The Board of Trustees for the College of Charleston is composed of the Governor of the State or his designee, who is an ex officio of the board, and nineteen members, with seventeen of these members elected by the General Assembly, one member appointed from the State at large by the Governor, and one member appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the College of Charleston Alumni Association. The General Assembly shall elect and the Governor shall appoint these members based on merit regardless of race, color, creed, or gender and shall strive to assure that the membership of the board is representative of all citizens of this State.

Of the seventeen members to be elected, two members must be elected from each congressional district and the remaining three members must be elected by the General Assembly from the State at large.

The term of office of the at-large trustee appointed by the Governor is effective upon certification to the Secretary of State and is coterminous with the term of the Governor appointing him. He shall serve after his term has expired until his successor is appointed and qualifies. The member appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the College of Charleston Alumni Association shall serve for a term of four years, beginning on July 1, 2010, until his successor is appointed and qualifies. The member must be a South Carolina resident and hold an undergraduate or graduate degree from the College of Charleston.

Each position on the board constitutes a separate office and the seats on the board are numbered consecutively as follows: for the First Congressional District, Seats One and Two; for the Second Congressional District, Seats Three and Four; for the Third Congressional District, Seats Five and Six; for the Fourth Congressional District, Seats Seven and Eight; for the Fifth Congressional District, Seats Nine and Ten; for the Sixth Congressional District, Seats Eleven and Twelve; for the Seventh Congressional District, Seats Thirteen and Fourteen; for the at-large positions elected by the General Assembly, Seats Fifteen, Sixteen, and Seventeen. The member appointed by the Governor shall occupy Seat Eighteen. The member appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the alumni association shall occupy Seat Nineteen.

Effective July 1, 1988, the even-numbered seats of those members elected by the General Assembly must be filled for four-year terms expiring June 30, 1992. The remaining elective odd-numbered seats on the board must be filled for two-year terms beginning July 1, 1988, and expiring June 30, 1990. The trustees for the odd-numbered seats must then be elected for four-year terms beginning July 1, 1990, and expiring June 30, 1994. Effective July 1, 2012, the member elected to Seat Thirteen on the board must be elected for two-year terms beginning July 1, 2012, and expiring June 30, 2014, and the member elected to Seat Fourteen on the board must be elected to fill a four-year term beginning July 1, 2012, and expiring June 30, 2016. The General Assembly shall hold elections every two years to select successors of the trustees whose four-year terms are then expiring. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no election may be held before April first of the year in which the successor’s term is to commence. The term of office of an elective trustee commences on the first day of July of the year in which the trustee is elected.

If an elective office becomes vacant, the Governor may fill it by appointment until the next session of the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall hold an election at any time during the session to fill the vacancy for the unexpired portion of the term. A vacancy occurring in the appointed office on the board must be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointment in the same manner of the original appointment.