I have heard about college campus protests throughout my life from my Dad, a professor at a small, prestigious college. While sympathetic to protesters’ concerns, he viewed them as irksome entertainers. News broadcasters generally described them as confused, spoiled brats.

When I was in college, divesting from corporations doing business in apartheid South Africa and gay rights were the primary issues that galvanized protesters, while discrimination against African Americans was the issue of choice when I was in graduate school. Most of us sympathized with protestors to some degree, but kept them at a distance, especially since despite much sound and manufactured fury, no concrete actions ever took place. Once in a while, the people in charge would meet with protesters, pretend to listen to their grievances, and give them comforting words and vague promises. These broken promises usually resulted in unsuccessful howls for the resignation of these officials, and life went on.

So I was stunned when I heard about the resignations of the president and chancellor of the University of Missouri. While the on-campus racial incidents that prompted the demonstrations were disturbing and demeaning, other campuses are experiencing similar problems. So what made the protesters successful?

Certainly, Mizzou’s proximity to Ferguson played a part. Clearly, the football team rallying behind the hunger striker and other protesters by promising not to practice or play unless the president resigned provided a financial incentive. But what prompted the coaching staff to support the players and many of the faculty members to support the other protestors?

During the past year, I have heard nothing but snarky comments about President Tim Wolfe and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin from faculty members, administrators, and graduate students that I have spoken with during choir rehearsals and other gatherings. Rumors of nepotism during the hiring process. President Wolfe and Chancellor Loftin not getting along. President Wolfe trying to distance himself from difficult situations and unpopular decisions. In short, they both appeared to be weak, ineffective leaders.

President Wolfe’s indecisiveness carried over into the race relations arena. He didn’t seem to appreciate the destructive impact these racial incidents were causing to campus cohesion, a surprising failure given the Ferguson unrest. During last month’s homecoming parade, he refused to speak to protesters who had surrounded his car.

“Had I gotten out of the car to acknowledge the students and talk with them, perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Mr. Wolfe said later.

Sorry, dude, that apology should have come much earlier, and it would have helped if your car hadn’t grazed one of the protesters.

Mr. Wolfe’s response to a student’s question about his take on “systematic oppression” was equally uninspiring.

“I will give you an answer and I’m sure it will be a wrong answer. … Systematic oppression is because you don’t believe that you have the equal opportunity for success—”

“Did you just blame us for systematic oppression, Tim Wolfe? Did you just blame black students?” a woman interrupted.

A more assertive response, such as:

“I believe systematic oppression is overblown. Racism might still exist, but it’s much less virulent than 50 years ago.”

Or:

“I’m fortunate that, as a white man, I don’t have to worry about being harassed by law enforcement officers for no good reason. I have a much easier time being successful in the workplace. And I don’t have to worry about being one of the few black people in a mostly-white environment.”

The former response would have rallied the conservatives to his cause, while the latter would have rallied the progressive crowd. Instead, his timid actions and wimpy responses resulted in student protesters, a hunger striker, football players, football head coach Gary Pinkel (who will be retiring at the end of the year and played a pivotal role in creating a welcoming environment for Michael Sam, a talented player who is gay), and faculty members to create a wave of protest that chased Messrs. Wolfe and Loftin out of town.

To those who are horrified that the big black wolves will devour your peace of mind: chill. A constellation of race-related and other factors caused a leader widely viewed as ineffective to resign. To the protesters: congratulations — and bear in mind that other tactics can be equally effective at encouraging change. And to the new leadership team: consider the possibility that those unwilling or unable to address diversity effectively are likely to be less successful at addressing other challenges.