A legal fight over Governor Glenn Youngkin’s university board nominees in Virginia concluded without expedited appointments after the state’s Supreme Court declined to intervene, effectively preserving the incoming governor‑elect’s ability to make board choices. The decision leaves incoming Governor Abigail Spanberger free to name 22 trustees, reshaping campus governor composition and pausing a controversial effort to seat partisan donors and former staffers. Separately, Clemson University announced the sudden retirement of President Jim Clements at month‑end for health and family reasons, ending a 12‑year tenure. Clemson’s board will convene an emergency session to appoint an interim president; the announcement reignites attention on succession planning and board oversight at a major public research university. Both developments underscore how state politics and unexpected leadership departures can rapidly alter governance, creating immediate operational questions for trustees, provosts and campus communities about quorums, presidential searches and policy continuity.