(a) For the purposes of exercising general management and control of the affairs of the University, the Board of Trustees, upon their appointment or qualification as hereinafter provided in section 455 of this title, and their successors, shall be and are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate in the name and style “The University of the Virgin Islands” by such name and style to have all the attributes, prerogatives, responsibilities and functions appertaining to an institution of higher education, and to possess and exercise in furtherance of its objectives all such other powers and duties as hereinafter provided.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as exempting the University of the Virgin Islands from any law made specifically applicable thereto or generally applicable to independent instrumentalities of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, whether such law was enacted before, on, or after the date of enactment of this subsection.