The University of North Texas announced it will eliminate or merge more than 70 academic programs to close a $45 million shortfall, citing declining international graduate enrollment and a $32 million drop in state appropriations. Leaders said students currently enrolled will be allowed to finish, but new admissions will be halted for affected programs. The cuts include the linguistics department and several low‑enrollment master’s degrees. At the University of Kansas, a faculty and student straw poll registering no confidence in campus leadership over financial decisions sparked a governance dispute after administrators described the survey as unscientific and predetermined. The KU episode highlights tensions between campus communities and administrators facing fiscal stress. These developments underline a growing set of hard choices for public universities: program rationalization, enrollment risk, possible faculty restructuring, and the governance strain of making unpopular cuts while preserving student pathways.