Two separate campus disputes this month spotlight growing tensions over academic freedom and state oversight. At Texas A&M, a faculty council concluded that the immediate dismissal of instructor Melissa McCoul—after classroom material on gender identity went viral—violated academic freedom and sidestepped established termination procedures. The council said political pressure and a rushed removal by then‑president Mark Welsh undercut due process; McCoul is appealing. In Indiana, a university removed a lecturer while probing whether classroom material breached a state intellectual‑diversity law. Both cases illustrate how political pressure, rapid administrative action and legal mandates are reshaping faculty review processes and internal governance, increasing the risk of precedent‑setting disputes over curriculum, termination procedures and shared governance.