Offices of minority health; Southern University Board of Supervisors; authority to create; purposes

A. The Board of Supervisors of Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College may create and operate an office or offices of minority health. The creation and operation of the office or offices shall be subject to the constitutional authority of the board and of the Board of Regents. B. The purposes of the office or offices are to conduct research and develop policy as follows: (1) To monitor behavior, attitudes, and health outcomes over periods of time relative to prevalence of tobacco use among youth and adults, per capita consumption of tobacco products, and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. (2) To evaluate the effectiveness of specific interventions to support ongoing improvement and assure modification of programs that are not accomplishing their goals. (3) To serve as a resource for policy development at the state and local level, and in the private sector, concerning tobacco use, particularly in public places, including by way of example prevention of exposure to second-hand smoke and work-site cessation services. C. In the creation and operation of the office or offices of minority health as provided in this Section, the board may provide for staff necessary to operate the office programs, provide support, make grants, monitor contracts and programs, and evaluate these efforts to assure success. D. Funding for any such office shall be subject to legislative appropriation.