State and institutional governance battles intensified as South Dakota adopted a post‑tenure review policy described by officials as accountability reform and decried by critics as a threat to tenure. At the same time, a lender offered Saint Augustine’s University emergency financing contingent on removing two trustees—an intervention that prompted debate about lender influence over board composition and institutional independence. South Dakota Regents framed post‑tenure review as enhancing performance oversight; faculty and academic groups warned the move could hollow out protections intended to secure academic freedom. In North Carolina, Self‑Help Ventures’ loan terms tied governance changes to financial relief at a historically Black institution, illustrating how desperate cash needs can alter board dynamics and autonomy.