The University of North Carolina’s new policy explicitly allows administrators to record faculty for any ‘lawful purpose,’ even as it bars student recordings without permission—prompting debate about faculty privacy and shared governance. The policy change arrives amid broader campus fights over surveillance, speech and academic oversight. At Columbia, a faculty committee’s initial recommendations aim to expand hiring in Middle East studies while resisting wholesale program restructuring under White House scrutiny. The Columbia review highlights how federal pressure and political scrutiny are prompting internal reviews of area studies and hiring decisions, forcing universities to balance academic autonomy with external risk management.