Leading at the crossroads: Understanding how leader identity influences presidential communication

In response to the influx of technology designed to enhance communication, the expectations of college presidents to communicate has increased drastically (McNaughtan & McNaughtan, 2018), and the modes of presidential communication have increased with presidents actively crafting campus emails, newsletters, and engaging on the many social media platforms (McNaughtan et al., 2018). As the expectation has increased, the complex issues presidents face are much more public with the 24-hour news-cycle. For example, President Thomas Rochon of Ithaca College received a vote of “no confidence” after he responded slowly and insensitively to racist incidents on campus (Svrluga, 2016). Specifically, Rochon produced a statement acknowledging multiple racially charged incidents on campus, but he did not offer actionable ideas for preventing further incidents. Similar missteps occurred at the University of Missouri, Columbia in 2015. Chancellor Tim Wolfe resigned following protests by students and