Appropriations made to Tuskegee Institute by the Alabama Legislature to be used for the purpose of maintaining a graduate school in agriculture, a graduate school in home economics and a graduate school in veterinary medicine, or such other areas as are deemed feasible and wise in accordance with felt need, shall be paid to the Treasurer of Tuskegee Institute, on warrant of the State Treasurer, and said Treasurer of Tuskegee Institute shall make a surety bond in the sum of $25,000.00, payable to the State of Alabama, to insure the safekeeping of such appropriations. The said bond shall be approved by the Secretary of State and the same shall be filed in his office. The premium on said bond shall be paid by warrant of the State Treasurer out of the General Fund. The said appropriation shall be under the control of the Board of Trustees of Tuskegee Institute, and the same shall be applied in such manner as it deems best to carry out the purpose of the appropriation. The commissioners hereinafter provided for shall be residents of the State of Alabama and shall be members of the board of trustees with the same rights and powers as the other trustees, except as to filling vacancies on the Board of Trustees of Tuskegee Institute, in which they shall have no voice.

There shall be appointed by the Governor five commissioners who shall hold office for a term of four years and until their successors are appointed and qualified; should a vacancy occur on the board of commissioners appointed by the Governor by death, resignation, refusal to serve or by becoming otherwise disqualified, then such vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by the Governor. The Superintendent of Education of the State of Alabama shall be an ex officio member of said board of commissioners. The commissioners appointed by the Governor, as herein provided, shall make an annual written report to the Superintendent of Education of the State of Alabama of the conditions and progress of graduate instruction hereinabove referred to.

There shall be awarded each year 30 scholarships to Tuskegee Institute School of Nursing 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 and may be distributed to students in any year of study in said school of nursing.

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 Tuskegee Institute and shall have met the requirements for professional nursing education as determined by the Tuskegee Institute School of Nursing. Applications for scholarships shall be made to Tuskegee Institute School of Nursing.

Each scholarship provided for by this chapter shall be in the amount of $600.00 per year, payable from funds appropriated to Tuskegee Institute for this purpose. A scholarship may either be renewed by the School of Nursing of Tuskegee Institute 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 Tuskegee Institute. The results of the examination 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 the 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 Tuskegee Institute.

The Legislature finds that Tuskegee University has a unique relationship to the State of Alabama. The Legislature further finds that due to the unique nature of the circumstances related to the establishment and development of Tuskegee Institute which differs from that of private schools and colleges receiving funds from the state and from the state's public colleges and universities, the institution should be afforded a unique treatment relative to funding from the Education Trust Fund. Tuskegee Institute was established by an act of the Legislature in 1881 and separately incorporated by an act of the Legislature in 1892; the Governor appoints five commissioners who serve as voting members on the Tuskegee Board; and the State Superintendent of Education serves as an ex officio voting commissioner on the Tuskegee Board. Tuskegee has received appropriations from the Legislature since 1881. Being a private institution as well as a state related and supported institution, the Legislature deems that Tuskegee University should be funded accordingly and not as the private schools and colleges nor as the state public colleges and universities are funded.