Sec. 10a-20a. Endowed Chair Investment Fund.

      Sec. 10a-20a. Endowed Chair Investment Fund. (a) The Board of Governors of Higher Education may establish and administer a fund to be known as the Endowed Chair Investment Fund. Within the limits of funds available, the board may deposit state funds for an endowed chair approved under subsection (c) of this section to an account within said fund in an amount not less than five hundred thousand dollars.

      (b) State funds deposited by the board of governors to the Endowed Chair Investment Fund shall be invested by the State Treasurer.

      (c) The Board of Trustees of The University of Connecticut and the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut State University System may apply for the establishment of an endowed chair to be supported by a grant of not less than five hundred thousand and not more than one million dollars from the Endowed Chair Investment Fund and a matching nonstate contribution. Applications for endowed chairs shall be accepted on October first and April first in each year in which funds are available. To apply for the state grant, the board of trustees shall notify the board of governors that it has raised a matching nonstate contribution and that it is eligible for a grant of state funds to establish an endowed chair in a specific academic discipline. The board of trustees shall submit for the board's review and approval evidence that the chair will be established in a center of excellence, as defined in subsection (b) of section 10a-25h.

      (d) Following approval of state funding for an endowed chair by the board of governors, the board of trustees of the institution at which the chair is established shall select candidates to fill the endowed chair and shall develop a budget for expenditures associated with the chair.

      (e) Interest income earned under subsection (b) of this section shall be deposited to the Endowed Chair Investment Fund and, following establishment of an endowed chair under subsection (c) of this section shall be allocated, upon request, to The University of Connecticut or to the Connecticut State University System, as appropriate, to support the endowed chair. Nonstate matching contributions shall be held by a duly established foundation of The University of Connecticut or the Connecticut State University System and the interest on such contributions shall be used to support the endowed chair.

      (f) The boards of trustees shall submit annual reports to the board of governors concerning endowed chair expenditures.

      (P.A. 85-565, S. 1, 3; P.A. 88-38, S. 1, 2; P.A. 91-256, S. 48, 69; P.A. 94-245, S. 6, 46; P.A. 97-293, S. 15, 26; P.A. 00-187, S. 24, 75.)

      History: P.A. 88-38 deleted requirement in Subsec. (b) that funds be invested through the short term investment fund; P.A. 91-256 made technical changes; P.A. 94-245 amended Subsec. (e) to allow for allocation of interest income "upon request" rather than "annually"; P.A. 97-293 amended Subsec. (a) to substitute "funds available" for "appropriations" and amended Subsec. (c) to change "a grant of five hundred thousand" to "a grant of not less than five hundred thousand and not more than seven hundred fifty thousand", effective July 8, 1997; P.A. 00-187 increased the maximum amount in Subsec. (c) from $750,000 to $1,000,000, effective July 1, 2000.