Collapse to view only § 2112. Establishment

§ 2112. Establishment
(a)
(1) There is established a Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (in this chapter referred to as the “University”) with authority to grant appropriate certificates, certifications, undergraduate degrees, and advanced degrees.
(2) The University shall be so organized as to graduate not fewer than 100 medical students annually.
(3) The headquarters of the University shall be at a site or sites selected by the Secretary of Defense within 25 miles of the District of Columbia.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (a), the numbers of persons to be graduated from the University shall be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. In so prescribing the number of persons to be graduated from the University, the Secretary of Defense shall institute actions necessary to ensure the maximum number of first-year enrollments in the University consistent with the academic capacity of the University and the needs of the uniformed services for medical personnel.
(c) The development of the University may be by such phases as the Secretary of Defense may prescribe subject to the requirements of subsection (a).
(Added Pub. L. 92–426, § 2(a), Sept. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 713; amended Pub. L. 96–107, title VIII, § 803(a), Nov. 9, 1979, 93 Stat. 811; Pub. L. 96–513, title V, § 511(63), (64), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2925, 2926; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title X, § 1072(b)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 446; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title X, § 1048(e)(8), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1228; Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VII, § 724(a), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2230.)
§ 2112a. Continued operation of University

The University may not be closed.

(Added Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title IX, § 907(a)(1), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2620; amended Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VII, § 724(c), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2230.)
§ 2113. Administration of University
(a) The business of the University shall be conducted by the Secretary of Defense with funds appropriated for and provided by the Department of Defense.
(b) The Secretary shall appoint a President of the University (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the “President”).
(c)
(1) The Secretary, after considering the recommendations of the President, shall obtain the services of such military and civilian professors, instructors, and administrative and other employees as may be necessary to operate the University. Civilian members of the faculty and staff shall be employed under salary schedules and granted retirement and other related benefits prescribed by the Secretary (after due consideration by the Secretary) so as to place the employees of the University on a comparable basis with the employees of fully accredited schools of the health professions identified by the Secretary for purposes of this paragraph.
(2) The Secretary may confer academic titles, as appropriate, upon military and civilian members of the faculty.
(3) The military members of the faculty shall include a professor of military, naval, or air science as the Secretary may determine.
(4) The limitations in sections 5307 and 5373 of title 5 do not apply to the authority of the Secretary under paragraph (1) to prescribe salary schedules and other related benefits. In no event may the total amount of compensation paid to an employee under paragraph (1) in any year (including salary, allowances, differentials, bonuses, awards, and other similar cash payments) exceed the total amount of annual compensation (excluding expenses) specified in section 102 of title 3.
(d) The Secretary may negotiate agreements with agencies of the Federal Government to utilize on a reimbursable basis appropriate existing Federal medical resources. Under such agreements the facilities concerned will retain their identities and basic missions. The Secretary may negotiate affiliation agreements with an accredited university or universities. Such agreements may include provisions for payments for educational services provided students participating in Department of Defense educational programs.
(e) The Secretary of Defense may establish the following educational programs at the University:
(1) Postdoctoral, postgraduate, and technological institutes.
(2) A graduate school of nursing.
(3) Other schools or programs, including certificate, certification, and undergraduate degree programs, that the Secretary determines necessary in order to operate the University in a cost-effective manner.
(f) The Secretary shall also establish programs in continuing medical education for military members of the health professions to the end that high standards of health care may be maintained within the military medical services.
(g)
(1) The Secretary also is authorized—
(A) to enter into contracts with, accept grants from, and make grants to the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine established under section 178 of this title, or any other nonprofit entity, for the purpose of carrying out cooperative enterprises in medical research, medical consultation, and medical education;
(B) to make available to the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, or any other nonprofit entity, on such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines appropriate, such space, facilities, equipment, and support services within the University as the Secretary considers necessary to accomplish cooperative enterprises undertaken by such Foundation, or nonprofit entity, and the University;
(C) to enter into contracts with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, or any other nonprofit entity, under which the Secretary may furnish the services of such professional, technical, or clerical personnel as may be necessary to fulfill cooperative enterprises undertaken by such foundation, or nonprofit entity, and the University;
(D) to accept, hold, administer, invest, and spend any gift, devise, or bequest of personal property made to the University, including any gift, devise, or bequest for the support of an academic chair, teaching, research, or demonstration project;
(E) to enter into agreements with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, or with any other nonprofit entity, under which scientists or other personnel of the Foundation or other entity may be utilized by the University for the purpose of enhancing the activities of the University in education, research, and technological applications of knowledge;
(F) to accept the voluntary services of guest scholars and other persons; and
(G) notwithstanding sections 2304,1
1 See References in Text note below.
4141, and 4024 of this title, to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, accept grants from, and make grants to, nonprofit entities (on a sole-source basis) for the purpose specified in subparagraph (A) or for any other purpose the Secretary determines to be consistent with the mission of the University.
(2) The Secretary may not enter into any contract with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, or with any other entity, if the contract would obligate the University to make outlays in advance of the enactment of budget authority for such outlays.
(3) Scientists or other medical personnel utilized by the University under an agreement described in clause (E) of paragraph (1) may be appointed to any position within the University and may be permitted to perform such duties within the University as the Secretary may approve.
(4) A person who provides voluntary services under the authority of clause (F) of paragraph (1) shall be considered to be an employee of the Federal Government for the purposes of chapter 81 of title 5, relating to compensation for work-related injuries, and to be an employee of the Federal Government for the purposes of chapter 171 of title 28, relating to tort claims. Such a person who is not otherwise employed by the Federal Government shall not be considered to be a Federal employee for any other purpose by reason of the provision of such services.
(Added Pub. L. 92–426, § 2(a), Sept. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 714; amended Pub. L. 95–589, Nov. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 2512; Pub. L. 96–513, title V, § 511(64), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2926; Pub. L. 98–36, § 3, May 27, 1983, 97 Stat. 201; Pub. L. 98–132, § 2(b), Oct. 17, 1983, 97 Stat. 849; Pub. L. 99–661, div. A, title V, § 505, Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3864; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title VII, § 726(a), (b)(1), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1480; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XIII, § 1322(a)(3), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1671; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title X, § 1072(a), (b)(2), (c)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 446; Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title XI, § 1108, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 778; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title X, § 1087(a)(12)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–291; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title IX, § 954(a)(3)(A), (b)(1), title XI, § 1116, Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 294, 361; Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title VII, § 711, Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 793; Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VII, § 724(b), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2230; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title VII, § 714(a), title XVIII, § 1883(b)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3694, 4294.)
§ 2113a. Board of Regents
(a)In General.—To assist the Secretary of Defense in an advisory capacity, there is a Board of Regents of the University.
(b)Membership.—The Board shall consist of—
(1) nine persons outstanding in the fields of health care, higher education administration, or public policy who shall be appointed from civilian life by the Secretary of Defense;
(2) the Secretary of Defense, or his designee, who shall be an ex officio member;
(3) the Director of the Defense Health Agency, who shall be an ex officio member;
(4) the surgeons general of the uniformed services, who shall be ex officio members; and
(5) the President of the University, who shall be a nonvoting ex officio member.
(c)Term of Office.—The term of office of each member of the Board (other than ex officio members) shall be six years except that—
(1) any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term; and
(2) any member whose term of office has expired shall continue to serve until his successor is appointed.
(d)Chairman.—One of the members of the Board (other than an ex officio member) shall be designated by the Secretary as Chairman. He shall be the presiding officer of the Board.
(e)Compensation.—Members of the Board (other than ex officio members) while attending conferences or meetings or while otherwise performing their duties as members shall be entitled to receive compensation at a rate to be fixed by the Secretary and shall also be entitled to receive an allowance for necessary travel expenses while so serving away from their place of residence.
(f)Meetings.—The Board shall meet at least once a quarter.
(Added Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title IX, § 954(a)(1), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 293; amended Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title V, § 523, Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2285; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title VII, § 715(a), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3694.)
§ 2113b. Academic Health System
(a)In General.—The Secretary of Defense may establish an Academic Health System to integrate the health care, health professions education, and health research activities of the military health system, including under this chapter, in the National Capital Region.
(b)Leadership.—
(1) The Secretary may appoint employees of the Department of Defense to leadership positions in the Academic Health System established under subsection (a).
(2) Such positions may include responsibilities for management of the health care, health professions education, and health research activities described in subsection (a) and are in addition to similar leadership positions for members of the armed forces.
(c)National Capital Region Defined.—In this section, the term “National Capital Region” means the area, or portion thereof, as determined by the Secretary, in the vicinity of the District of Columbia.
(Added Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title VII, § 734(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1461.)
§ 2114. Students: selection; status; obligation
(a) Medical students at the University shall be selected under procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. In so prescribing, the Secretary shall consider the recommendations of the Board. However, selection procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense shall emphasize the basic requirement that students demonstrate sincere motivation and dedication to a career in the uniformed services (as defined in section 1072(1) of this title).
(span)
(1) Medical students shall be commissioned officers of a uniformed service as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense after consulting with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. They shall be appointed as regular officers in the grade of second lieutenant or ensign and shall serve on active duty in that grade.
(2) If a member of the uniformed services selected to be a student has prior active service in a pay grade and with years of service credited for pay that would entitle the member, if the member remained in the former grade, to a rate of basic pay in excess of the rate of basic pay for regular officers in the grade of second lieutenant or ensign, the member shall be paid basic pay based on the former grade and years of service credited for pay. The amount of such basic pay for the member shall be increased on January 1 of each year by the percentage by which basic pay is increased on average on that date for that year, and the member shall continue to receive basic pay based on the former grade and years of service until the date, whether occurring before or after graduation, on which the basic pay for the member in the member’s actual grade and years of service credited for pay exceeds the amount of basic pay to which the member is entitled based on the member’s former grade and years of service.
(c) Medical students who graduate shall be required to serve on active duty unless they are covered by section 2115 of this title. Medical students who graduate shall be required, except as provided in section 2115 of this title, to serve thereafter on active duty under such regulations as the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as appropriate, may prescribe for not less than seven years, unless sooner released. Upon completion of, or release from, the active-duty service obligation, a member of the program who served on active-duty for less than 10 years shall serve in the Ready Reserve for the period specified in the following table:

Period of Service on Active Duty

Ready Reserve Obligation

 Less than 8 years

6 years

 8 years or more, but less than 9

4 years

 9 years or more, but less than 10

2 years

The service credit exclusions specified in section 2126 of this title shall apply to students covered by this section.

(d) A period of time spent in military intern or residency training shall not be creditable in satisfying a commissioned service obligation imposed by this section.
(e) A medical student who, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, is dropped from the program for deficiency in conduct or studies, or for other reasons, may be required to perform active duty in an appropriate military capacity in accordance with the active duty obligation imposed by this section. In no case shall any such student be required to serve on active duty for any period in excess of a period equal to the period he participated in the program, except that in no case may any such student be required to serve on active duty less than one year.
(f)
(1) The Secretary of Defense may enter into agreements with foreign military medical schools for reciprocal education programs under which students at the University receive specialized military medical instruction at the foreign military medical school and military medical personnel of the country of such medical school receive specialized military medical instruction at the University. Any such agreement may be made on a reimbursable basis or a nonreimbursable basis.
(2) Not more than 40 persons at any one time may receive instruction at the University under this subsection. Attendance of such persons at the University may not result in a decrease in the number of students enrolled in the University. Subsection (span) does not apply to students receiving instruction under this subsection.
(3) The President of the University, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense, shall determine the countries from which persons may be selected to receive instruction under this subsection and the number of persons that may be selected from each country. The President may establish qualifications and methods of selection and shall select those persons who will be permitted to receive instruction at the University. The qualifications established shall be comparable to those required of United States citizens.
(4) Each foreign country from which a student is permitted to receive instruction at the University under this subsection shall reimburse the United States for the cost of providing such instruction, unless such reimbursement is waived by the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe the rates for reimbursement under this paragraph.
(5) Except as the President determines, a person receiving instruction at the University under this subsection is subject to the same regulations governing attendance, discipline, discharge, and dismissal as a student enrolled in the University. The Secretary may prescribe regulations with respect to access to classified information by a person receiving instruction under this subsection that differ from the regulations that apply to a student enrolled in the University.
(g) In this section, the term “commissioned service obligation” means, with respect to an officer who is a graduate of the University, the period beginning on the date of the appointment of the officer in a regular component after graduation and ending on the tenth anniversary of that appointment.
(h)
(1) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall establish such selection procedures, service obligations, and other requirements as the Secretary considers appropriate for graduate students (other than medical students) in a postdoctoral, postgraduate, or technological institute established pursuant to section 2113(e) of this title.
(2)
(A) A covered employee whose employment or service with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Public Health Service, or Coast Guard (as applicable) is in a position relevant to national security or health sciences may receive instruction at the University within the scope of such employment or service.
(B) If a covered employee receives instruction at the University pursuant to subparagraph (A), the head of the Federal agency concerned shall reimburse the University for the cost of providing such instruction to the covered employee. Amounts received by the University under this subparagraph shall be retained by the University to defray the costs of such instruction.
(C) Notwithstanding subsections (span) through (e) and subsection (i), the head of the Federal agency concerned shall determine the service obligations of the covered employee receiving instruction at the University pursuant to subparagraph (A) in accordance with applicable law.
(D) In this paragraph—
(i) the term “covered employee” means an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs, a civilian employee of the Public Health Service, a member of the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, a member of the Coast Guard, or a civilian employee of the Coast Guard; and
(ii) the term “head of the Federal agency concerned” means the head of the Federal agency that employs, or has jurisdiction over the uniformed service of, a covered employee permitted to receive instruction at the University under subparagraph (A) in the relevant position described in such subparagraph.
(i) A graduate of the University who is relieved of the graduate’s active-duty service obligation under subsection (c) before the completion of that active-duty service obligation may be given, with or without the consent of the graduate, an alternative obligation in the same manner as provided in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of section 2123(e) of this title or paragraph (2) of such section for members of the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance program.
(Added Puspan. L. 92–426, § 2(a), Sept. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 715; amended Puspan. L. 96–107, title VIII, § 803(span), Nov. 9, 1979, 93 Stat. 812; Puspan. L. 96–513, title I, § 114, title V, § 511(65), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2877, 2926; Puspan. L. 98–525, title XV, § 1535, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2633; Puspan. L. 101–189, div. A, title V, § 511(a), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1439; Puspan. L. 101–510, div. A, title V, § 533(a), (span), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1564; Puspan. L. 103–160, div. A, title VII, § 732(a), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1696; Puspan. L. 104–106, div. A, title X, § 1072(span)(3), Fespan. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 446; Puspan. L. 104–201, div. A, title VII, § 741(span), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2599; Puspan. L. 105–85, div. A, title X, § 1073(a)(38), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1902; Puspan. L. 108–375, div. A, title V, § 501(e), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1874; Puspan. L. 110–181, div. A, title V, § 524(a), title IX, § 954(a)(3)(B), (span)(2), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 103, 294; Puspan. L. 110–417, [div. A], title X, § 1061(span)(8), (9), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4613; Puspan. L. 117–81, div. A, title VII, § 718, Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1790.)
§ 2115. Graduates: limitation on number permitted to perform civilian Federal service

The Secretary of Defense may allow not more than 20 percent of the graduates of each class at the University to perform civilian Federal service for not less than seven years following the completion of their professional education in lieu of active duty in a uniformed service if the needs of the uniformed services do not require that such graduates perform active duty in a uniformed service and as long as the Secretary of Defense does not recall such persons to active duty in the uniformed services. Such persons who execute an agreement in writing to perform such civilian Federal service may be released from active duty following the completion of their professional education. The location and type of their duty shall be determined by the Secretary of Defense after consultation with the heads of Federal agencies concerned.

(Added Pub. L. 92–426, § 2(a), Sept. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 716; amended Pub. L. 96–107, title VIII, § 803(c)(1), (2), Nov. 9, 1979, 93 Stat. 812.)
§ 2116. Military nursing research
(a)Definitions.—In this section:
(1) The term “military nursing research” means research on the furnishing of care and services by nurses in the armed forces.
(2) The term “TriService Nursing Research Program” means the program of military nursing research authorized under this section.
(b)Program Authorized.—The Secretary of Defense may establish at the University a program of military nursing research.
(c)TriService Research Group.—The TriService Nursing Research Program shall be administered by a TriService Nursing Research Group composed of Army, Navy, and Air Force nurses who are involved in military nursing research and are designated by the Secretary concerned to serve as members of the group.
(d)Duties of Group.—The TriService Nursing Research Group shall—
(1) develop for the Department of Defense recommended guidelines for requesting, reviewing, and funding proposed military nursing research projects; and
(2) make available to Army, Navy, and Air Force nurses and Department of Defense officials concerned with military nursing research—
(A) information about nursing research projects that are being developed or carried out in the Army, Navy, and Air Force; and
(B) expertise and information beneficial to the encouragement of meaningful nursing research.
(e)Research Topics.—For purposes of this section, military nursing research includes research on the following issues:
(1) Issues regarding how to improve the results of nursing care and services provided in the armed forces in time of peace.
(2) Issues regarding how to improve the results of nursing care and services provided in the armed forces in time of war.
(3) Issues regarding how to prevent complications associated with battle injuries.
(4) Issues regarding how to prevent complications associated with the transporting of patients in the military medical evacuation system.
(5) Issues regarding how to improve methods of training nursing personnel.
(6) Clinical nursing issues, including such issues as prevention and treatment of child abuse and spouse abuse.
(7) Women’s health issues.
(8) Wellness issues.
(9) Preventive medicine issues.
(10) Home care management issues.
(11) Case management issues.
(Added Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title VII, § 741(a), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 384.)
[§ 2117. Repealed. Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title V, § 525(a)(1), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2286]