July 20, 2023 - Board Vacancy: Member Trustee, Non-Certified

The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System is accepting applications from individuals interested in being appointed to fill a vacancy on the ATRS Board of Trustees. Due to a retirement, position #7 on the Board of Trustees is currently vacant. This position is reserved by law for an active ATRS member who has at least five years of actual service in ATRS and who is employed in a position not requiring state licensure.

Individuals who are interested in being appointed to fill this vacancy should submit a completed application to ATRS Executive Director Mark White at markw@artrs.gov. Applications must be received by ATRS no later than 4:30 p.m. on Monday, August 7, 2023. ATRS will review the applications received and notify each applicant of whether they are eligible for appointment to position #7.

All applications meeting the statutory qualifications will be presented to the Board of Trustees. It is expected that the Board will make a decision and fill the vacancy in the Board's September 25 meeting.The individual appointed will be eligible to serve through the next System election.

The application form is available here: Trustee Application.

Please direct all questions regarding the appointment process to Mark White at markw@artrs.gov.

July 7, 2023 - Executive Director Update: Introduction

Hello! As the new Executive Director of ATRS, I am excited about this first opportunity to reach out to you and to all the members of ATRS. I’d like to briefly introduce myself so that you can get to know me.

My name is Mark White. I came to ATRS from the Arkansas Department of Human Services, where I served most recently as Chief of Staff. I’m a lawyer, and I have spent most of my career in Arkansas state government – including several years at the Arkansas Department of Education.

Thanks to my time at ADE, I myself am a member of ATRS. My wife is an ATRS member, as she is a high school and junior high choir director. And I have numerous family members and friends who are active or retired members of the System including my mother, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, and others. Those relationships make the success of ATRS – and the protection of the retirement assets with which ATRS is entrusted – very personal to me.

This is my first week on the job, so I am getting to know the dedicated employees of ATRS and the outside experts who help advise us. Starting next week, I will be traveling around the state to visit with educators and classified staff, school business officials and administrators, and with our retirees so I can better understand your needs and what you want to see from ATRS.

On Monday, July 17^th, your ATRS Board of Trustees will be meeting for their annual educational training. They will be hearing from experts on actuarial analysis, investments, fiduciary responsibilities, and other topics. In the short time I have been working with them, I have already seen how committed this Board is to you the members and to protecting and preserving ATRS for generations to come.

Later this month I will be sending you a more detailed update on ATRS. In the meantime, I welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. You can email me at MarkW@artrs.gov or you can call me at the numbers below.

My vision for ATRS is a retirement system that is faithful to its 140,000 members, that is fiscally responsible, and that is trusted by our state’s elected officials. We at ATRS are here to serve you and to safeguard your retirement.

Thank you for the trust you have placed in us, and thank you for all that you have done to contribute to education in Arkansas.

Mark White
Executive Director, ATRS
MarkW@artrs.gov
Office: (501) 621-8853
Cell: (501) 541-2057