Preparing for Crisis

Bauer College students will sharpen their problem solving and conflict resolution skills for the upcoming Graduate Crisis Case Competition. 

In this annual competition, Bauer graduate students take on the role of business executives with a team made up of their peers. They are given a mock crisis scenario to find a solution for, all while unforeseen emergencies and roadblocks are put in their path.  

Students are tested in endurance and focus as they’re asked to solve a business crisis in a limited amount of time and then prepare a presentation to a mock Board of Directors made up of the Bauer College Board who champion and support the competition.  

Two teams selected by the Board of Directors will move forward as finalists and then participate in a mock press conference, where real life reporters are invited to attend and put our students to the test with a barrage of questions. This year, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and an Emmy-winning broadcast journalist will be in attendance.  

Director of Experiential Learning Zach Wortzel, who is organizing the event, modeled the competition after the Leadership Crisis Challenge offered at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. 

He said that every year he is excited to see how the students apply their knowledge from the classroom into the mock crisis scenario. 

“The last couple of years students have come back and said that this has been the most impactful real-life experience of their graduate program,” Wortzel said. “We’re able to put something like this on in collaboration with the Bauer College Board and C-suite level judges. The networking and learning opportunities for students are top notch and just being able to do that consistently and having that support is what makes me excited every year.” 

The 2025 Graduate Crisis Case Competition will begin on Aug. 14 and end Aug. 15 with the mock press conference.