Conservative trustees and policy playbooks are reshaping campus governance and curriculum oversight. A high‑profile case at North Idaho College illustrates how politically appointed boards can remove leadership; that fight over accreditation and governance has become a model for other state actors. Meanwhile, the Manhattan Institute circulated model legislation proposing to transfer final authority over general‑education content from faculty senates to governing boards, curtailing shared governance and threatening to make state funding contingent on curricular certifications. The shift signals rising state and donor influence over campus academic standards and hiring, with implications for faculty autonomy and institutional risk.