General Education Committee
(FS Bylaws, Article 4.6.2)

GEC Meeting Dates and Deadlines
GEC Membership
GEC Minutes

4.6. Standing Committees of the Baccalaureate Council

4.6.1 General

4.6.1.3 Faculty members appointed to a standing committee by a college curriculum committee shall serve a three-year, renewable term beginning in the fall semester. Terms of college appointees shall be staggered.

4.6.1.4 Student members on the committees shall serve one-year, renewable terms beginning in the fall semester.

4.6.2 General Education Committee 

4.6.2.1 Composition

(A) Faculty Representation

1.  Three faculty representatives from the Baccalaureate Council shall be chosen by the faculty of the Baccalaureate Council. 

2.  One faculty representative shall be appointed by the curriculum committee of each undergraduate degree-granting college except the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

3.  Three faculty representatives shall be appointed by the curriculum committee of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, including one from the humanities, one from the social sciences, and one from the other sciences.

4.  The chair shall be elected by the voting members of the General Education Committee and shall serve a one-year renewable term beginning in the fall semester.

(B) Student Representation

Student members shall be selected by the General Education Committee from:

1.  Nominees submitted by the student advisory committees (SAC) of the undergraduate degree-granting colleges. An annual fall deadline will be set to facilitate the nomination from each college's SAC.

2.  If the SAC nomination deadline passes, without reaching the maximum representation of three students, then the General Education Committee may nominate students, from across undergraduate degree-granting colleges, to sit on the committee. If the General Education Committee nominates a student from a college, the SAC from that college can no longer select a college representative.

The total number of student members selected to sit on the General Education Committee, from the nominees recruited directly by the committee and the nominees submitted by the SACs, shall not be greater than three students. 

(C) Administrative Representation

1.  One advisor shall be elected by and from the persons with overall responsibility for undergraduate advisement in each of the undergraduate degree-granting colleges and the Academic Advising Center. The person shall serve ex officio without a vote.

2.  The following shall serve ex officio without a vote: the vice provost responsible for undergraduate education and one designee of the provost from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.

4.6.2.2 Duties

(A) To monitor and evaluate the university general education program.

(B) To recommend policies and procedures to manage both the general education program as a whole and individual components of that program.

(C) To make suggestions to colleges and departments regarding improvements that can be made in the general education curricula.

(D) To approve the addition or removal of courses from the general education curriculum.

(E) To oversee the improvement, including the design, of the general education program and of individual components of that program.

(F) To report its work to the Baccalaureate Council. 

Schedule
Deadlines for a curriculum proposal to make
the Executive Committee meeting agenda
Executive Committee Meeting
Monthly on Thursday

General Education Committee Meeting
Monthly on Thursday
12:30-3 p.m.
September 2
September 4 September 18
September 29
October 2 October 16
November 3
November 6 November 20
December 1
Deadline for committees to receive proposals
for consideration in the 2026-27 catalog
December 4 December 18
January 5
January 8 January 15
February 2
February 5 February 19
March 2
March 5 March 19
March 30 April 2 April 16

Membership
MEMBERSHIP
2024-2025
2025-2026
2026-2027
2027-2028
BC Faculty 
BC Faculty 
Maria Ponomareva
BC Faculty
Anthony Devroye Neal Ternes
Business
Fall-Lei Zhou
Spring-Len Lundstrum for Zhou
Fall-TBD
Spring-Lei Zhou
Lei Zhou
Education
*Stephanie DeSpain Baker
Rod Caughron
Rod Caughron
Rod Caughron
Engineering & Eng. Technology
Shun Takai Shun Takai Shun Takai Shun Takai
Health and Human Sciences
Anitha Saravanan
Anitha Saravanan
Liberal Arts & Sciences - Social Sciences
Mike Ezell
SOCI
*Mike Ezell
SOCI
Mike Ezell
SOCI
Liberal Arts & Sciences - Natural Sciences Fall-Jim Wilson
EAE
Spring-TBD
Jim Wilson
EAE
Jim Wilson
EAE
Liberal Arts & Sciences - Humanities
Stan Arnold
HIST
Stan Arnold
HIST
Visual & Performing Arts
Jui-Ching Wang Helen Nagata Helen Nagata Helen Nagata
Students (3)
Kate Haupt, EDU
Teresa Delgado, HHS
Nathan Gonzalez, LAS
Olivia Wells, LAS
Damola Akinlehin, HHS
Akemi McHan, LAS
Advisor per 4.6.2.1(C)1
Chris Lowe
Rebekah Kohli
+ Vice Provost responsible for undergraduate education
Alicia Schatteman Alicia Schatteman
+ One designee of the provost from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness 
Amy Buhrow Amy Buhrow

*   chair
+  ex officio, nonvoting

Contact Us

University Council
Altgeld Hall 103

Benjamin Creed
President, Faculty Senate
Chair, University Council
bcreed@niu.edu

Pat Erickson
Administrative Assistant
pje@niu.edu

Tiffany Puckett
Faculty Advisory Council to the IBHE
tpuckett@niu.edu

Carrie Kortegast
Faculty Personnel Advisor
ckortegast@niu.edu