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This case concerns leadership and strategy dilemmas faced by the President of Rhode Island School of Design, one of the world’s leading institutions devoted to art and design education. RISD is somewhat unique in the manner by which it co-joins a world-class college of art and design with a significant public museum. These two components had long had an uneasy history together given their differences as well as their similarities. The President, Roger Mandle, developed after his arrival an ambitious strategy for the institution, one that involved a first-time comprehensive campaign and new emphasis aimed at synthesizing the various threads of the institution. The key focus of synthesis was to be a signature building, sited at the historic (and contested) center of the campus and designed so as to create deep connections between the academic and museum. Mandle found, however, that key constituencies did not seem to share major aspects of his vision, with the result that the building, the campaign and his presidential leadership all appeared to be in jeopardy. The central problem in the case deals with Mandle’s options as he seeks to accomplish his vision for the institution.