AGO 1993-007.

• Case Date: February 26, 1993
• Court: Ohio

Ohio Attorney General Opinions 1993. AGO 1993-007. February 26, 1993OPINION NO. 1993-007Mark E. Lyden, Chairperson Board of Trustees Youngstown State UniversityYoungstown, Ohio 44555-0001Dear Chairperson Lyden: You have requested an opinion on the following questions: 1. Where the [board of trustees] has held an annual election which resulted in electing a chairperson and a vice-chairperson and, subsequently, during the unexpired term of these officers, a vacancy in either office occurs, does O.R.C. 3356.02 prohibit filling such unexpired term by election ? 2. Does the mandate of O.R.C. 3356.02 to "annually elect...a chairman and vice-chairman" restrict and limit the [board of trustees] to no more than an annual election even if a vacancy is created in term? Your questions have arisen because the person elected to serve as chairperson has resigned from the board. For ease of discussion, your questions have been reformulated into the following single question: Does R.C. 3356.02 permit the board of trustees to conduct a second election within a year in order to replace the chairperson who resigned as a member of the board within the year he was elected to serve as chairperson? Concerning the election of officers of the Youngstown State University board of trustees, R.C. 3356.02 states in pertinent part: "The board of trustees of Youngstown state university shall annually elect from their members a chairman and a vice-chairman; and they may also appoint a secretary of the board, a treasurer, and such other officers of the university as the interest of the university requires who may be members of the board." (Emphasis added.) R.C. 3356.02, thus, requires two things: first, that the board of trustees select its chairperson and vice-chairperson by means of election by the members of the board; and, second, that such persons are to serve one-year terms. See generally Dorrian v. Scioto Conservancy District, 27 Ohio St. 2d 102, 271 N.E.2d 834 (1971) (in statutory construction, the word "shall" is construed as mandatory unless there is a clear and unequivocal legislative intent to the contrary). You question whether R.C. 3356.02 limits the board's authority to select a chairperson by allowing the board to...