TIAA Board of Overseers

For TIAA's first twenty years, its corporate stock was owned by Carnegie Corporation of New York, which provided TIAA's $1 million endowment grant. However, TIAA grew rapidly and in the 1930s, Carnegie Corporation and TIAA agreed that ownership of TIAA should be transferred to a new nonprofit company, named Trustees of T.I.A.A. Stock. In 1938, Carnegie Corporation turned over ownership of TIAA to the new company.

In 1989, Trustees of T.I.A.A. Stock was renamed TIAA Board of Overseers. TIAA Board of Overseers normally has seven members, each of whom serves a seven-year term. The members do not directly supervise TIAA management, but they elect the members of the TIAA Board of Trustees, which does exercise such supervision. They also approve amendments to TIAA's charter and bylaws. TIAA Board of Overseers meets at least twice a year.

The TIAA president and chief executive officer is a member of the Board of Overseers, but no other current member of the TIAA or CREF Board of Trustees is an Overseer. The Overseers fill vacancies on their own board by appointment. Overseers come from diverse backgrounds, but many have strong connections with education and/or business.