Germany: Susanne Menzel-Riedl to become new Rector of University of Münster on 01/10/2026

The 28 members of the University of Münster's Electoral Assembly have elected Susanne Menzel-Riedl to become the new Rector of the German university on 01/10/2026, it announced on 28/11/2025.

With 23 votes in favour and five against, the current President of Osnabrück University will take office after Johannes Wessels, who has headed the university since 2016, and "is handing over the office to a successor who brings a great deal of experience both scientifically and administratively".

The future Rector held a lecture to present her first ideas: "She named the promotion of cutting-edge research, the quality of study programmes, the expansion of internationalisation, career and personnel development and digitalisation as some of the most important topics at the moment."

She sees herself more as a "playmaker" than as a "referee". "I stand for optimism, curiosity and high motivation," she emphasised. "I want to get people at this university talking, ask questions and prioritise our tasks - and I'm not doing anything alone."

The University of Münster is one of the largest universities in…