Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
September 12, 2025 | SURS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
The meeting of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) convened on Friday, September 12, 2025, at 10:30 a.m.
This meeting was held in person at State Universities Retirement System in Champaign, IL.
The following trustees were present: Dr. Andry Bodnaruk; Dr. Fred Giertz; Mr. Scott Hendrie; Mr. Panav Kothari; 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 roll call attendance was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, present; Trustee Figueroa, absent; Trustee Giertz, present; Trustee Hendrie, present; Trustee Jiganti, absent; Trustee Kothari, present; Trustee Lyons, present; Trustee Pittman, 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 Trustees Figueroa and Pitman be allowed to participate via video or audio conference call for the Investment committee Meeting on September 12, 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 Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
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 Pitman, present.
Approval of Minutes
Trustee Lyons presented the minutes from the Board of Trustees meeting on June 6, 2025.
Trustee Vasquez made the following motion:
- That the minutes from the June 6, 2025, Board of Trustees meeting be approved as presented.
Trustee Rock 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 June 6, 2025.
Trustee Bodnaruk made the following motion:
- That the closed minutes from the June 6, 2025, Board of Trustees meeting be approved as presented and remain closed.
Trustee Rock 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 mentioned that SURS received the PLANSPONSOR Plan Sponsor of the Year Award; the Leadership Recognition Award from the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators and she shared that she recently found out that SURS is also up for the Art Caple President’s Award from the same association. Ms. Mayer also discussed the upcoming Illinois Reciprocal Association Conference to be held at the I Hotel & Conference
Center in Champaign, IL on September 22-23, 2025and that trustees are invited to attend the SURS employee appreciation luncheon on October 9, 2025.
Board Travel
Ms. Suzanne Mayer presented the “September 2025 Travel Memo” and the “September 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 the September 2025 list of upcoming training opportunities be approved and that all resulting expenses as defined in the SURS travel policy be reimbursed.
Trustee Kothari 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
Trustee Kothari made the following motion:
- That the Board of Trustees travel to attend Board and Committee meetings, Claims Panel Committee hearings, meetings with SURS staff, and other SURS-related business or functions be approved for FY2026 and that all resulting allowable expenses as defined in the SURS travel policy be reimbursed.
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
Review of Committee Actions Assumptions
Administration Committee
Trustee Van Meter presented the following motion.
- That the SURS diversity procurement goal for contracts and purchases from businesses owned by minorities, females, and persons with a disability remain at 20 percent for FY2026.
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 the benefit overpayment presented in the amount of $170,101.13 that are certified as uncollectible in accordance with 80 Ill. Adm. Code Section 1600.450 be written off.
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 September 11, 2025, Investment Committee meeting. These items are referenced in greater detail in the Investment Committee meeting minutes of September 11, 2025.
Potential Change to Committee Structure and Approval of Board Bylaws
Chairman John Lyons discussed disbanding the SURS Board Governance Committee because most of the committee’s work is actually performed during Board of Trustees Meetings. Ms. Heather Kimmons presented proposed changes to the written “SURS Bylaws” and she explained how the redline changes would reflect this proposed governance change.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That the proposed changes to the SURS Bylaws be approved as presented to include the additional modifications approved by the board.
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
Postponement of Approval of Fiscal Year 2026 Board Manual
Ms. Bianca Green proposed that the Board of Trustees postpone the approval of FY2026 Board Manual to December 2025.
Trustee Hendrie made the following motion:
- That the annual review and approval of the SURS Board Governance Manual for FY2026 be postponed to the December 2025 Board of Trustees meeting to allow for the inclusion of additional changes recently approved by the Board.
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
Personnel Items
There were no personnel items brought before the Board of Trustees.
Closed Session
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 Van Meter 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 11:18 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.
Adjournment
There was no further business brought before the Board and Trustee Kothari moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Van Meter 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
Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne Mayer
Executive Director and Secretary, Board of Trustees