Virginia’s new Democratic governor moved quickly to remake higher‑education governance, appointing 27 new board members and signaling further structural change across public institutions. The administration has already replaced campus lawyers and defended in‑state tuition access for undocumented students as part of a broader governance reset, lawmakers and higher‑ed observers report. State legislators are pursuing additional bills to alter oversight and accountability at public colleges, while university Presidents and faculty raise concerns about board stability and the pace of change. The rapid appointments and legal staffing shifts underscore how state politics are directly reshaping institutional policy, compliance and leadership lifecycles—an operational reality that higher‑ed administrators should monitor closely.