Mitchell Vogel, a SURS annuitant and former board member, has been selected to fill a vacancy on the SURS Board of Trustees by the elected SURS trustees. The vacancy was created when elected annuitant board member John Engstrom resigned after the June 2019 board meeting.
Vogel was a SURS board member from 2004 through 2015. During his tenure on the board, he served as board president for four years, as chairman of the Legislative and Corporate Governance Committees, and as a member of the Investment Committee.
Vogel is a retired professor from Northeastern Illinois University and has a long history as a community activist and labor leader. He served as president of the University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 of the American Federation of Teachers for over 17 years and was vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
Vogel was selected from over 30 annuitant applicants after an extensive interview process. His term will expire in July 2021.
The Illinois Pension Code [40 ILCS 5/15-159(e)] directs the elected members of the board to fill any unexpired term of a fellow elected trustee by a majority vote.
The SURS Board of Trustees consists of 11 trustees: four appointed by the governor, four active participants elected by the participants of SURS, two annuitants elected by the annuitants of the System, and, as set forth in the Illinois state statute, the appointed chairperson of the Illinois Board of Higher Education serves as the chairperson of the SURS Board of Trustees.
Other members of the SURS Board of Trustees include Chairperson John Atkinson, Aaron Ammons, Richard Figueroa, Jamie-Clare Flaherty, J. Fred Giertz, John Lyons, Steven Rock, Collin Van Meter and Antonio Vasquez. There is currently one vacant appointed seat on the SURS board.