visibility of the College to the other sister societies and ensures mutual support throughout annual meetings or social media announcements.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
ACT co-hosts several courses where liaison relationships are leveraged, which include:

• Pathology for Non-Pathologists (with STP);
• Practical Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology (with BDRP); and
• Practical Application of Toxicology in Drug Development (with BTS)
• In other collaborations, ACT co-hosted sessions and/or educational courses with IUTOX at its ICT meeting in 2019 and its CTDC meeting in 2021, with JSOT in 2021, and with STP, SPS, and JSOT in 2022.

ACT also has member representatives participating in AAALAC and the Scientific Liaison Coalition (SLC).

Program Committee

• Appointed Committee
• 2-Year Term
• 20 Appointed Members
• Chair, President-Elect

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The Program Committee is responsible for presentations at the Annual Meeting and include:

• Reviewing all proposals for symposium, workshops and mini symposia;
• Reviewing and approving Exhibitor-Hosted Programs;
• Selecting plenary speakers; and
• Reviewing all submissions and selecting poster presentations at the Annual Meeting.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
Ensuring each year’s annual meeting reflects the interest of our membership and demonstrates how ACT leads, educates, and serves is the major accomplishment of the Program Committee. In 2022, the Annual Meeting hosted 19 Symposia and Workshops + Hot Topics, 101 poster abstracts, and 12 Talking Tox programs (exhibitor-hosted sessions).

Education Committee

• Elected Committee
• 3-Year Term
• 6 Elected Members
• Chair, Council Member

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The Education Committee (EdCom) meets for 1 hour every two weeks, throughout the year. Broadly EdCom develops, coordinates, and disseminates educational offerings for the College; including Annual Meeting CE courses and provides oversight of the webinars, podcasts, eLearning seminars, and the classroom courses. Each elected member serves as a liaison to the supporting subcommittees that meet once or twice a month, focusing on Webinar, Podcast, eLearning, Annual Meeting Continuing Education, and the brick-and-mortar educational courses. Elected members may be expected to spend on average 4 hours a month on EdCom business.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
In 2022, the Education Committee implemented a re-organization strategy to promote better coordination between offerings. Committee members were appointed to subcommittees as liaisons, establishing a liaison roadmap. The Committee provided four of seven interactive courses with polling at the Annual Meeting CE. New icons were added to the Annual Meeting program to help members easily decide what CE is appropriate for them. Two discount programs were implemented and advertised (one for eLearning and one for Annual Meeting financial assistance). Copyright rule training was provided, and the rules were better enforced for all Committee presentations.

Webinar Subcommittee

• Appointed Committee
• 3–Year Term
• Up to 10 Appointed Members
• Appointed Chair

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The Webinar Subcommittee facilitates 4–6 free educational opportunities annually through a virtual streaming medium. Committee members are responsible for choosing the yearly webinar topics, identifying speakers, reviewing slides for conformity with ACT standards and copyright restrictions, moderating the webinars and live Q&A sessions, collating attendee survey results, and maintaining the ACT Signature Webinar archive.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
The Webinar Subcommittee produces unique webinars that inform the greater toxicology community on innovative and standard practices in the industry. These webinars are viewed globally by people from a wide variety of educational and vocational backgrounds. In 2022, the Committee produced three webinars.

eLearning Subcommittee

• Appointed Committee
• 3–Year Term
• Up to 12 Appointed Members
• Appointed Chair

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The eLearning Subcommittee is responsible for the educational seminars, which cover a wide range of topics from basic and intermediate toxicology training to cutting-edge emerging sciences, presented by subject matter experts.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
The eLearning Subcommittee launched an eLearning seminar series with a set of six modules on Special Topics in Toxicology, completed a set of nine modules on Basic Topics in Toxicology, and completed a series with a set of four modules on Gene Therapy: Nonclinical and Regulatory Strategies. A new eLearning seminar series, Specialty Oncology Biotherapeutics, was developed for 2023.

Podcast Subcommittee

• Appointed Committee
• 3–Year Term
• Up to 12 Appointed Members
• Appointed Chair

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The Podcast Subcommittee plans and produces 6–8 toxicology focused podcasts/year, which may be informational or scientific.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
Since 2017, this collaborative team has recorded and released free podcasts of interest to our members and to the general public. In 2022, six podcasts were released, and multiple podcasts were recorded for release in early 2023.

Awards Committee

• Elected Committee
• 3-Year Term
• 6 Elected Members
• Chair, Council Member

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:

• Soliciting members’ nominations and selecting recipients for ACT signature awards, travel grants, and fellowships, as well as honors, with the exception of the ACT Distinguished Fellow (selected by Council) and the President’s Best Paper (selected by the IJT Editorial Board).
• Notifying award recipients and the membership of award recipients.
• Conducting the Furst Award Poster competition.
• Conducting an annual Awards Ceremony.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
The Awards Committee reviewed nominations and recommended recipients for the ACT signature awards. The Committee selected three North American Graduate Fellowship recipients, five International Travel Grant Recipients, ten North American Travel Grant recipients, and a Furst Award recipient. Recipients were announced at the Awards Ceremony.

Membership Committee

• Elected Committee
• 3-Year Term
• 3 Elected Members
• A member of Council is appointed Chair

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
To review the applications for individual and corporate memberships to ensure that applicants meet the correct requirements for the membership type. The committee also organizes and routes volunteer applicants to available opportunities and discusses ways to enhance the membership proposition. Lastly, the membership committee also interacts with and advises the Early Career Professional Subcommittee. The Membership Committee generally meets monthly for a 1-hour teleconference, with ad hoc work estimated up to 2 hours per month.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
In 2022, the Membership Committee implemented a new process to introduce new members to the College via a hosted live video conference. Additionally, the New Member Mingle activity at the Annual Meeting was upgraded to include an escort to the Welcome Reception (along with a free reception ticket). An enhanced website was designed to support and promote the Volunteer program and a new Career Center website is in progress.

Early Career Professional Subcommittee

• Appointed Committee
• 3-Year Term
• 10–12 Appointed Members, plus appointed advisors
• Appointed Chair

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The Early Career Professional Subcommittee (ECPSC) consists of early career professionals (ECPs) with less than 10 years of professional experience in toxicology or a related discipline after earning their highest degree. Our mission is to provide resources, education, and engagement opportunities that encourage and facilitate the professional growth and development of early career professionals. These include organizing scientific sessions at the Annual Meeting along with a speed networking event and social events for ECPs, creating webinars and podcasts, and supporting ACT-wide initiatives including the Mentoring Program, ECP communication needs, and improving inclusion within ACT. ECPSC meets monthly for a one-hour teleconference, with ad hoc work each month estimating 2–8 hours per month.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
The Early Career Professional Subcommittee has helped ensure early career professionals are supported in the ACT Mentorship program to enhance bidirectional successful mentorship for career advancement and professional development. The Subcommittee presented four events at the 2022 Annual Meeting and one podcast in May. Additionally, a podcast focusing on interviewing and negotiation tips for toxicologists is in preparation for 2023.

Communications Committee

• Appointed Committee
• 3-Year Term
• Up to 16 Appointed Members
• Chair, Council Member

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The Communications Committee meets monthly and is responsible for communication efforts across the ACT communication platforms, overseeing the Newsletter Subcommittee and the Social Media Subcommittee. The Communications Committee also assists with review of the ACT website, maintains the ACT Wikipedia page to ensure content is accurate, and tests the Annual Meeting electronic formats.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
The Communications Committee oversees the College’s communication strategy to meet the informational needs of ACT membership and to provide relevant information to interested external parties. During 2022, the Communications Committee completed the ACT overall Strategic Communications plan, completed the draft of seven campaigns, including IJT, Leadership, Membership, Career Development, Awards, Annual Meeting, and Networking. The 2022 ACT Communication Strategy integrates messaging from all committees/subcommittees/working groups to ensure that the College has a compelling, effective, and cohesive narrative that clearly defines the value of engaging with ACT and its members, thereby supporting the goals of the College.

Social Media Subcommittee

• Appointed Committee
• 1- Year Term (extendable to 2nd year)
• Up to 11 Appointed Members
• Appointed Chair

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:

• The Social Media Subcommittee is the social media arm of the Communications Committee and maintains the social media platforms for ACT to enhance the visibility of ACT to the toxicologist community.
• The committee:
  • Maintains the ACT social media platforms, primarily LinkedIn and Twitter.
  • Plans, produces, and posts to the above-mentioned social media platforms for ACT.
  • Facilitates ACT member and social media followers’ network to increase visibility of ACT.
  • Identifies, evaluates, and executes new platforms to further expand the online presence of ACT.
• The Social Media Subcommittee makes informational posts focused on the ACT Annual Meetings, events, educational courses, eLearning modules, webinars, awards, nominations, membership, and more to ensure that our members and followers are up to date on everything ACT!

Recent Accomplishments Include:
ACT uses LinkedIn and Twitter social media accounts with 2637 followers on LinkedIn and 952 followers on Twitter. In 2022, the Social Media Subcommittee finalized policies and launched real-time posting of content on Twitter and LinkedIn at the 2022 ACT Annual Meeting. The Social Media Subcommittee held a training for ACT leadership to aid with their social media presence.

Newsletter Subcommittee

• Appointed Committee
• 3-Year Term
• Up to 10 Appointed Members
• Appointed Chair

Committee Roster
Committee SOP

Responsibilities include:
The newsletter Subcommittee is responsible for generating the quarterly ACT newsletter, ACTimes. Working group members are each responsible for generating one article per quarterly newsletter. Members are also responsible for review of content of the newsletter once it is in its publishable format, as well as incorporating key messages from the Communication Strategy. Newsletter articles consist of a range of topics including recent regulatory events, seminars/webinars, and "It takes a Village" which highlights contributions consistent with multiple efforts. The Newsletter Subcommittee is an exciting way to explore new topics relevant to the ACT audience. Time commitment is several hours per newsletter.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
ACTimes, the ACT Newsletter, is released quarterly and features reports from Council, Committees, Subcommittees, Working Groups, and articles of interest such as Global Regulatory, Drug Watch, Membership Spotlights, and It Takes a Village. ACTimes is now being released through a new platform with gained insight to analytics. The Fall 2022 issue was sent to approximately 1,100 members, with 527 unique users opening the email and 292 total messages forwarded.

International Journal Toxicology Editorial Board

• Appointed Board
• 3-Year Term
• 45–50 Appointed Members
• Chair, IJT Editor-in-Chief

Responsibilities include:
Provide timely and constructive reviews of manuscripts submitted to International Journal of Toxicology. A subset of the Editorial Board is invited to participate in selection of the Best Paper published in International Journal of Toxicology in the previous calendar year.

Recent Accomplishments Include:
The mission of the IJT Editorial Board is to provide timely and constructive reviews of manuscripts submitted to IJT. A subset of the Editorial Board is invited to participate in selection of the Best Paper published in IJT in the previous calendar year. For 2022, there were a total of 358 submissions as of November 2022. Of those submissions, 13 were Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR)-sponsored Supplement issues. A total of 37 countries were represented in these submissions, including many from China (110), as well as India, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, US, and Nigeria. US authors led in acceptance rate and there were 14 submissions by ACT members with an overall acceptance rate of 5% for all submissions. The IJT impact factor hit an all-time high at 2.375 for 2021. Special initiatives included an updated “Collections” category on the IJT website; and authoring a SAGE blog post to promote a pediatric cancer manuscript from Mexico. The IJT Board wishes to thank its 40 ad hoc reviewers for 2022.