SECTION 5912520. Composition of board of trustees.
A. The board of trustees of Winthrop University is composed of the Governor and the
State Superintendent of Education or their designees who are members ex officio of the board, seven other members each to be elected by the joint vote
of the General Assembly, as hereinafter provided, and two graduates of Winthrop University
to be appointed by the Winthrop University Alumni Association or its successors, as
hereinafter provided. In the event that the office of the State Superintendent of Education becomes an appointed
position instead of an elected position, the seat on the board of trustees of Winthrop
University occupied by the designee the State Superintendent of Education shall become
an at-large seat to be elected by the joint vote of the General Assembly.
B. In addition to the members of the board in subsection A, there shall be one additional member of the board appointed by the Governor. The Governor shall make the appointment based on merit regardless of race, color, creed, or gender and shall strive to assure that the membership of the board is representative of all citizens of the State of South Carolina.
SECTION 59-125-30. Election of board members; terms; vacancies.
Of the seven members to be elected by the General Assembly, one member must be elected
from each of the six congressional districts and the remaining member must be elected
by the General Assembly from the State at large. Each position on the board constitutes
a separate office and the seats on the board are numbered consecutively as follows:
for the First Congressional District, Seat One; for the Second Congressional District,
Seat Two; for the Third Congressional District, Seat Three; for the Fourth Congressional
District, Seat Four; for the Fifth Congressional District, Seat Five; for the Sixth
Congressional District, Seat Six; for the atlarge position elected by the General
Assembly, Seat Seven; for the designee of the State Superintendent of Education, Seat
Eight; for the at-large positions elected by the Winthrop University Alumni Association
or its successors, Seats Nine and Ten; the member appointed by the Governor shall
occupy Seat Eleven; the Governor or his or her designee shall occupy Seat Twelve. The regular term of office of the elective members of the board of trustees is six
years with the members first elected being elected two for two years, two for four years,
and three for six years. In electing members of the board, the General Assembly shall elect members based
on merit regardless of race, color, creed, or gender and shall strive to assure that
the membership of the board is representative of all citizens of the State of South
Carolina. The General Assembly shall hold elections every evennumbered year to fill vacancies
as they occur in the board by the expiration of terms of office. The present elective members of the board of trustees shall continue to serve until
the thirtieth day of June of the year in which their terms are scheduled to expire.
Those persons elected by the General Assembly in 2002 shall have their Seats designated
as the Seat number corresponding to the Congressional District from which they are
elected. The General Assembly shall hold elections to fill vacancies as they occur
in the board by the expiration of terms of office as follows: Seat One in 2006, Seat
Two in 2008, Seat Three in 2004, Seat Four in 2004, Seat Five in 2006, Seat Six in
2008, and Seat Seven in 2005. After its 1984 session, the General Assembly shall elect successors to those trustees
whose terms are expiring not earlier than the first day of April for a term to begin
the following July first. Elections to fill vacancies which are caused by the death, resignation, or removal
of an elective trustee may be held earlier than the first day of April of the year
in which the unexpired term terminates, but the term of the person elected to fill
the vacancy expires on the last day of June of the year in which the term of the former
member would have expired. When there is a vacancy otherwise occurring in the board
of trustees among the elected members, the Governor may fill it by appointment until
the next session of the General Assembly. The successors to the two present members who are graduates of Winthrop College appointed
by the Winthrop College Alumnae Association or its successors must be elected by the
members of the Winthrop College Alumnae Association at its annual meeting held at
Winthrop College during commencement week in 1958 and they shall serve for a term
of four years and their successors must be elected at the similar annual meeting every
four years thereafter. The members of the Board elected by the Winthrop University Alumni Association or
its successors to fill Seats Nine and Ten in 2002 shall be elected for four year terms.
In 2006 the person elected by the Winthrop University Alumni Association or its successors
to fill Seat Nine shall serve a six year term and the person elected by the Winthrop
University Alumni Association or its successors to fill Seat Ten shall serve a four
year term. At the completion of those terms of office, all subsequent members of
the Board elected by the Winthrop University Alumni Association or its successors
to fill Seats Nine and Ten shall be elected for six year terms. The names of the two those so elected must be certified to the Secretary of State by the president and secretary
of the association and they shall take office immediately after the certification.
The terms of the atlarge trustees appointed by the Governor is effective upon certification to the Secretary of State
and is six years co-terminus with the term of office of the Governor. Any vacancy in the office of the member appointed by the Governor must be filled
by appointment of the Governor for the unexpired term in the same manner of original
appointment.
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WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of Winthrop University continues to actively support
the goal of attracting and retaining outstanding citizens to serve as Trustees of
the University; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of Winthrop University recognizes an ongoing need to
ensure that the composition of the Board appropriately reflects the University's state-wide
mission; and
WHEREAS, the President of Winthrop University has proposed a framework for addressing
these issues through legislative amendments to the statutes governing the composition
of the Board of Trustees and the election of members to the Board of Trustees; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees supports the proposed framework for restructuring the
composition of the Board of Trustees and the election of members to the Board of Trustees
and encourages the President to seek legislative action to implement the proposed
framework;
THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Winthrop University Board of Trustees endorses
and supports the implementation of the restructuring of the Board as a significant
element of the Board's ongoing commitment to institutional progress and development.
December 15, 2001
