Barclay University: Crisis Leadership in a Polarized Climate

Abstract

When university president Susan Booker testifies before Congress about campus protests, a single word—context—ignites a national controversy that threatens her presidency. Set at Barclay University, a fictional private research institution, the case examines leadership under constrained authority, fragmented legitimacy, and stakeholder demands that cannot be simultaneously satisfied in an increasingly polarized political climate. As demonstrations, counter-protests, and harassment continue on campus in response to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza in late 2023, Booker confronts donor pressure, trustee division, faculty mobilization, student activism, and public scrutiny accelerated by 24-hour news cycles, social media virality, and contested information. Her reliance on legal reasoning and institutional process collides with demands for moral clarity and immediate action, forcing choices that test both personal and institutional resilience. The case invites readers in educational leadership and governance courses to analyze how presidents exercise judgment, sustain credibility, and preserve the institution’s capacity to act coherently when governance unfolds publicly, truth claims are politicized, and traditional crisis management tools prove insufficient.