(A) There is created the Centers of Excellence Matching Endowment. The endowment must be funded annually by appropriations from the South Carolina Education Lottery Account in an amount equal to thirty million dollars annually, except that endowment appropriations may not be funded until all state-supported scholarships are fully funded and only if eighty percent of the total state appropriations have been awarded by the review board as of June thirtieth of the previous fiscal year. Three-quarters of the endowment shall be awarded by the review board in its discretion. One-quarter of the endowment shall be awarded by the review board pursuant to requests by and recommendations of the Secretary of Commerce as set forth in subsection (C). The total state appropriated funding amount shall include funds that have been returned to the endowment due to a dissolution, withdrawal, or termination of a center of excellence. The fund must be managed by the State Treasurer, subject to awards from the endowment as provided in this chapter. Interest earnings of the endowment must remain in the fund, and may be used at the review board’s discretion for additional state awards. Interest earnings are not considered part of the total state appropriations unless used by the review board for additional state awards.

(B) Except as provided in subsection (C), an endowed chair proposal is considered awarded once a full review process is complete and the review board has voted in an affirmative on each proposal. A full review process shall include the following, but is not limited to:

(1) a technical and scientific review of each proposal. The three research universities shall work with the review board staff to nominate reviewers. The review board staff shall select no fewer than five technical reviewers to review each proposal, and a minimum of three technical and scientific reviews must be received by the review board staff for each proposal. The review board staff shall determine an appropriate number of technical reviewers and scientific and technical reviews. The review board staff shall limit the number of university-nominated reviewers to two per proposal;

(2) an on-site review of each proposal. The review board staff shall contract with a minimum of five out-of-state expert reviewers, to include individuals with expertise in economic development as well as in appropriate scientific disciplines, to serve on a site review team that shall visit each of the research universities. The review board staff shall determine an appropriate number of expert reviewers. The on-site review team shall interview relevant investigators and other university personnel regarding proposals and shall have access to collected scientific and technical reviews as well as other materials germane to the proposed projects. The on-site review team shall evaluate the proposals using an approved set of metrics; each recommendation must include a detailed narrative which explains the on-site review team’s recommendations; and

(3) a presentation of findings. The on-site review team shall present its findings to the review board, which shall make final decisions on awards. The on-site review team shall recommend an appropriate level of funding to achieve successfully the stated goals of each project. The review board shall consider these recommendations in determining award amounts for each project.

(C) The Secretary of Commerce may request that the review board allocate and award, pursuant to §§ 2-75-50 and 2-75-60, an endowment of up to two million dollars for each significant capital investment committed by a qualified project or industry sector. Upon such request, the review board shall review the requested endowment and may award the endowment upon an affirmative vote. Once allocated, the qualified project or industry sector will have thirty-six months from the date of allocation to make the significant capital investment. Once the significant capital investment has been made, the Secretary of Commerce shall certify to the review board and the review board shall make awards for one or more endowed professors who will directly support the industry in which the significant capital investment is made. The review board only may make awards from funds appropriated from the South Carolina Lottery account pursuant to this section from Fiscal Year 2011 forward, together with any unallocated funds and any accrued interest earnings which have not already been awarded by the review board, including funds that have been returned to the endowment due to a dissolution, withdrawal, or termination of a center of excellence. A dissolution, withdrawal, or termination of a center of excellence includes the failure of the center to provide the requisite matching funds during the allowable timeframe. For purposes of this subsection:

(i) "qualified projects or industries" are those that have made a significant capital investment in South Carolina after January 1, 2010, in one or more of the following areas: Engineering, Nanotechnology, Biomedical Sciences, Energy Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Information and Management Sciences, Distribution and Logistics Sciences, or any other science, research, development, or industry that creates well-paying jobs and enhanced economic opportunities for the State as determined by the Secretary of Commerce; and

(ii) "significant capital investment" means at least one hundred million private dollars for a single project or at least five hundred million private dollars for an industry sector. No public funds used to support a qualified project or industry may be included as part of the significant capital investment.

The requirements related to matching funds contained in Sections 2-75-50, 2-75-90, and 2-75-110 shall not apply to these awards. Awards by the review board pursuant to this subsection only may be used to fund new or existing endowed professorships at one or more of the state’s three research universities.