Matt Harmon: Certainly trying times for everyone worldwide, nationwide, and here in the state of New Jersey in terms of our little community in west long branch and the Monmouth university population, uh, it, it's been certainly a lot of head scratching up and down and a lot of nervous moments and probably a lot more to come. We welcome you into what we are calling Monmouth weekly, and hopefully we will be able to do this on a very regular basis. I'm Matt Harmon, a member of our department of communication faculty here in west long branch. And I'm so happy to be joined with our university president Patrick. Leue good enough to give us some time here. And I will say on March 20th, 2020, around 12, 12 30 in the afternoon, because I think it is important, um, to, to date some of these mm-hmm because, uh, president Lehe, the world is changing and whenever this is now available to people moving forward, there might be a whole nother set of things that we have to worry about, think about and deal with. Um, but, but obviously from a university standpoint, boy, it has been just an absolute crazy, I'll say two weeks, 10 days, right? In that timeframe, Patrick Leahy: It has Matt. In fact, um, you mentioned that we might do this weekly things are moving so quickly that perhaps we'll we'll need to accelerate that, uh, if you're willing, um, I've never seen anything like it. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that these are unprecedented times. And I just, uh, welcome the opportunity to dialogue with you a little bit so that we can continue to get important information out to the mom community. But in addition, as I've been saying, the staff and faculty that we need to look for ways that while we are physically separated, we can remain emotionally connected because, uh, starting Monday we have 6,000 students that are gonna be relying on us to deliver high quality remote instruction. So we have to keep the campus community together. So I welcome this chance to dialogue with you. Let, Matt Harmon: Let's go back if we can just a little bit, because this, this week, obviously every student should be enjoying spring break, they should be out and about kind of refreshing getting ready to come back. Uh, but for Mamah the shutdown started, um, about 10 days or, or, or so ago. Um, you know, we, we didn't make it through that last week going into break. There was someone who had to go with symptoms to get checked out. That person from my knowledge turned out to, to not have the coronavirus. But, um, in, in kind of your, I idea it was almost let's just get ahead of the curve. It's probably coming anyway. Um, the idea of shutting down, going into what would've been spring break this week. Patrick Leahy: That's right. We just, you know, just to roll back even a little further, Matt, you know, we of course have, were watching this worldwide, like everybody else back in December and then into January. And we activated our crisis management team, uh, way back in January, mostly out of what we thought was extra precaution, never imagining, um, what exactly would, uh, end up, uh, transpiring. And one of the very first decisions we had to make, uh, around this was whether to send our international spring break trips. And that decision came way back in February. That was a tough decision because you can imagine the 60 or so students and the four faculty members were, um, planning to, to take those trips for weeks. So we thank goodness grounded those trips because we would've sent, uh, teams of students into real danger zones and they would've. Patrick Leahy: So it was, uh, it was the beginning then of our longer range planning. And as you pointed out before spring break, we just saw this coming. We knew that we would need to move to remote, uh, instruction and learning. And, uh, we just decided to take, I think it was three days or maybe four days of a pause before spring break to, to give our faculty members as much time as possible to prepare for at least the few weeks of remote learning, if not longer. And, uh, that was very well received by our faculty and our staff and our students had a chance to clear out of the campus, uh, in advance of spring break. Matt Harmon: Tell me president Lehe, where you're getting your information from, because in today's day and age, you can watch TV. You can go on your phone at social media. I mean, right now you're being bombarded with a lot of different views and a lot of different thoughts. Wh where is, is mammoth getting their information to maybe help guide some of the decisions that they make? Patrick Leahy: Yeah. I make it very clear, Matt, that, that I am not a public health expert. And, and while we have people who are trained on campus, we don't consider ourselves public health experts. So we're not making any decisions based on what we think will or won't happen. We're making decisions based on, uh, public health experts in our community, the closer to the campus, the better so Monmouth county, uh, but of course taking a lot of direction from the state of New Jersey from the federal government and even from the world health organization. So we know we're, we're relying on all those sources for expertise, referencing the, uh, information that's coming to us, uh, as close to campus as possible as you might imagine. Uh, the, the, the, the, the government, uh, here in New Jersey has been very proactive in, uh, addressing this, uh, pandemic. And they've been sending out virtually daily, uh, updates, uh, giving direction, as you well know, to all of the establishments in New Jersey. So we're taking our direction from them and trying to make the best possible decisions for everyone involved at the Monmouth university community, based on that rationale, not on, you know, our own feelings about, uh, what may or may not happen. Matt Harmon: You know, you, you think of it. And, and the fact that this week was spring break, there was no students on campus, essentially. Um, and, and the campus had a pretty empty field, uh, empty feel to it. I, I guess if there was a positive that you could take out of it is that, you know, there was no immediate spread that took place within the campus community. Obviously people were going their own direction, uh, yeah. This week, but in terms of making sure that the campus was safe and secure it, the timing of it kind of in a strange way, worked out Patrick Leahy: The timing did work out and we're, uh, we feel blessed that the timing worked out the way it did, I think aided by, by our, um, uh, early decision to close, or at least suspend classes, uh, four days before spring break. I mean, as you pointed out a minute ago, we were out ahead of a lot of other institutions in making that call. Um, so we feel really positive that we gave us that time before spring break. And then that, that sort of natural dead period, if you will, at spring break to, uh, to get the campus ready for this remote instruction, although I will say, and I said this to the students the other day, Matt, uh, there are a few things more depressing to me than a desolate college campus. I mean, uh, we, we were not designed for , uh, desolation. We, we are designed for energy and enthusiasm and activity and, uh, to not have that on our campus is really depressing. So, uh, I think we all hope and pray for a day as quickly as possible, uh, to, uh, to bring everyone back to campus and to, and liven the campus again, the way it should be. But of course we will not do that until the public health experts, uh, declare it safe to have to, uh, bring everyone back. Matt Harmon: You know, that's an interesting way to, to lead into, um, kind of the next talking point, which would be if, if you looked at the Monmouth website right now, monmouth.edu, it would say, uh, essentially remote learning campus closed through the 10th of April, which would be the hope that you'd be able to get back to campus. Um, that following Monday, that's certainly not anything that's etched in stone. This is a very fluid situation. And I know the idea of, of here at Monmouth and a lot of other places has been, can we push it back a week? Can we push it back a week? Obviously you can keep extending it. Um, but being able to go to the Monmouth website for up to date information is important, but that April 10th date that is posted right now, I'll say fluid, because I think that's the best way to maybe to maybe say that, okay, things, things obviously will likely change in between now and then Patrick Leahy: It, it is fluid. It's a good term, Matt. Um, when we received the governor's executive order earlier this week, he mandated not that the schools close, but he mandated that by March 18th, which was Wednesday all schools in the, in, in New Jersey, including all higher education schools needed to go to remote instruction and needed to, uh, thin out their campuses as much as possible. Uh, the good news for us, because we had moved on this prior to spring break last week because of the decisions we made last week, we were com fully a hundred percent compliant with the governor's executive order on day one. So that was all very positive. We decided at that point, we needed to make a decision, did that influence, as I mentioned, that we're always looking for that third party rationale to influence our decisions. And we had to make a decision, um, earlier this week, should we extend the remote learning a little bit longer to bias some time, or should we go the whole way and announce like other schools had done that we're going remote the whole semester. Patrick Leahy: We just opted for the interim step so that we could give ourselves a little bit more time to assess the situation before we make a decision, which would be for all intents and purposes, irreversible. Um, so we extended it to April 10th, to bias some time to hold out some hope and to give, uh, the governor a chance to, to determine how long that executive order might have to stay in place anyway. And, um, that has been well received. I'm pleased to report. Uh, our students are really happy that we haven't called the semester already and their parents, at least the feedback I'm getting has been very, uh, uh, positive as well, that we're taking this in steps while preparing for the worst. We are, uh, hoping for the best, Matt Harmon: From a leadership standpoint, you've been, I'll say the, the voice in the face of the university during this crisis, whether it's been on the website, whether it's been through social media of which you've been extremely active, trying to get the message out, um, who, who else I'll say, ha have you had to lean on within the university to community that's been really important during what's been a real trying 10 days, two weeks, Patrick Leahy: You know, I, I, so many people, Matt, I, I, I, I I'm, I'm using the, the, uh, advice of a president of a university who had to lead his university through hurricane Katrina, down in new Orleans. And he said, just what I said. He said, you need to prepare for the worst hope for the best, but look for silver linings along the way he said, which I thought was such a nice addition to that phrase. And one of the silver linings that I have discovered through this process is that the Monmouth campus community is coming together. Um, like maybe never before, or maybe not like since, uh, uh, super storm Sandy of course have predated me, but the campus community is coming together and responding. There is unprecedented collaboration across the community right now. Um, uh, the faculty leadership and the administration, the staff leadership, as you know, we have this new staff council that we created to ensure that our staff had a, had a, a formal voice and decision making. Patrick Leahy: And thank goodness we put that together when we did, because we've needed to lean on, on them for, for input. Uh, of course our board has been incredibly supportive, uh, uh, at every step along the way with the decisions we've had to make. So I'm thrilled with the way in which the campus community has come together to make decisions. And then all of the, uh, willingness of individuals to help us push these decisions out as well as possible, including your great idea to host this PA, uh, podcast. Um, so we're finding, uh, uh, supporters in all of the least likely, uh, uh, uh, uh, locations. And that's been very comforting to me. And it has been of course, a silver lining in what is otherwise, I guess, the really dark cloud of this pandemic Matt Harmon: President, uh, Patrick Lehe, joining us here on what we are calling mom with weekly. Again, we're gonna try and get information out to our campus community as often as possible. A couple of more minutes here before we wrap up, uh, this episode, which I feel like we could probably stay on here for hours and talk about all of the different things, but we'll try and limit it a little bit. Um, and again, give you information as, as we can with the idea that things will obviously change. So to talk about everything at this point seems, uh, you know, I, I, I think a little bit pointless because there will be so many changes, but one thing that is going to take place right around the corner we're talking on Friday is that on Monday, the remote learning will start with students, uh, having to log in, check E campus, stay in touch with professors, but with no face to face contact. And I know it's gonna be something that certainly will have challenges that, uh, will, will naturally come, whether it's on the faculty side, whether it's on the university side, whether it's on the student side, what is Mammouth doing to try and make sure that this transition over the short term, at least for the next couple of weeks goes as smooth as possible? Patrick Leahy: Well, I think one of the, one of the, uh, great moves we made was taking that, uh, pause in classes prior to spring break, then you add those four business days, Matt, with the seven days of spring break, and now we've given ourselves 11 days or so to prepare for this. Um, we are doing everything we can, I wanna shout out our, uh, information, uh, technology folks here who have been working pretty much around the clock to be as supportive as possible to our faculty members, some of whom, um, have not moved to this modality before. And we perfectly understand and recognize that. And we've tried to be as supportive as we can, to all of our faculty members who are putting content, you know, online and delivering it in a remote fashion ma mat that you just would not otherwise, uh, at first blush expect is possible. Patrick Leahy: And, and one of the, one of the ways is science labs. You would think one of the last areas that could be delivered remotely are science labs. And yet, uh, because of the innovation of our science faculty, they're looking at simulation software and other things that allow you to mimic what happens in the labs, uh, online so that our, we can maintain our commitment to our students, that they should demand rightly a comparable, highly personalized, personalized experience in a remote fashion, the way they've come to expect it in an on ground fashion. And so we've tried to do everything we can to be as supportive of our faculty. We recognize that this is quite an abrupt change in, uh, the way they have to deliver programming, but the feedback that I've received from the faculty has been, uh, fantastic. They have just been so willing to, uh, to try new things, uh, given the, uh, the situation. Patrick Leahy: In fact, I was on the phone with 194, I think it was faculty members yesterday, uh, in a, uh, conference call on a conference call just to talk through, um, uh, how this, uh, migration is working and any, any last minute glitches. So I feel like we're really well prepared. Uh, Monday will come quickly here and we'll get a read on, uh, you know, from the students, uh, their perceptions. But I feel like we're in a really, really good spot in part, because we're trying to do this, uh, in as, uh, deliberate, a manner as possible Matt Harmon: When you think of it, uh, not only are you the president of the university, which includes all the staff, all the faculty, all the students, you are a husband and father as well. So taking care of your own family has probably been a major consideration during this time. Um, in terms of just, just what maybe you are doing with your own family, um, whether it's the, you know, the idea of social distancing, which by the way, you and I are doing, we are recording this remotely, I'm in one spot, you're in another . Um, but I mean, just from a, from a, from a family standpoint, as someone who has, um, kids who are in that kind of college age or close to college age bracket, I mean, this is a, this is a very trying time from an emotional standpoint. Yeah. An economical standpoint, um, a mental standpoint. So how, how are you dealing with it in your own house? Patrick Leahy: Well, thanks for asking Matt. I mean, uh, we don't, uh, feel any more or less anxiety than anybody else in the Monmouth community. So I guess what I, what I'd like to suggest is that, uh, I, I appreciate what everybody's going through because I have my own family and I, you know, I have, uh, uh, parents that we're worried about as well and, and kids that are home with us. So I hope it's, uh, a signal to the entire campus community of the empathy that I feel for everybody and the challenges that everyone's going through. I have, uh, all of my kids home now, plus one international student, um, who could not get home that we've, um, uh, uh, invited to stay with us. So we have seven people, seven adults now, or seven people living in the darty house. And, um, uh, we're doing our very best to, to keep them sort of, if you will sheltered in place, because of course I'm concerned about, uh, their welfare and the news that I'm hearing, um, that, uh, while we initially thought this was really a challenge for our, uh, elder, uh, fellow humans, that this is also hitting, uh, younger people as well. Patrick Leahy: So of course I'm concerned, but one of those silver linings that I've identified in this whole thing is that two of my daughters, two, uh, four, two of my kids, my two daughters are residential students at other universities and their universities have already called this semester. So they are home for, uh, for good for the semester. And, um, I'm looking at that as a silver lining mat because when I sent my girls off to school, I thought I would never have the opportunity to live with them again. And here they are back, uh, living with us for the next three or four or five months who knows. And, um, that's a, that's a great delight for my wife, Amy and me. Matt Harmon: Let's finish with, uh, with this, if I said to you, it's a very open ended question, what's next, uh, for here at Monmouth. And again, we could spend so much time talking about things statewide, nationwide, worldwide, but the idea of this is to try and keep it Monmouth centered. And if I said, what's next, other than the remote learning, starting on Monday, the, the answer is probably a, a big T B D a T a to be determined because we don't really know what's gonna happen next. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. T B D is right Matt, the big, the next big decision. You, you, you hit it, which is at some point in the next week or two weeks in advance of April 10th, we will have to make a decision as a university. Is there any chance for us to reopen the, the campus, uh, uh, in the spring this spring semester, or must we do what a lot of other institutions are doing and declare that the rest of the semester will be remote learning that, that, that will be the next big decision? I believe, I don't believe that we're in a real hurry to make it because we are ready today to do that if we have to. So it's not like we're delaying any really key decisions. We're ready to do that. If we have to, we just want to, uh, delay that decision as much as possible to preserve some flexibility after that, Matt, there's all the residual, um, ramifications, which is what does this mean about, um, uh, refunds to students in room and board? Patrick Leahy: And what does this mean about the summer activities and what does this mean about, uh, uh, offering a, a suitable or appropriate graduation ceremony for the seniors once they complete their, uh, spring semesters, those are all things that we're already discussing, and we're already trying to develop plans for, but, uh, we won't have clarity on those until we make this next big decision, which is, is there any chance to come back together again as a community, or must we go to remote learning for the remaining, uh, semester? So this is where our weekly visits will come in very handy because it's, uh, very likely we'll have a lots more to discuss when we get together next. Yeah. Matt Harmon: We'll look forward to, uh, try and keeping everybody updated within the Monmouth university community. Um, in the meantime, the best place, the Monmouth website, Monmouth, I EDU, uh, I, if you are someone who is not following along on social media, president Lehe, this is probably the time to get yourself an Instagram account, a Twitter account, get on Facebook for as, as much negative that goes along with some of those social media outlets right now, getting the information that's probably the quickest and easiest way Patrick Leahy: It is. It is. So, uh, that our website, all you have to do is go to the Maas homepage and you'll be able to find all the COVID 19 announcements and we're posting, uh, videos to try to connect with our, our campus constituents. That way. I hope maybe this podcast can be posted there so that we can get information out. As I said, uh, it's very important that as we adhere to the social distancing, um, guidelines and, and, and stay separated, it is very important. I feel that this community, uh, continue to band together and stay emotionally connected because, uh, we have work to do, to continue to serve our students. Uh, how albeit in this very unique situation we find ourselves, Matt Harmon: Well, I know being able to chisel 20, 25 minutes, uh, out of your day with probably a million phone calls people to answer things to, to get to isn't easy, but I really appreciate your time here, uh, getting this idea up and off the ground. And, and, and hopefully as we continue to try and give people the information during this crisis, once we get back to normal, you and I can have some more fun, uh, talking about some other things I'd like that, that, that do not just deal with the coronavirus, but for right now, really appreciate you coming on and giving us some time, Patrick Leahy: Well, ordinarily we're talking football and basketball and, and other things, and I hope, uh, someday we can get back to that very quickly. But in the meantime, this is a great opportunity for me, Matt, to, to connect with you and to talk through what's going on. And I look forward to doing this, uh, as we discussed at least on a weekly basis, Matt Harmon: Plenty more to get to, and we'll try and keep you updated mom with weekly. He is the president of the university, uh, pat Patrick Lehe, I'm Matt Harmon member of the communication department here of the faculty side of things. Uh, thanks, uh, to everyone be safe, be healthy, uh, continue to follow the guidelines that are set from local state and government officials all around the nation. And we'll try and keep you updated. This has been mammoth weekly, and we'll hope to talk to you soon. P president Lehe. Again, thanks so much. We'll talk to you later on. Patrick Leahy: Thank you, Matt.