Section 21. There shall be a board of trustees consisting of 11 members for each of the institutions named in section 5, other than the University of Massachusetts. Each board of trustees shall elect a chairman; provided, however, that in the case of community colleges, the governor shall appoint the chairman, who shall reside within the geographic region of the community college. Each community college board of trustees shall include a vocational-technical school district trustee, pursuant to section 4 of chapter 74, representing each vocational-technical school in the region, to serve as a non-voting member.

One member of such board of trustees shall be a full-time undergraduate student member from said institution, and ten members shall be appointed by the governor pursuant to the provisions of section eighteen B of chapter six, at least one of whom shall be an alumnus of said institution and one of whom shall be elected thereto by the alumni association of said institution. Each elected alumnus member shall be elected every five years. No elected alumnus member shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. A vacancy in the position of elected alumnus member prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the term in the same manner as elections to full terms. Each student member shall be elected by the student body annually, no later than May fifteenth. The term of office of each elected student member of the board shall be one year and shall commence on July first following their election and terminate on June thirtieth of the following year. The student member shall be eligible for re-election for as long as said student remains a full-time undergraduate student and maintains satisfactory academic progress as determined by the policy of the institution at which the student is enrolled. If at any time during the elected term of office said student member ceases to be a full-time undergraduate student or fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress, the membership of said student on the board shall be terminated and the office of the elected student member shall be deemed vacant, provided, however, that if the elected student member vacates his position upon graduation from the institution prior to July first, the elected successor may assume the position of student member on the board effective from the date of graduation of his predecessor, provided further that the statutory time limit of one year of the successor student trustee shall commence to run on July first notwithstanding any taking of office prior to the commencement of said term. A vacancy in the office of the elected student member prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the term in the same manner as student elections to full terms.

Each community college board of trustees shall designate a member to serve as a non-voting member of the district trustees for vocational-technical schools that share the same geographic region as the community college. The designated member shall serve as a liaison between the 2 boards for the purposes of sharing information and developing policies that promote greater interaction between the community college and the vocational-technical schools while maximizing the educational resources available to individuals seeking to learn a trade or develop targeted employment skills.

No member of a board of trustees shall be a member of the board of higher education except as otherwise required by section 4. No member of a board of trustees shall be principally employed within the public higher education system of the commonwealth; provided, however, that no more than one-third of the members shall be principally employed by the commonwealth. Membership on a board of trustees shall terminate if a member ceases to be qualified for appointment.

Members shall be appointed to serve for five year terms, but no member shall be appointed for more than two consecutive terms. Members of the board shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for all expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties.

Any vacancy on a board of trustees shall be filled for the duration of the term, in the same manner as the prior appointment. If a member is absent from four regular meetings in any academic year, exclusive of July and August, that person's membership on the board shall terminate and a vacancy shall be deemed to exist. The chairman shall forthwith notify the governor when any vacancy exists.

Each board of trustees shall from time to time advise the council on admissions programs, labor relations and program approval for its institution. Each board of trustees shall at their pleasure and with the approval of the council appoint and remove the chief executive officer of its institution; provided, however, that the council shall appoint voting member to assist the board of trustees in a search for the appointment of the chief executive officer.