Regular members are appointed by the governor for a four-year term and may be reappointed once. Of the sixteen appointed members, twelve must be alumni of the institute, eight of whom must be residents of Virginia and four must be non-residents; and the remaining four members must be non-alumni Virginia residents. The Executive Committee consists of the board's president, three vice presidents, and one non-alumnus at large, and is appointed by the board at each annual meeting.

Under the militia bill (the pre-civil-war Virginia Code of