The Governor and the State Superintendent of Education, by virtue of their respective offices and the trustees appointed pursuant to Section 16-52-3, and their successors in office, are constituted a body corporate under the name of Jacksonville State University.

It shall be the duty of the board of trustees to make or cause to be made to the Legislature, at each session thereof, a full report of its transactions and of the condition of the university, embracing an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements on account of the university by those charged with the administration of its finances.

No grant or gift, by will or otherwise, shall fail on account of any misnomer or informality when the intent of the grantor or donor can be arrived at, nor shall any default, malfeasance, misfeasance or nonuser, on the part of the trustees or other officers or agents of such corporation, work a forfeiture of any of its rights, privileges, powers or franchises.

(a) The President of Jacksonville State University, with the approval of the board of trustees, may appoint and employ suitable persons to act as police officers to keep off intruders and prevent trespass upon and damage to the property and grounds of the university. Such persons shall be charged with all the duties and invested with all the powers of police officers. The officer may eject trespassers from the university buildings and grounds. The officer may, without a warrant, arrest any person guilty of disorderly conduct, or of trespass upon the property of the university, or for any public offense committed in their presence, and carry them before the nearest district court or municipal court. Upon proper affidavit charging the offense, the person arrested may be tried by the court and convicted as in cases of persons brought before the court on a warrant. The officer may summon a posse comitatus. The officer may, with a warrant, arrest any person found upon or near the premises of the university charged with any public offense and take the person before the proper officer.

(b) The police officers shall cooperate with and, when requested, furnish assistance to the regularly constituted authorities of the City of Jacksonville. The jurisdiction and authority of the officers shall be coextensive with the corporate limits of the municipality.

There shall be awarded each year 30 scholarships to the Lurleen B. Wallace School of Nursing of Jacksonville State University for nursing education. These scholarships shall be awarded to applicants from the state-at-large. They shall be distributed, insofar as practicable, throughout the state.

To be eligible to receive a scholarship provided by this chapter, a person must have been a resident of the State of Alabama for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the time of making application and must be a person of good character, and shall have been accepted for matriculation by the authorities of Jacksonville State University and shall have met the requirements for professional nursing education as determined by the Lurleen B. Wallace School of Nursing of Jacksonville State University. Applications for scholarships shall be made to the Lurleen B. Wallace School of Nursing of Jacksonville State University.

Each scholarship provided for by this chapter shall be in the amount of $600.00 per year, payable from funds appropriated to the Lurleen B. Wallace School of Nursing of Jacksonville State University for this purpose. A scholarship may either be renewed by the said school of nursing for the same student or awarded to another applicant for the scholarship. Appropriate competitive examinations of aptitude and ability shall be administered to the applicants by the Lurleen B. Wallace School of Nursing of Jacksonville State University. The results of the examinations shall be used as guides in the selection of the recipients of the scholarships from the various geographical areas of the state. In case a scholarship student fails to complete the course prescribed for the baccalaureate degree in nursing, that student must repay the amount of scholarship funds used. Any funds thus collected may be used as scholarship assistance for other nursing students. A scholarship student must agree to practice professional nursing in the State of Alabama for at least one year after completing the course at the Lurleen B. Wallace School of Nursing of Jacksonville State University.

All of the right, title and interest of the State of Alabama in and to the real property acquired by and in the name of the State of Alabama for the use and benefit of the state educational institution formerly known as Jacksonville State College at Jacksonville, Alabama, is hereby conveyed to and vested in Jacksonville State University, the body corporate created by Act No. 239, Regular Session 1967, approved August 16, 1967.

Such corporation shall have all the rights, privileges and franchises necessary to the promotion of the end of its creation and shall be charged with all corresponding duties, liabilities and responsibilities. Such corporation may hold and may lease, sell or in any other manner not inconsistent with the object or terms of the grant or grants under which it holds dispose of any property, real or personal, or any estate or interest therein, remaining of any grant by any governmental unit or by any person, or accruing to the corporation from any source, as it may deem best for the purposes of the university.

(a) There is created a Board of Trustees for Jacksonville State University, the state educational institution formerly known as Jacksonville State College at Jacksonville, Alabama.

(b) The board of trustees shall consist of two members from the congressional district in which the institution is located, one from each of the other congressional districts in the state, one at-large member, the State Superintendent of Education, and the Governor, who shall be ex officio president of the board.

(c) The trustees shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and, except for the first trustees appointed, shall hold office for a term of 12 years and until their successors shall be appointed and qualified. Of the first members appointed to the board, one third shall be appointed for terms of four years, one third for terms of eight years and one third for terms of 12 years. The at-large member shall be appointed for both initial and succeeding terms of 12 years and until a successor is appointed and qualified in the same manner as other members.

(d) No trustee shall receive any pay or emolument other than his or her actual expenses incurred in the discharge of his or her duties as such.

(e) A trustee who has departed the board and who has attained the age of 70 years or older may be designated by the board as a Trustee Emeritus and may receive such honorary privileges as conferred by the board.

(f) No employee of Jacksonville State University shall be eligible to serve on its board of trustees.

The Board of Trustees of Jacksonville State University shall hold its regular annual meeting each year at the university on the third Monday in October, unless the board shall, in regular session, determine to hold its meeting at some other time and place. Special meetings of the board may be assembled by either one of the two methods outlined as follows:

(1) Special meetings of the board may be called by the Governor. In calling such special meetings the Governor shall mail a written notice to each trustee at least 10 days in advance of the date of such meetings.

(2) Upon the application in writing of any three members of the board, the Governor shall call a special meeting, naming the time and place thereof and causing notices to be issued in writing to the several members of the board. Such meeting shall not be held on a date less than 10 days subsequent to the notice from the Governor.

Six members of the board of trustees shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day until a quorum is present.

The board of trustees has the power to organize the university by appointing a corps of instructors, who shall be styled the faculty of the university, and such other instructors and officers as the interest of the university may require; and to remove any such instructors or other officers and to fix their salaries or compensation and increase or reduce the same at its discretion; to regulate, alter or modify the government of the university, as it may deem advisable; to prescribe courses of instruction, rates of tuition and fees; to confer such academic and honorary degrees as are usually conferred by institutions of similar character; and to do whatever else it may deem best for promoting the interest of the university.

After August 16, 1967, the board of trustees created by this chapter for Jacksonville State University shall have exclusive jurisdiction, supervision and control of Jacksonville State University; and the State Board of Education is thereafter divested of all jurisdiction, power and authority with regard to the supervision, management and control of such university. In addition to the powers, duties and authority hereinabove vested in the board of trustees, such board shall have and exercise all power, authority and duties heretofore conferred on, vested in or required of the State Board of Education under any laws of this state with regard to the supervision, management and control of such university; and the board of trustees shall carry out all contractual obligations heretofore incurred by the State Board of Education respecting the operation of the public schools of the City of Jacksonville. On August 16, 1967, the State Board of Education shall transfer to the Board of Trustees of Jacksonville State University all supplies, funds, books, documents, records and other property or effects of such university.

Any vacancy in the office of trustee, occurring during the recess of the Legislature, shall be filled by appointment of the Governor. Such appointee shall hold office until the next session of the Legislature, when the vacancy shall be filled by the Governor by and with the consent of the Senate. A trustee appointed to fill a vacancy by the Governor, by and with the consent of the Senate, shall hold office during the unexpired term.

The certificate of the president of the board or, in his absence, of the president pro tempore, countersigned by the secretary, shall entitle the several trustees to the payment of their actual expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties as such trustees.