(a) The Governor and the State Superintendent of Education, by virtue of their respective offices and the trustees appointed from designated areas of the state, pursuant to Section 16-56-3, and their successors in office, shall constitute a body corporate under the name of the Troy State University System, or by any name the board of trustees may from time to time designate as successor. The Troy State University System shall refer to each campus and institution in the system.

All rights, duties, property, real or personal, and all other effects existing in the name of Troy State University, or in any other name by which the institution has been known, shall continue in the name of the Troy State University System. Any reference to Troy State University, or any other name by which the institution has been known, in any existing law, contract, or other instrument shall constitute a reference to the Troy State University System. All acts of Troy State University lawfully done prior to August 1, 1997, by the board of trustees or by the executive officer are approved, ratified, and confirmed.

(b) The Troy State University System shall provide, maintain, and operate public higher education programs with facilities dedicated to the preparation of students in a variety of pre-professional and professional fields at the associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degree levels. The university system shall provide educational services for the greater community including adult education and advanced education for mature students, private citizens, and service men and women. The Troy State University System shall provide an academic, cultural, and social environment that fosters individuality and develops productive members of society. The mission of the Troy State University System shall be accomplished by providing services to students and the greater community through the utilization of its staff and facilities and through research, creative activities, superior teaching, scholarship, and public service.

The board of trustees shall 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 system, embracing an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements on account of the university system by those charged with the administration of its finances.

No grant or gift of any property, real or personal, by will or otherwise, shall fail by reason of any misnomer or informality, when the intent of the grantor or donor can be determined; nor shall any default, malfeasance, or non-use on the part of the trustees or other officers or agents of the corporation work a forfeiture of any of its rights, privileges, powers, or franchises.

(a) The chancellor or the presidents of the several campuses of the Troy State University System with the approval of the chancellor, may appoint and employ persons as they may deem proper to serve as police officers pursuant to Sections 16-22-1 and 16-22-2. These police officers may do any of the following:

(1) Eject trespassers from the university system buildings and grounds.

(2) Arrest without a warrant any person believed guilty of disorderly conduct or of trespass upon the property under the control of the university system, 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.

(3) Summon a posse comitatus.

(4) Arrest with a warrant any person found upon or near the premises of the university system charged with any public offense and take that person before the proper officer.

(b) The police officers provided for in this section shall cooperate with and, when requested, furnish assistance to the regularly constituted authorities of the city and county in which the employing campus of the Troy State University System is located.

The corporation shall have all the rights, privileges, powers, and franchises necessary to the promotion of the end of its creation and shall be charged with all corresponding duties, liabilities, and responsibilities. The headquarters of the Troy State University System shall be in the City of Troy. The corporation may purchase, hold, lease, sell, convey, 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, or any interest in any property, real or personal, or any estate or interest therein, from any source, at any time and upon any terms, as it may deem in the best interest of the university system. The corporation may also borrow money and incur other obligations at any time and under any terms it may deem in the best interest of the university system.

The Troy State University System shall be governed by a board of trustees. The board of trustees shall have representation from eight geographic areas of the state. Area one shall consist of the following counties: Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Choctaw, Marengo, and Sumter. Area two shall consist of the following counties: Escambia, Covington, Geneva, Houston, Conecuh, Coffee, Dale, Henry, Butler, Crenshaw, Pike, Wilcox, Monroe, and Barbour. Area three shall consist of the following counties: Bullock, Russell, Macon, Lee, Elmore, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Chambers, and Randolph. Area four shall consist of the following counties: Montgomery, Lowndes, Dallas, Perry, Autauga, Chilton, Tuscaloosa, Hale, Greene, and Bibb. Area five shall consist of the following counties: Talladega, Clay, St. Clair, Calhoun, Cleburne, and Shelby. Area six shall consist of the following county: Jefferson. Area seven shall consist of the following counties: Lamar, Fayette, Walker, Cullman, Winston, Marion, Franklin, Lawrence, Morgan, Colbert, Lauderdale, Pickens, and Limestone. Area eight shall consist of the following counties: Madison, Jackson, Marshall, DeKalb, Blount, Etowah, and Cherokee. The board of trustees shall consist of two trustees from area two as listed above, one trustee from each of the other seven areas, one trustee at-large, who may or may not be a resident of the state, the State Superintendent of Education, and the Governor, who shall be ex officio president of the board. The board of trustees shall elect from its members, by a majority vote, a president pro tempore, who shall serve as chair of the board in the absence of the Governor. The trustees shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and shall hold office for terms of 12 years, and until their successors shall be appointed and qualified. The trustees serving January 1, 1997, shall serve out the terms for which they had previously been appointed and confirmed. The board shall be divided into three classes, as nearly equal as may be, so that one-third may be chosen quadrennially. The one at-large trustee shall serve in a separate class and the initial trustee appointed from area four shall serve with the class whose term expires in 1999. No employee of the Troy State University System shall be eligible to serve as a trustee.

The Board of Trustees of the Troy State University System shall hold its regular annual meeting each year in the City of Troy on or about the date scheduled for spring term graduation unless the board shall, during a regular or special session, determine to hold its annual meeting at some other time and place. Special meetings of the board may be assembled by either of the following methods:

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

(2) Upon the application in writing of any three members of the board, the Governor or the president pro tempore 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.

The meetings shall not be held on a date less than 10 days subsequent to the notice from the Governor or the president pro tempore.

A majority of the 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. A quorum may be assembled in person or through electronic communications that permit complete auditory access to the proceedings of the board. During each meeting of the board, no more than two members may participate through electronic communications.

(a) The board of trustees shall appoint a chancellor who shall serve as the chief executive officer of the university system and as secretary to the board and shall perform all services as may be required by the board. The compensation of the chancellor, including the emoluments and prerequisites necessary to carry out the functions of the office, shall be fixed by the board. The chancellor may, with the advice and consent of the board of trustees, appoint presidents to the several campuses of the university system. The chancellor shall be a resident of the City of Troy during his or her tenure.

(b) The board of trustees may act as a body, or may delegate by resolution or by-law to a committee of the board or to the chancellor, the authority to do any of the following:

(1) Appoint the faculty of the university system and other professional and operating personnel as the interest of the university system may require.

(2) Remove any instructors or other personnel.

(3) Fix, increase, or decrease the salaries or compensation of individual instructors and other personnel.

(4) Hire personnel, establish and implement personnel rules, and establish policies and practices for hiring, promoting, demoting, and terminating instructors, other personnel, and employees, or for taking any other action consistent with this section.

(c) The board of trustees, as a body of the whole, may do any of the following:

(1) Institute, regulate, alter, or modify the governance of the university system, as the board may deem advisable.

(2) Prescribe courses of instruction, rates of tuition, and fees.

(3) Confer academic and honorary degrees.

(4) Do whatever else the board may deem best for promoting the interest of the university system.

The Board of Trustees of the Troy State University System shall have the exclusive jurisdiction, supervision, and control of the Troy State University System. The board may promulgate any rules of procedure as it deems necessary and appropriate. In addition to the powers, duties, and authority vested in the board of trustees, the board shall have and exercise all power, authority, and duties previously conferred on, vested in, or required of the Board of Trustees of Troy State University, as was transferred to the board from the State Board of Education on September 7, 1967.

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

The certificate of the chancellor as secretary of the board shall entitle the several trustees to the payment of their actual expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties as trustees. A trustee may not receive any pay or emoluments other than for actual expenses incurred in the discharge of duties of the board.