The president and governing board at the College of William and Mary have parted ways in an unusually public split with a deeply partisan undercurrent. Gene R. Nichol says that the Board of Visitors forced him out for defending free speech and diversity on the campus, and that he turned down a generous severance package to go quietly. Board…

Budget seasons have been less uncertain at the University System of Maryland, where leaders have taken a different approach: voluntarily paring back costs. Their efforts are paying off, in more ways than one. The cost-savings plan, dubbed the Effectiveness and Efficiency Initiative, begun in 2004, has saved $94-million so far at the 11-campus…