Audit & Risk Committee Meeting Minutes

Meeting: September 11, 2025 | Posted: December 9, 2025 | SURS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

The meeting of the of the Legal & Legislative Committee of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) convened on Thursday, September 11, 2025, at 3:30 p.m.

This meeting was held in person at State Universities Retirement System, in Champaign, IL.

The following trustees were present: Dr. Andry Bodnaruk; Mr. Richard Figueroa (Zoom); Dr. Fred Giertz, (chair); Mr. Scott Hendrie; Ms. Jeanine Jiganti; Mr. Pranav Kothari; Mr. John Lyons; Mr. Herbert Pitman (Zoom); Dr. Steven Rock; Mr. Collin Van Meter; and Mr. Antonio Vasquez.

Others present: Others present: Ms. Suzanne Mayer, Executive Director; Mr. Michael Schlachter, Chief Investment Officer (CIO); Ms. Jessica Pickens, Mr. Alex Ramos, Mr. Joe Duncan and Mr. Shane Willoughby, Sr. Investment Officers; Ms. Stephany Brinkman, Investment Officer; Mr. Al Lund, Mr. Darian Saracevic, Ms. Madison Manns, Ms. Estefany Andrade, and Mr. Graham Turk, Investment Analysts; Ms. Tracy Bennett, Sr. Investment Compliance Analyst; Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Ms. Tara Myers, Chief Financial Officer; Ms. Jackie Hohn, Chief Internal Auditor; Ms. Nichole Hemming, Chief Human Resources Officer; Mr. Jefferey Saiger, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer; Mr. Albert Lee, Associate Legal Counsel; Ms. Kristen Houch, Director of Legislative and Stakeholder Relations; Ms. Kelly Carson, Ms. Chelsea McCarty and Ms. Annette Ackerman, Executive Assistants; and Mr. Michael Calabrese of Foley & Lardner LLP.

Audit & Risk Committee roll call attendance was taken. Trustee Bodnaruk, present; Trustee Giertz, present; Trustee Hendrie, present; Trustee Pitman, present; and Trustee Rock, present.

Motion to Allow Trustees to Participate Via Electrionic Means

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That Trustee Pitman be allowed to participate via video or audio conference call for the Audit and Risk Committee Meeting on September 11, 2025, pursuant to Section 7(a) of the Open Meetings Act.

Trustee Bodnaruk seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Pitman – not called
Trustee Rock – aye

Roll call attendance for trustees participating via electronic means was taken: Trustee Pitman, present.

Approval of Minutes

Trustee Giertz presented the minutes from the Audit & Risk Committee meeting of June 6, 2025.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the minutes from the June 6, 2025, Audit & Risk Committee meeting be approved as presented.

Trustee Hendrie seconded the motion which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.

Approval of Closed Minutes

Trustee Giertz presented the closed minutes from the Audit & Risk Committee meeting of June 6, 2025.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the closed minutes from the June 6, 2025, Audit & Risk Committee meeting be approved and remain closed.

Trustee Bodnaruk seconded the motion which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.

Chairperson’s Report

Trustee Giertz did not have a formal chairperson’s report.

Internal Audits

Travel and Administrative Audit Report

Ms. Jackie Hohn presented the Report for the Travel and Administrative Expense Audit. The objective of this audit was to determine whether the accounting and the payment procedures for travel and other expenses conformed to the Illinois Pension Code, State of Illinois Procurement policies, regulations of the Higher Education Travel Control Board (HETCB) regulations (Part 2900) and SURS travel and purchasing policies. She reviewed the concerns Internal Audit had in certain areas associated with the payments of certain expenses. The audit opinion formed was that the approval, payment, and purchasing functions reviewed during the audit reasonably conformed with the required procedures. She reviewed the findings and recommendations provided.

Closed Session

Trustee Rock moved that the Audit & Risk Committee go into closed session at 2:35 p.m. pursuant to §2(c)(8) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act for the consideration of security procedures. Trustee Bodnaruk seconded, and the motion passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye

Return to Open Session

Open session resumed at 3:05 p.m.

Informational Items Not Requiring Committee Action

a. Internal Audit Independence Confirmations
b. FCIAA Audit Plan Completion Summary

Public Comment

There were no public comments presented to the Audit & Risk Committee.

Adjourn

There was no further business brought before the committee and Trustee Rock moved that the meeting be adjourned. The motion was seconded by Trustee Hendrie, and it passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye

Ms. Suzanne Mayer

Executive Director and Secretary, SURS Board of Trustees