Here is an example, courtesy of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). “Virginia State University completely ignored tenure and related procedural protections when it abruptly fired six tenured and tenure-track faculty from the university’s Agricultural Research Station in December 2025. Without meaningful notice, written grounds for termination, or a formal hearing, the six faculty members were pressured to sign severance agreements on the spot. When they declined, they were escorted off campus by university police. They were told that they could not return to campus unless they registered with the police. This is an egregious attack on tenure and faculty, one that reflects national trends of authoritarian behavior. In this episode of AAUP TV, “Virginia State University Fired Six Professors Without Cause. What’s Next?,” AAUP Council Member Chenjerai Kumanyika and AAUP President Todd Wolfson speak with two of VSU’s fired six, Dr. Vitalis Temu (Professor of Small Ruminants and Forest Ecology) and Dr. Toktam Taghavi (Associate Professor of Horticulture), about these appalling firings and how they are fighting back. Dr. Temu and Dr. Taghavi are members of the VSU-AAUP.”