Thanks for the info. I still don't believe that even a public university (which is largely paid for with tuition) is subjected to all of the limitations we citizens have placed on our government. Governments coerce citizens to obey the rules with the threat of jail. Public universities can't make that threat.
Conversely, it does give the taxpayers a say in what happens and what taxpayer money is used for. In this case the W&M BOT was called up to the Virginia legislature and asked to explain themselves. I used to be a professor at a large land grant university. Believe me, the state legislature gets into every aspect of university operations.