A University of Nebraska–Lincoln decision to pay departing Chancellor Rodney Bennett $1.1 million drew faculty criticism after the campus announced program cuts and job losses tied to Bennett’s reorganization plan. The payout — the week’s most clicked higher‑ed item — has intensified debate about executive compensation amid campus‑level austerity. Courts also moved this week on federal research and staffing issues: a federal appeals court upheld an injunction blocking the National Institutes of Health from unilaterally capping indirect‑cost funding, a ruling the NIH declined to immediately appeal. Separately, the NIH settled a lawsuit with 16 states after halting decisionmaking on thousands of grants tied to internal directives concerning diversity, equity and inclusion. Meanwhile, the Education Department dropped an appeal seeking to defend the termination of over 400 staffers during a government shutdown. Those developments underscore escalating legal and political pressure on federal research agencies and institutional leaders. University counsel, sponsored‑research offices and trustees monitoring executive pay will be watching for follow‑on appeals and policy shifts that could affect grant administration and campus budget decisions.