From Symbolism to Substance: University Presidents, Executive Risk, and the Future of DEI Leadership

The field of higher education has experienced significant upheaval in recent years. In particular, the first and second Trump Administrations have directly targeted university presidents who observe diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as central to their institutional mission and values. In response, this paper introduces a novel conceptual framework—the multi-scalar DEI leadership framework—to examine DEI leadership across multiple domains: the micro-level (presidential leadership behavior and decision-making), the meso-level (the university as an organization), and the macro-level (the U.S. sociopolitical climate and federal administration). By analyzing these interdependent levels, the framework illustrates how leadership, organizational dynamics, and sociopolitical conditions mutually shape efforts to sustain DEI principles amid a destabilizing political climate. Through a comparative case analysis of contemporary university presidents—President Wolfe at the University of Missouri (2015) and President Gregory Washington at George Mason University (2025)—this study demonstrates how alignment between presidential leadership at the micro-level and organizational values at the meso-level shapes institutional responses to macro-level sociopolitical pressures. The analysis emphasizes the importance of presidential leadership development, the preservation of DEI principles, and executive risk as mechanisms to mitigate political interference that threatens higher education. Executive risk emerges as a key organizational intervention, as university presidents retain the agency to challenge external pressures, maintain institutional integrity, and support the future of DEI leadership in higher education.