The Board shall consist of 7 voting members appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and one voting member who is a student at Western Illinois University. The student member shall be chosen by a campus-wide student election. The student member shall serve a term of one year beginning on July 1 of each year, except that the student member initially selected shall serve a term beginning on the date of his or her selection and expiring on the next succeeding June 30. To be eligible to remain as a student member of the Board, the student member must be a resident of this State, must have and maintain a grade point average that is equivalent to at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, and must be a full time student enrolled at all times during his or her term of office except for that part of the term which follows the completion of the last full regular semester of an academic year and precedes the first full regular semester of the succeeding academic year at the university (sometimes commonly referred to as the summer session or summer school). If a student member serving on the Board fails to continue to meet or maintain the residency, minimum grade point average, or enrollment requirement established by this Section, his or her membership on the Board shall be deemed to have terminated by operation of law. Of the members first appointed by the Governor, 4 shall be appointed for terms to expire on the third Monday in January, 1999, and 3 shall be appointed for terms to expire on the third Monday in January, 2001. If the Senate is not in session on the effective date of this Article, or if a vacancy in an appointive membership occurs at a time when the Senate is not in session, the Governor shall make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Senate when he shall nominate persons to fill such memberships for the remainder of their respective terms. No more than 4 of the members appointed by the Governor shall be affiliated with the same political party. Each member appointed by the Governor must be a resident of this State. A failure to meet or maintain this residency requirement constitutes a resignation from and creates a vacancy in the Board. Upon the expiration of the terms of members appointed by the Governor, their respective successors shall be appointed for terms of 6 years from the third Monday in January of each odd-numbered year. Any members appointed to the Board shall continue to serve in such capacity until their successors are appointed and qualified.
110 ILCS 690/35-15