Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

Meeting: October 23, 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, October 23, 2025, at 4:00 p.m.

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

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

Others present: Ms. Suzanne Mayer, Executive Director; Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Mr. Albert Lee, Associate General Counsel; Ms. Heather Kimmons, Associate Legal Counsel; Mr. Michael Schlachter, Chief Investment Officer; Ms. Nichole Hemming, Chief Human Resources Officer; Mr. Jefferey Saiger, Chief Strategy & Technology Officer; Ms. Tara Myers, Chief Financial Officer; Ms. Jackie Hohn, Chief Internal Auditor; 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.

Board of Trustees Committee roll call attendance was taken: Trustee Giertz, present; Trustee Hendrie, present; Trustee Jiganti, absent; Trustee Lyons, present; Trustee Rock, present; Trustee Van Meter, present; and Trustee Vazquez, present.

Motion to Allow Trustees to Participate Via Electrionic Means

Trustee Vasquez made the following motion:

• That Trustees Bodnaruk, Figueroa, Kothari, and Pitman be allowed to participate via video or audio conference call for the Investment committee Meeting on October 23, 2025, pursuant to Section 7(a) of the Open Meetings Act.

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

Trustee Bodnaruk – not called
Trustee Figueroa – not called
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – not called
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – not called
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Roll call attendance for trustees participating via electronic means was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, present; Trustee Figueroa, present; Trustee Kothari, present; and Trustee Pitman, present.

Approval of Minutes

Trustee Lyons presented the minutes from the Board of Trustees Committee meeting of the September 12, 2025.

Trustee Hendrie made the following motion:

• That the minutes from the September 12, 2025, Board of Trustees Committee meeting be approved as presented.

Trustee Rock seconded the motion which passed via all committee members present voting in favor of the same.

Approval of Closed Minutes

Trustee Lyons presented the closed minutes from the Board of Trustees Committee meeting of September 12, 2025.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the closed minutes from the September 12, 2025, Board of Trustees Committee meeting be approved as presented and remain closed.

Trustee Kothari seconded the motion which passed via all committee members present voting in favor of the same.

Chairperson’s Report

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

Executive Director’s Report

Ms. Suzanne Mayer shared that SURS won the 2025 NAGDCA – Art Caple President’s Award honoring visionary leadership and innovation in the category for public sector defined contribution plans.

Board Travel

Ms. Suzanne Mayer presented the “October 2025 Travel Memo” and the “October 2025 Upcoming Training Opportunity List” that contains information relating to upcoming travel and training opportunities available to the trustees.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the Board of Trustees travel to attend conferences or trainings listed on October 2025 list of upcoming training opportunities approved and that all resulting expenses as defined in the SURS travel policy be reimbursed.

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

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Review of Committee Actions

Administrative Committee

Trustee Van Meter presented the following motions that passed via the corresponding roll call votes:

• That based on the recommendation of Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company (GRS), the amount of $2,368,598,000 be certified for Fiscal Year 2027 as the preliminary proposed state contribution.

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

• That based on the recommendation of Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company (GRS), the Employer Normal Cost Rate of 11.58% be approved for Fiscal Year 2027.

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

• That based on staff recommendation, the amount of $11,707,648 be certified for Fiscal Year 2027 as the contribution to the Community College Health Insurance Security Fund.

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Report of Investment Committee Actions

Trustee Hendrie reported on the specific action items taken by the Investment Committee during the October 23, 2025, Investment Committee meeting. These items are referenced in greater detail in the Investment Committee meeting minutes of October 23, 2025.

Legislative Update

Ms. Kristen Houch referenced the document “104SB1937 HA2” as she provided a summary of House Amendment #2 to Senate Bill 1937 and discussed the Commission on Government forecasting and Accountability’s Pension Impact Note on the proposed legislation. After further discussion, the trustees provided direction for sending a letter to the Governor and General Assembly to serve as SURS’ written testimony at the upcoming House Executive Committee hearing. A draft letter titled “HA2 to SB1937 draft letter” was circulated among trustees during the meeting, and edits were made to the same. At the conclusion of the discussion, trustees also asked Ms. Houch to direct Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company (GRS) to conduct an actuarial analysis of the proposed legislation for review at a subsequent meeting.

Closed Session

At 4:55 p.m. Trustee Rock moved that the SURS Board of Trustees go into closed session pursuant to §2(c)(11) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Trustee Van Meter seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons  – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Return to Open Session

The SURS Board of Trustees returned to open session at 5:05 p.m.

Public Comment

There were no public comments presented to the SURS Board of Trustees.

Trustee Comment

There were no trustee comments.

Adjourn

There was no further business brought before the board and Trustee Hendrie moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rock which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Ms. Suzanne Mayer

Executive Director and Secretary, SURS Board of Trustees