Dec. 6, 2019
For more Information, contact
Steve Esack
Press Secretary
Public School Employees' Retirement System
Phone: 717-720-4770
e-mail: stesack@pa.gov
PSERS Trustees re-elected to new 3-year terms
Melva S. Vogler won re-election to a new 3-year term as the Retired Member Representative on the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System Board of Trustees.
Ms. Vogler received nearly 68 percent of the 60,162 ballots cast by annuitants, according to election results the Board Election Committee and Board Secretary certified at a public meeting on Friday. Her challenger, Russell J. Diesinger, received nearly 32 percent of annuitants' votes during the election, which was held from Oct. 21 to Nov. 22 and was conducted via mail and online ballots.
Ms. Vogler, a 2013 retiree of the Wallenpaupack Area School District, will begin her new term on Jan. 1, 2020 alongside Trustee Jason Davis. Mr. Davis, a teacher in the Penn-Trafford School District, ran unopposed and was re-elected by acclamation for one of three board seats held by active certified PSERS members.
Ms. Vogler was first elected to the PSERS board of Trustees as an active certified member in 1994. Upon her retirement, she won election as the annuitant's representative. Ms. Vogler holds a bachelor's degree from Susquehanna University and a master's degree from Marywood College.
Mr. Davis has served on the PSERS board since 2017. Mr. Davis has a master's degree from Duquesne University. He worked at Mellon Bank's institutional trust sector for four years before becoming a public school teacher of economics, AP Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics.
The 15-member Board of Trustees is an independent administrative board of the Commonwealth. The Board stands in a fiduciary relationship to the members of PSERS regarding investment decisions and disbursements of the System's funds. The Board also performs other functions outlined in the Public School Employees' Retirement Code, such as certifying contribution rates, authorizing the actuarial valuation and independent audit of the System, and publishing an annual financial statement of the condition of the Retirement Fund. In addition, the Board oversees the operational activities performed by the System's Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer.
About the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System
PSERS, founded in 1917, began operations in 1919 to oversee a statewide defined benefit pension plan for public school employees. PSERS' role expanded in 2019 to include oversight of a new defined contribution plan. PSERS membership covers about 256,000 active and 233,000 retired school employees.