The Governor and the State Superintendent of Education, by virtue of their respective offices, and the trustees appointed from the senatorial districts of the state enumerated in Section 16-55-2, are constituted a public body corporate under the name of University of South Alabama to carry into effect the purposes expressed in this article and to establish a state institution of higher learning.

The board of trustees shall consist of three members from Mobile County, three members from the state at large, the State Superintendent of Education, the Governor, who shall be ex officio president of the board and one each from each of the following state senatorial districts: Twenty-first District comprising Baldwin and Escambia Counties, Nineteenth District comprising Choctaw, Clarke and Washington Counties, Twentieth District comprising Marengo and Sumter Counties, Sixteenth District comprising Monroe and Wilcox Counties, Thirtieth District comprising Dallas and Lowndes Counties, Seventeenth District comprising Butler, Conecuh and Covington Counties, Twenty-fifth District comprising Coffee and Crenshaw Counties, Twenty-third District comprising Dale and Geneva Counties and the Thirty-fifth District comprising Henry and Houston Counties. The trustees shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the State Senate, and shall hold office for a term of 12 years, and until their successors shall be appointed and qualified. The board shall be divided into three classes, as nearly equal as may be, so that one third may be chosen quadrennially, as provided in Section 16-55-5. Vacancies occurring in the office of trustee from death or resignation, and the vacancies regularly occurring by expiration of the term shall be filled by the Governor, and the appointee shall hold office until the next meeting of the Legislature. Successors to those trustees whose terms expire during an interim shall hold office for the full term unless they are rejected by the Senate. No trustee shall receive any pay or emolument other than his actual expenses incurred in the discharge of his duties as a trustee.

The Legislature finds that the development of leadership qualities among young citizens is essential to the future well-being of Alabama. The rapid pace of social and technological change and the resulting uncertainty about the future call for strong leadership at all levels. The Legislature further finds that there is a need to identify and build leadership skills among Alabama's young citizens, particularly those who may not otherwise benefit from existing leadership programs.

The Alabama High School Legislative Leadership Academy at the University of South Alabama is created. The academy shall begin operation in July 1994. The academy shall provide participants with opportunities to gain insights into the legislative process in Alabama by providing seminars on developing leadership skills, critical thinking skills, communications skills, problem solving skills, and team building activities.

One participant in the Legislative Leadership Academy shall be selected from each House of Representatives district and each Senate district by the member of the Alabama Legislature representing the district. Selections shall be made by March 15 of each year.

To be eligible for participation in the Legislative Leadership Academy, a student shall be entering the eleventh or twelfth grade in the school year immediately following participation in the academy during the summer. A student shall be eligible to participate in the academy only once. Eligibility criteria may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

(1) Academic performance.

(2) Leadership potential.

(3) Personal attributes, including enthusiasm, creativity, independence, maturity, dependability, and initiative.

(4) Interpersonal skills, including cooperation, listening ability, communication skills, and concern for others.

(5) Citizenship skills, including respecting the rights of others and the ability to command respect from others.

(6) Coping skills, including perseverance, ability to adapt to changing situations, giving and accepting constructive criticism, and learning from mistakes.

(7) Accomplishments, including personal growth, community involvement, special talents, and academic accomplishments.

Participants shall be provided room and board, food, and supplies. Participants shall provide their own transportation to and from the academy.

The Board of Trustees of the University of South Alabama shall have all the rights, privileges and authority necessary to promote the purpose of its creation, which is to establish and provide for the maintenance and operation of a state university in Mobile County. The board may hold, 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, as to it may seem best for the purposes of the institution, and sales of property, real or personal, may be made at any time by the trustees.

The board of trustees shall have the power to organize the institution by appointment of instructors and faculty members and such executive and administrative officers and employees as may be necessary to operate the university; the trustees may remove any officers, faculty members or employees of the institution in their discretion and shall have the power and authority to fix salaries or compensation, increase or reduce the same at their discretion, to regulate, alter or modify the government of the institution as they may consider advisable. The trustees may prescribe courses of instruction, rates of tuition and fees, confer such academic and honorary degrees as are usually conferred by institutions of like character; and they may do whatever else they may consider in the best interest of the institution.

The trustees of the University of South Alabama, other than the ex officio members of the board, shall be grouped into three classes as provided in Section 16-55-2. The members constituting the first class shall first be appointed for terms expiring September 30, 1965; the members of the second class shall be first appointed for terms expiring September 30, 1969; and the members of the third class shall be first appointed for terms expiring September 30, 1973. Their successors shall be appointed for terms of 12 years each.

Seven 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 shall hold a regular annual meeting each year at the university on the first Monday in June, 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: Special meetings may be called by the Governor by written notice mailed to each trustee at least 10 days in advance of the date of the meeting; a special meeting shall be called by the Governor upon application in writing of any three or more members of the board. No special meeting shall be held on a date less than 10 days subsequent to the date of the Governor's notice of the meeting, except in case of emergency, which the Governor shall specify in his notice to the trustees.

There shall be awarded each year 30 scholarships to the School of Nursing of the University of South Alabama 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 the University of South Alabama and shall have met the requirements for professional nursing education as determined by the School of Nursing of the University of South Alabama.

Each scholarship provided for by this article shall be in the amount of $600.00 per year, payable from funds appropriated to the School of Nursing of the University of South Alabama 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 School of Nursing of the University of South Alabama. 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. In the event of the scholarship recipient's death, the funds disbursed and not repaid shall be cancelled. In the event the scholarship recipient becomes mentally or physically impaired and is unable to complete the baccalaureate degree in nursing, or has graduated but is unable to complete one year of service as a nurse due to such disability, the funds disbursed and not repaid shall be cancelled. 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 School of Nursing of the University of South Alabama.