S.C. Code § 59-119-40
The university shall be under the management and control of a board of thirteen trustees, composed of the seven members nominated by the will and their successors and six members to be elected by the General Assembly in joint assembly. Three of the original trustees having been elected for a term of two years and three for a term of four years from the commencement of their terms and until their successors were elected, thereafter the General Assembly has and hereafter it shall every two years elect in joint assembly three trustees for such university who shall serve for a term of four years and until their successors shall be elected and shall qualify. In electing members of the board, the General Assembly shall elect 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 the State of South Carolina.
The terms of the present members of the board who are elected by the General Assembly expire on the thirtieth day of June of the year in which the terms are scheduled to expire. Beginning with its 1984 session, the General Assembly shall elect successors to the elective trustees not earlier than the first day of April for a term to begin the following July first. Elections to fill vacancies on the board which are caused by the death, resignation, or removal of an elective trustee may be held earlier than the first day of April of the year in which the unexpired term terminates, but the term of the person elected to fill the vacancy expires on the last day of June of the year in which the term of the former member would have expired.
S.C. Code § 59-119-40