The Director, subject to the approval of the Board, is hereby authorized to create divisions within the Department of Corrections as he may deem appropriate to effectively manage the Department. The divisions shall be under the immediate supervision and control of the Director. The Director is hereby authorized to appoint Deputy Directors for the divisions of the Department, who shall be exempt from the Merit System of Personnel Administration Act,¹ and to fix the salaries and duties thereof; provided, the salary ranges of said Deputy Directors shall be set by the Legislature in the Department's annual appropriation. The Deputy Directors shall have at least a master's degree from an accredited college or university and at least four (4) years of professional level work experience in corrections; or a bachelor's degree and at least five (5) years of work experience in corrections. Provided, however, that for the position of Deputy Director of administrative services, professional level administrative experience may be substituted for work experience in corrections. The provisions of this act shall not apply to those presently serving as Deputy Director as herein defined.