Virginia’s new governor, Abigail Spanberger, moved within hours of her inauguration to replace leadership at state universities, signaling an immediate intervention in higher-education governance. Spanberger appointed new board members at three public institutions and state officials privately pressed several University of Virginia trustees to resign, according to reporting. The swift personnel changes follow months of board turmoil and disagreements over institutional direction. The actions put incoming state leadership squarely in charge of public-university oversight and raise questions about campus autonomy, board independence and the pace of governance turnover. Key actors include Gov. Spanberger, the commonwealth’s boards of visitors and trustees at flagship institutions, and university presidents who now face reconstituted oversight. For administrators and outside partners, the development alters who will set priorities on hiring, budgets and strategic planning. Governance observers should watch for follow-up moves: whether new appointees pursue policy changes on diversity initiatives, academic priorities or presidential searches, and how faculty senates respond. In these matters, board composition matters because trustees set long-term institutional strategy, approve budgets, and confirm senior hires.