Small and mid‑sized colleges continue to reshape assets to stabilize operations: Averett University sold a 70‑acre athletic campus in an $18 million sale‑leaseback to local public entities to shore up liquidity after a discovered endowment shortfall. Administrators say the deal frees immediate cash while keeping the option to repurchase assets at the original price. At the other end of the scale, UC Davis received a $120 million gift—the largest ever for veterinary medicine—that will fund a new small-animal teaching hospital and expand One Health research integrating animal and human medicine. Donor support and real‑estate maneuvers exemplify divergent institutional strategies for financial resilience: asset monetization for cash-strapped colleges versus capital philanthropy enabling program expansion. Higher‑ed leaders are monitoring both models as peer institutions weigh short‑term liquidity needs against long‑term mission investment. The Averett sale highlights how community partnerships can preserve campus services; the UC Davis gift shows how targeted philanthropy can accelerate research and clinical capacity.