Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
Meeting: March 6, 2026 | Posted: April 17, 2026 | SURS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
The meeting of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) convened on Friday, March 6, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.
This meeting was held in person at State Universities Retirement System in Champaign, IL.
The following trustees were present: Dr. Andry Bodnaruk (Zoom); Dr. Fred Giertz; Mr. Scott Hendrie; Mr. Pranav Kothari; Mr. John Lyons (chair); Mr. Herbert Pitman; Dr. Steven Rock; Mr. Collin Van Meter; and Mr. Antonio Vasquez.
Others present: Ms. Suzanne Mayer, Executive Director; Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Ms. Heather Kimmons, Associate Legal Counsel; Ms. Nichole Hemming, Chief Human Resources Officer; Mr. Jefferey Saiger, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer; Ms. Tara Myers, Chief Financial Officer; Ms. Jackie Hohn, Chief Internal Auditor; Mr. Mark Rowe, Chief Benefits Officer; 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 roll call attendance was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, not called; Trustee Figueroa, absent; Trustee Giertz, absent; Trustee Hendrie, present; Trustee Jiganti, absent; Trustee Kothari, present; Trustee Lyons, present; Trustee Pitman, present; and Trustee Rock, present; Trustee Van Meter, present; and Trustee Vazquez, present.
Motion to Allow Trustees to Participate via Electronic Means
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That Trustee Bodnaruk be allowed to participate via video or audio conference call as allowed by 5 ILCS 120/7 due to the fact he is prevented from physically attending this meeting because of 1) personal illness or disability, 2) employment purposes or the business of SURS, 3) a family or other emergency, or 4) unexpected childcare obligations.
Trustee Pitman seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – not called
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – absent
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
Roll call attendance for trustees participating via electronic means was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, present.
Trustee Giertz physically joined the meeting at 11:04 a.m.
Approval of Minutes
Trustee Lyons presented the minutes from the Board of Trustees meeting on December 5, 2025.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That the minutes from the December 5, 2025, Board of Trustees meeting be approved as presented.
Trustee Van Meter seconded the motion, which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.
Approval of Closed Minutes
Trustee Lyons presented the minutes from the Board of Trustees meeting on December 5, 2025.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That the closed minutes from the December 5, 2025, Board of Trustees meeting be approved as presented and remain closed.
Trustee Kothari seconded the motion, which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.
Chairperson’s Report
Trustee Lyons did not have a chairperson’s report.
Executive Director’s Report
Ms. Suzanne Mayer introduced Mr. Mark Rowe as the new SURS Chief Benefits Officer (CBO).
Board Travel
Ms. Suzanne Mayer presented the “March 2026 Travel Memo” and the “March 2026 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 the March 2026 list of upcoming training opportunities be approved and that all resulting expenses as defined in the SURS travel policy be reimbursed.
Trustee Giertz seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
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
Audit & Risk Committee
Trustee Giertz presented the following motion:
- That the revised Internal Audit Plan for Fiscal Year 2026 and Fiscal Year 2027 be approved as presented.
The motion passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
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 pursuant to section 40ILCS-5/1-135, the Audit & Risk Committee direct SURS General Counsel to report the suspected fraud matters discussed in closed session to the appropriate state’s attorney and to relevant law enforcement agencies for further investigation.
The motion passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
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
Administration Committee
Trustee Van Meter presented the following motion:
- That based on SURS Staff recommendation, a 4.0% increase to the salary budget for Fiscal Year 2027 be approved to fund the salary budget increase, with 2.6% to be allocated to fund the adjustments to the salary ranges and as the minimum increase for staff with at least one year of service with SURS and 1.4% to be allocated for merit adjustments in addition to the minimum increase.
The motion passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
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 SURS Staff recommendation, $25,000 be approved to fund the Star Award Program.
The motion passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
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 March 5, 2026, Investment Committee meeting. These items are referenced in greater detail in the Investment Committee meeting minutes of March 5, 2026.
Personell Items
There were no personnel items brought before the Board of Trustees.
Closed Session
At 11:22 a.m. Trustee Kothari moved that the SURS Board of Trustees go into closed session pursuant to §2(c)(11) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Trustee Rock seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
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 11:43 a.m.
Informational Items Not Requiring Board Action
- General Counsel’s FOIA Report
- Comparative Financial Reports and Budget Variance
- Member Services Division Report
- Retirement Saving Plan Update for the Quarter Ending June 30, 2025
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 Rock moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Hendrie, and it passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
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