The Council on Liberal Education has oversight responsibilities for the University of Minnesota Liberal Education Curriculum for all undergraduate students on the Twin Cities campus.
The Council on Liberal Education is composed of faculty and student representatives (both undergraduate and graduate/professional); members of the academic staff may also be appointed. The Council is charged to:
- review and approve or disapprove all proposals for courses designated for the Diversified Core and Designated Themes of Liberal Education Curriculum.
- formulate the procedures for proposing courses and deleting courses from the Diversified Core and Designated Themes of Liberal Education Curriculum.
- establish and regularly review the criteria for courses which will be considered for designation for the Diversified Core and Designated Themes of Liberal Education Curriculum.
- regularly review for their effectiveness the liberal education requirements.
- advise the Provost on implementation of recommendations concerning liberal education requirements.
- foster continuing discussion among the faculty about issues of liberal and undergraduate education.
- recommend to the Faculty Consultative Committee such actions or policies it deems appropriate.
- review all proposals for courses to be designated as Writing Intensive.
- regularly review the process and criteria for courses to be designated as Writing Intensive.
Members
Co-Chairs
Peter Mercer-Taylor
Music | [email protected] | Term: 2011, 2012-2014, 2020-2025, 2025-present (co-chair)
Deena Wassenberg
Biology | Teaching and Learning | [email protected] | Term: 2015-2025, 2025-present (co-chair)
Faculty Representatives
Brad Agee
Landscape Architecture │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Lee-Ann Breuch
Writing Studies │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Russell Funk
Strategic Management & Entrepreneurship │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Michael Gallope
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Gayle (GG) Golden
Journalism │ [email protected] │ Term: 2020-present
Trinity Hamilton
Plant & Microbial Biology | [email protected] | Term 2025-present
Alexandria Hoffman
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Anup Johny
Animal Science | [email protected] | Term 2025-present
David Karjanen
American Studies │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Zornitsa Keremidchieva
Communication Studies | [email protected] | Term 2025-present
Carlye Lauff
Product Design │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Amy Lee
Writing Studies │ [email protected] │ Term: 2021-present
Jiao Luo
Strategic Management & Entrepreneurship │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Emily Pelton
Chemistry │ [email protected] │ Term: 2023-present
Kristina Prescott
Biology Teaching and Learning │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Matthew L. Reznicek
History of Medicine Program/Dept. of Surgery │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Sue Staats
Curriculum & Instruction │ [email protected] │ Term: 2023-present
Frances Trice
Design Innovation │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
John Ward
Plant & Microbial Biology │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Connie Wanberg
Work and Organizations │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Charlie Willis
Biology Teaching and Learning │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Crystal Wise
Curriculum & Instruction │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Kathryn Wust
Industrial and Systems Engineering │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Bo Yu
Kinesiology │ [email protected] │ Term: 2025-present
Staff
Katie Russell
Office of Undergraduate Education │ [email protected]
Berne Christiansen
Office of Undergraduate Education │ [email protected]
Sauman (Sue) Chu
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Curriculum and Assessment │ [email protected]
Meeting Schedule
Fall Semester 2026
September 18, 2026 (Submission Deadline: September 4, 2026)
September 30, 2026 (Submission Deadline: September 16, 2026)
October 16, 2026 (Submission Deadline: October 2, 2026)
October 21, 2026 (Submission Deadline: October 7, 2026)
November 13, 2026 (Submission Deadline: October 30, 2026)
November 18, 2026 (Submission Deadline: November 4, 2026)
December 4, 2026 (Submission Deadline: November 18, 2026)
December 9, 2026 (Submission Deadline: November 25, 2026)