A faculty dispute at Hofstra University escalated into public discrimination allegations and an internal review after a routine course-approval meeting turned into a Title VII complaint. The complaint, filed by Santiago Slabodsky (professor of religion and director of Jewish-studies program), alleges that comments by Richard I. Himelfarb (political-science professor) violated federal employment discrimination law. The dispute centers on course listings that Himelfarb and others criticized as overly broad for the Jewish-studies prefix, while Slabodsky argues the exchange involved discriminatory intent tied to his background. The free-speech group FIRE amplified the controversy after Hofstra initiated an internal review and reported no final determination. The case has implications for faculty governance and academic freedom, particularly where course approvals become flashpoints for perceived viewpoint disagreements or workplace treatment. It also highlights how course approval processes, often treated as procedural, can surface broader issues about discrimination risk, documentation, and conflict resolution. Separately, the New School’s AAUP chapter denounced recent faculty layoffs, framing them as a major gutting of full-time faculty and calling for reinstatement or phased retirement. The AAUP said cuts disproportionately affected the humanities and social sciences and alleged reductions disproportionately landed on faculty of color, as the university works toward consolidating colleges while managing enrollment and fiscal deficits.