Higher-education leadership moved decisively this week as a slate of university presidents and provosts assumed new roles and one distance-learning pioneer reversed a major campus strategy. The University of Virginia named Scott Beardsley, dean of Darden, its new president; Columbia College, Emporia State, Mercer, Clemson and other institutions also announced senior appointments. Separately, The Open University abandoned a proposed move to a central Milton Keynes campus and signaled a recommitment to its “university without walls” model under vice-chancellor Dave Phoenix, opting to renovate Walton Hall and expand regional partnerships instead. The OU decision highlights a broader pivot among institutions reconsidering large capital investments amid shifting enrollment and delivery models. Taken together, the appointments and the OU reversal underscore how leadership choices are shaping institutional strategy on hybrid delivery, regional presence and cost containment at a moment of sustained financial pressure across the sector.