State governance changes are forcing major governing‑board and policy shifts across campuses. In Virginia, newly installed Democratic officials moved quickly to replace board members, oust campus lawyers, and defend in‑state policies for undocumented students—signaling an aggressive governance reorientation by Gov. Spanberger and the state attorney general. In Kansas, the Board of Regents has tightened post‑tenure review and prescribed teaching loads and content controls that faculty say undermine academic freedom and autonomy. Both developments illustrate how partisan swings at the state level are translating into immediate board appointments, new oversight rules, and curricular review that could change faculty hiring, tenure protections, and classroom permissions.