Board of Trustees

The Medical College of South Carolina was established in 1824 under the auspices of the Medical Society of South Carolina. The Medical Society directly managed the College, secured funding, and appointed faculty. It also elected from its membership the Medical College's Board of Trustees. This Board was responsible for upholding, creating, and changing laws and regulations to effectively maintain organization within the hospital and college administration. In 1913 the Medical College was taken over by the State of South Carolina. The State assumed the management and control of the college, and its properties, through a Board of Trustees composed of the Governor, the State Superintendent of Education, and the Chairman of the Committee on Medical Affairs of the Senate as ex-officio members, and eight others elected by the General Assembly. The following description of the Board of Trustees can be found in the MUSC Faculty Handbook (2007 edition): The management and control of the University shall be vested in the Board to be composed as follows: the Governor (or his designee) ex-officio, twelve members to be elected by the General Assembly in joint assembly and one member to be appoint by the Governor. The Governor shall make the appointment 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 the State of South Carolina. The Board shall elect one of its members to be chairman and is authorized to elect a university president, one or more vice-presidents and a secretary, prescribe their duties and terms of office and fix their compensation. It shall elect teachers of professorial rank in the various college which make up and such other officers and employees as may be necessary for the proper conduct of the university and fix their compensation, fix the fees and charges of students and the rules for the government of the university. The Board of Trustees shall also have the following powers: (1) To make bylaws and all rules and regulations deemed expedient for the management of its affairs and its own operations not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the State or of the United States. (2) To confer the appropriate degrees in medicine, dental medicine, pharmacy, nursing, other health professions, and graduate studies in related health fields upon students and such other persons as in the opinion of the Board of Trustees may be qualified to receive them. In addition to such special committees as from time to time may be appointed or elected by the Board, there shall be the following standing committees: Education, Faculty, and Student Affairs; Research and Institutional Advancement; Finance and Administration; and Physical Facilities.