CalSTRS Board Elects Chair and Vice-Chair for 2006 Term.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The board of the California State Teachers' Retirement System re-elected Carolyn Widener as Chair and Dana Dillon as Vice-Chair for the 2006 term during its regularly scheduled meeting today, at its headquarters in Sacramento.

The Teachers' Retirement Board members nominate and elect their own Chair and Vice-Chair annually; the officer positions are for one year's duration, although the members' terms are for a total of four years. The 2006 officers are:

--Carolyn Widener, an English professor at West Los Angeles College, as Chair. In December 2003, Widener was among the first three members ever elected to the board by a vote of current California educators. Widener has served as a board member since 2001. She represents community college faculty and staff, and currently serves on the Benefits and Services Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Board Governance Committee and the Investment Committee.

--Dana Dillon, a middle school language arts and social science teacher with the Weed Union Elementary School District, as Vice-Chair. Dillon also was one of the first members in CalSTRS history to be chosen by a vote of the pension fund's membership. She currently serves on the Audits and Risk Management Committee and the Investment Committee and chairs both the Benefits and Services Committee and Board Governance Committee.

Widener and Dillon's current terms in office began January 2004; their roles as Chair and Vice-Chair are effective immediately.

"Despite the challenges we've tackled over the last year and those facing our system and other pension systems nationwide, we look forward to a productive year with a full board," said Carolyn Widener. "We are dedicated to protecting the interest of California's educators and ensuring that their benefits remain secure. That dedication will surely translate into spirited debate and thoughtful deliberation as we work toward resolving the tough issues ahead of us."

With a $141 billion investment portfolio, the California State Teachers' Retirement System is the second-largest public pension fund in the United States. It provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits to California's 776,000 public school educators from kindergarten through community college.