Governance disputes intensified this month as Texas State University’s board upheld the firing of a tenured history professor whose conference remarks drew administrative ire, signaling tighter scrutiny of faculty speech at public institutions. The board sided with university leadership that said the professor’s statements crossed institutional policy lines. Separately, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore has become the center of a defamation and discrimination lawsuit after a former professor accused President Heidi M. Anderson of plagiarism; Anderson has sued for reputational damages. Both episodes highlight how speech, race, and reputational claims are driving legal exposure for university leaders.