Susanne Menzel-Riedl to become the new Rector on 1 October 2026

Change at the top of the University of Münster: On 28 November, the 28 members of the University Electoral Assembly elected Prof Dr Susanne Menzel-Riedl as the next rector, with 23 votes in favour and five against. Currently serving as president of the University of Osnabrück, she will take up her post in Münster on 1 October 2026. Prof Dr Johannes Wessels, who has led the university since 2016, will hand over the office to a successor with extensive experience in academic and administrative policy.

A ten-member selection committee, comprising five Senate members and five Board of Governors members, nominated Susanne Menzel-Riedl as the sole candidate. The chair of the selection committee, Dr Elke Topp, noted that the committee had consulted a recruitment agency and ultimately reached a ‘clear and unanimous decision’.

In a 45-minute presentation in the auditorium of the Schloss, Susanne Menzel-Riedl outlined her initial ideas. The 49-year-old identified what she felt were the most important issues at present: promoting cutting-edge research, improving the quality of study programmes, expanding internationalisation measures, supporting career and personnel development, and promoting digitalisation efforts. She sees herself more as a ‘game maker’ than a ‘referee’. ‘I stand for optimism, curiosity and high motivation,’ she said. ‘I want to get people at this university talking, asking questions and prioritising our tasks – and I'm not doing this alone.’

The chair of the University Electoral Assembly, Prof Dr Hinnerk Wissmann, used his closing remarks to thank Johannes Wessels for his work. ‘I am looking forward to an eventful eleven months until the handover,’ he added.

Personal details

Prof Dr Susanne Menzel-Riedl was born in Siegen in 1976. From 1996 to 2002 she studied biology, education and English at the Universities of Münster and Dakar (Senegal), as well as at the College of William and Mary in the USA. She completed her studies with a higher teaching qualification and a master’s degree. From 2004 to 2007 she worked as a research associate in the Department of Biology Didactics at Georg August University in Göttingen, where she obtained her doctoral degree in 2007. She then became a postdoctoral researcher in the DFG’s research training group ‘Successful Matching of School Learning Determinants’.

In 2008 she accepted an assistant professorship at the University of Osnabrück. Three years later, she was appointed professor of Biology Didactics. On 1 October 2016, she was appointed vice-president for research and early career development at the University of Osnabrück on a part-time basis, playing a pivotal role in the ‘UOS 2020’ strategic plan. She has served as president of the University of Osnabrück since October 2019. In November 2022 she was elected chair of the Lower Saxony State University Conference, and in December 2023 became vice-president for the 'Higher Education System and Organisation' of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK).

The University Electoral Assembly

The University Electoral Assembly consists of members of the University Senate and Board of Governors in equal part. However, only the 23 elected Senate members and the five external Board of Governors members were entitled to vote.