(1) A governing board for a public university must be formed and maintained as provided in this section.

(2)(a) A governing board shall consist of between 12 and 16 voting members and two nonvoting members. The Governor shall appoint all of the 12 to 16 voting members of the governing board and a nonvoting undergraduate student member of the governing board, subject to confirmation by the Senate in the manner provided in ORS § 171.562 and 171.565.

(b)(A) The governing board must include two persons who are undergraduate students enrolled at the university. One undergraduate student shall be a voting member of the board and one undergraduate student shall be a nonvoting member of the board.

(B) The term of office for students appointed under this paragraph shall be staggered, such that, to the degree practicable, a student serves as a nonvoting member of the board during the first year of the student’s term of office and as a voting member of the board during the second year of the student’s term of office.

(C) The undergraduate student members of the governing board shall be nominated through an internal governance process held by the official student government, or similar official student governance structure, with the candidates nominated provided to the Governor for consideration. More than one candidate per member position on the governing board may be nominated under this subparagraph.

(c)(A) The governing board must include one person who is a graduate student enrolled at the university if:

(i) The university has more than 400 graduate students; or

(ii) Graduate students comprise more than 15 percent of the total number of students enrolled at the university.

(B) The graduate student member of the governing board shall be:

(i) If applicable, nominated through an internal governance process held by the official student government, or similar graduate student governance structure or graduate student union, with the candidate nominated provided to the Governor for consideration; and

(ii) A voting member of the board.

(C) More than one candidate per member position on the governing board may be nominated under this paragraph.

(d)(A) The governing board must include one person who is a member of the faculty of the university and one person who is a member of the nonfaculty staff of the university. Each person appointed under this paragraph shall be a voting member of the governing board.

(B) The faculty member of the governing board shall be nominated through an internal governance process held by the official faculty senate, or similar official faculty governance structure or faculty union at the university, with the candidate nominated provided to the Governor for consideration. More than one candidate per member position on the governing board may be nominated under this subparagraph.

(C) The nonfaculty staff member of the governing board shall be nominated through an internal governance process held by the official nonfaculty staff senate, or similar official nonfaculty staff governance structure or nonfaculty staff union at the university, with the candidate nominated provided to the Governor for consideration. More than one candidate per member position on the governing board may be nominated under this subparagraph.

(3) If the candidates required to be nominated under subsection (2)(b) to (d) of this section are represented by multiple organizations, the organizations shall use best efforts to reach agreement on which candidate or candidates to nominate per member position of the governing board. If the organizations cannot agree on who to nominate for a member position on the governing board, each organization may select one or more candidates to be nominated.

(4) The president of the university shall be an ex officio nonvoting member of the governing board.

(5)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, the term of office for each appointed member of the governing board is four years.

(b) The term of office of each student, faculty and nonfaculty staff member of the governing board is two years.

(c) A member of the governing board may not be appointed to serve more than two consecutive full terms.

(d) The Governor may remove any appointed member of the governing board at any time for cause, after notice and public hearing, but may not remove more than three members within a period of four years, unless it is for corrupt conduct in office.

(e) Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the Governor for the remainder of the unexpired term.

(6)(a) The faculty and nonfaculty staff members of the governing board may not participate in any discussions or action by the board or attend any executive session of the board involving collective bargaining issues that affect faculty or nonfaculty staff at the university.

(b) The graduate student and undergraduate student members of the governing board may not participate in any discussions or action by the board or attend any executive session of the board involving collective bargaining issues that affect graduate students or undergraduate students at the university.

(7) The governing board shall select one of its members as chairperson and another as vice chairperson for such terms and with duties and powers as the board considers necessary for the performance of the functions of those offices. The governing board shall adopt bylaws concerning how a quorum is constituted and when a quorum is necessary.

(8) The governing board shall meet at least four times per year, and may meet at the call of the chairperson or a majority of the voting members of the board.

(9) This section may not be interpreted to prohibit any person from using a process or method not described in this section to seek nomination from the Governor to a member position on the governing board for which the person is qualified. [2013 c.768 § 6; 2014 c.113 § 7; 2017 c.440 § 10; 2023 c.280 § 1]

[1985 c.770 § 14; 1987 c.879 § 14; repealed by 1995 c.162 § 94]

[Renumbered 352.035]

[1985 c.770 § 18; 1995 c.162 § 78; renumbered 353.470 in 1995]