Meeting of the Administration Committee

Meeting: June 5, 2026 | Posted: September 15, 2026 | SURS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

The meeting of the Administration Committee of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) convened on Friday, June 5, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

This meeting was conducted in person at Northern Trust in Chicago, IL.

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

Others present: Ms. Suzanne Mayer, Executive Director; Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Mr. Michael Schlachter, Chief Investment Officer (CIO); 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; Mr. Mark Rowe, Chief Benefits Officer; Ms. Kristen Houch, Director of Legislative and Stakeholder Relations; Ms. Heather Kimmons, Associate Legal Counsel; Ms. Kelly Carson, Ms. Chelsea McCarty, and Ms. Annette Ackerman, Executive Assistants; and Mr. Michael Calabrese, Foley & Lardner LLP.

Administration roll call attendance was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, present; Trustee Kothari, present; Trustee Rock, present; Trustee Van Meter (chair), present; and Trustee Vasquez, absent.

Trustee Antonio Vasquez physically joined the meeting at 11:53 a.m.

Approval of Minutes

Trustee Van Meter presented the minutes from the Administration Committee meeting of March 6, 2026.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

That the minutes for the Administration Committee Meeting of March 6, 2026, be approved as presented.

Trustee Kothari seconded the motion, which passed with all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.

Chairperson’s Report

Trustee Van Meter did not have a chairperson’s report.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Educational Session)

Mr. Eric Griffin and Mr. Nathan Haws of Linea presented the “Artificial Intelligence (AI),” educational session. This session covered various AI trends and the potential value of AI for pension organizations. The Educational session lasted 40 minutes and concluded at 9:39 a.m.

Strategic Plan

Ms. Suzanne Mayer and Mr. Jefferey Saiger discussed and reviewed the overview of the document titled, “Annual Implementation Plan” that was approved during a previous board meeting in early Spring. She discussed SURS’ different objectives and how it will be executed.

Quarterly Pension Administration Update

Mr. Jefferey Saiger discussed the quarterly Pension Administration System update, including reviewing the project schedule, scope, quality, and project financials. The document titled, “Project Velocity Board Update” included specific information on improvements, next steps, as well as project risks and mitigations.

Staffing Requests

Mr. Mark Rowe and Ms. Nichole Hemming presented the document titled, “FY27 Hiring Requests” which discussed the need for SURS to add eleven new Member Service Representative (MSR) positions. Adding these would improve member service delivery, reduce processing delays, strengthen frontline support, and prepare for the upcoming Velocity implementation. Mr. Rowe explained the role of each of the different positions and answered questions posed by the trustees.

Fiscal Year 2027 Administrative Expense & Capital Expenditure Budget Fiscal Year 2027 Investment Department Budget

Ms. Tara Myers presented the documents titled, “Approval Request for FY27 Budget,” “SURS FY27 Budget,” and “FY27 Investment Operations Budget” which outlined the Administrative Expense and Capital budget for fiscal year 2026. The administrative budget covers all the operational costs of the Defined Benefit Plan, the Retirement Saving Plan (RSP), the Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) and the Investment Department Administrative Expense Budget.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

That the fiscal year 2027 Administrative Expense Budget be approved as presented.

Trustee Kothari seconded the motion, which passed with the following roll call vote: