§ 2172 -   Trustees, appointment, vacancies

§ 2172. Trustees, appointment, vacancies

(a) The corporation shall be governed by a board of 15 trustees who shall be appointed as follows:

(1) Biennially the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint trustees to serve for six-year terms expiring March 1 of the year of the biennial session. Nine trustees may be in office at one time under this subdivision. In the event of any vacancy occurring between biennial sessions in an office under this subdivision, the governor pursuant to Title 3, § 257, shall fill the same, which appointment shall terminate March 1 in the year of the next following biennial session.

(2) One trustee shall be a student trustee:

(A) who shall be a matriculated student at an educational institution operated by the Vermont state colleges corporation;

(B) who shall be pursuing a degree program; and

(C) who shall have reached the age of majority.

The student trustee shall serve a one-year term expiring on June 1. The student trustee shall be appointed, and a vacancy may be filled, from among those eligible students applying for the position by the decision of those members of the steering committee of the Vermont state colleges student association who have been elected at large to that committee by the students at their respective colleges. No college may be represented by a student trustee for more than two consecutive terms, and no student trustee may serve more than two consecutive terms.

(3) Four trustees shall be legislative trustees who are members of the general assembly at the time of their election. Legislative trustees shall serve four-year terms expiring on March 1 of the second year of the biennial session, and they shall be elected by joint assembly of the legislature. Vacancies for any cause shall be filled by the general assembly at the next session and the term of a person so appointed shall expire on March 1 of the next even numbered year.

(b) Appointments by the governor and elections by the general assembly shall be made with consideration of the geographic distribution of members to prevent an unfair focus on any single college.

(c) No trustee shall be a member of the board of trustees of the University of Vermont. (Added 1961, No. 247, § 1, eff. July 28, 1961; amended 1977, No. 188 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 5, 1978.)