The National Endowment for the Humanities, under new leadership, awarded $75.1 million to projects aligned with conservative priorities, a shift university humanists say will reshape grant flows. At the same time the University of Pennsylvania publicly rebuked a federal request for lists of Jewish employees, calling the demand a dangerous echo of history and announcing it will litigate to protect staff privacy. NEH’s funding decisions have stirred debate across humanities faculties about independence, curricular direction and the politics of grantmaking. Faculty leaders warn that targeted funding priorities risk skewing research agendas and hiring. The UPenn legal clash adds another flashpoint: universities say broad federal demands for employee lists threaten privacy and may chill campus employment and speech. Universities face simultaneous pressure from changing federal grant priorities and aggressive data demands. Deans and general counsels are preparing litigation and policy responses while faculty leaders consider how shifts in external funding will affect curricular programs and research support.