(1) (a) There shall be a board of trustees of the Colorado school of mines to be composed of nine persons. The five members serving on the board on July 1, 1973, shall continue to serve the terms for which they were appointed. On or before July 1, 1973, the governor shall appoint two additional members of the board, of which one shall be appointed for a term to expire on March 1, 1975, and one shall be appointed for a term to expire on March 1, 1977. Prior to June 15, 1987, the governor shall fill the vacancies in appointed offices occurring every two years by appointments of members of the board for terms of six years each, in accordance with this arrangement. Persons who are appointed members and who are holding office on June 15, 1987, are subject to the provisions of section 24-1-137, C.R.S. Thereafter the terms of such appointed members shall be four years. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the term of each member serving on the board of trustees as of May 26, 2006, shall be extended to expire on December 31 of the calendar year in which the member's appointed term would otherwise expire. Members appointed on or after January 1, 2007, shall serve terms of up to four years, expiring on December 31 of the third calendar year following the calendar year in which the member is appointed. For terms ending on or after December 31, 2006, the governor shall appoint a succeeding member on or before March 1 immediately following the expiration of the term. Of the seven members appointed by the governor, no more than four members shall be from the same political party. The two remaining member positions shall be filled by:

(I) An elected member of the student body who is a full-time junior or senior student at the Colorado school of mines, and the term of said elected office shall be one year, beginning July 1. The elected student member shall be advisory, without the right to vote. For the purposes of this subsection (1), "full-time student" means the equivalent of the definition of "full-time equivalent student" used by the joint budget committee of the general assembly.

(II) A full-time member of the academic faculty of the Colorado school of mines elected by a majority of at least sixty-seven percent of the academic faculty. The initially elected faculty board member shall be elected at a special election to be held during the spring semester of 2008. The term of office for the initially elected faculty member shall end December 31, 2010. Subsequently elected faculty members shall serve two-year terms commencing January 1 of each odd-numbered year thereafter. The elected faculty member shall be advisory, without the right to vote.

(b) For the purpose of further staggering the terms of office held by members of the Colorado school of mines board of trustees, the terms of two of the board members holding office on July 1, 1994, whose terms expire in 1995, and one of the members holding office on July 1, 1994, whose term expires in 1997, are extended for one year. The governor shall select those members whose terms are extended.

(2) Said trustees shall hold their offices for the terms for which they have been appointed and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Any four of the members of said board appointed by the governor shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The said board has such powers and shall perform such duties as specified in the laws creating the institution and providing for its maintenance.

(3) In appointing persons to the Colorado school of mines board of trustees on or after July 1, 2010, the governor shall ensure that no more than two of the members serving on the board of trustees at any one time reside outside the state of Colorado. In addition, the governor shall base his or her appointments on considerations of:

(a) An appointee's professional background related to the industries and fields for which the Colorado school of mines prepares students for employment and in which the faculty of the institution conduct research;

(b) Other areas of professional expertise that an appointee may bring to his or her service on the board of trustees; and

(c) The appointee's commitment to using his or her personal time and efforts to serve and support the Colorado school of mines.