Dear ACS NCCRT Members,

The ACS NCCRT team has important news to share related to our roundtable leadership. Dr. Robert Smith’s 27-year tenure as Vice-Chair (a role he’s served in since he helped found the ACS NCCRT in 1997) is drawing to a close this year. He has felt for some time that his continuing role as Vice-Chair has outlived its initial purpose, and since staff and volunteer roles on ACS roundtables are evolving, this is a good moment to step down and make way for a new leadership model of volunteer Chairs and Vice-Chairs. We are pleased to say that he intends to remain an engaged member of the ACS NCCRT Steering Committee as a Senior Scientific Advisor, and will continue to be a crucial member of our team and participate in ACS NCCRT activities.

Our plan is to work with the ACS NCCRT Nominating Committee to identify a new Vice Chair who will serve under our current Chair, Dr. Steven Itzkowitz, with the intention of eventually assuming the role of ACS NCCRT Chair. This also provides ACS NCCRT the opportunity to have a succession plan in place. The ACS NCCRT team will share verbiage around role expectations and responsibilities as we seek nominations for this position (to then be vetted by our Nominating Committee). We want to make sure whoever assumes the role as Vice-Chair knows us, knows our work, and is passionate about the work we do. Be sure to be on the lookout for additional information from the ACS NCCRT team regarding our nomination submission timeline and next steps.

Please join us in thanking Dr. Smith for his 27 years of visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to increasing timely, quality colorectal cancer screening. Without him, the ACS NCCRT would not be where it is today, and we are deeply appreciative of his service over the last 27 years, and his continued engagement in this new role.

We hope you will be able to join us in thanking Dr. Smith in-person at the 2023 ACS NCCRT Annual Meeting this November for his 27 years of service!

The ACS NCCRT Team

Do you have a colleague that would like to be added to receive our newsletter? Please encourage them to sign up to receive CRC News.“The name “Bob Smith” has become a household word for anyone who has thought about, or worked in, the colorectal cancer space for the last four decades. He has spearheaded so many impactful national efforts by the American Cancer Society and National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable to tangibly and positively change policy and guidelines, that it is fair to say he is responsible for helping to save millions of lives. Bob’s brilliance, keen perspective, insights, and expertise in the field of colorectal cancer screening leaves a lasting impact on the field as he transitions into his new role as Senior Scientific Advisor. We want to personally thank Bob for his service, friendship, and most of all, his wry sense of humor!”

– Steven Itzkowitz, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF, Chair of ACS NCCRT