Reporting this week documents a wave of faculty dismissals and policy reversals that critics say have eroded traditional tenure protections. Higher‑education analysts point to a fall spate of firings and administrative actions that expose gaps in job security for tenured faculty and invite legal challenges. Simultaneously, campus debates over free speech remain unresolved: reader responses and editorial analyses describe sustained disputes over what constitutes protected expression and how universities should police speech without undermining academic freedom. The combined coverage spotlights tensions between institutional risk management, donor and federal pressure, and faculty governance.