Matt Harmon:
As Monmouth makes the transition from the spring semester into their summer schedule university president Patrick Lehe is joined by vice president Maryanne NA to discuss student matters around campus. This is Matt Harmon time for episode nine of Monmouth weekly. Thanks to Zoe for joining us

Matt Harmon:
In what would be one of the best weeks involving anyone that has ever been part of the mammoth college or university community. It would be graduation week as we record here on a Tuesday afternoon. This is our Monmouth weekly podcast tomorrow and Thursday would be graduation back on campus in west long branch, uh, faculty member, Matt Harmon with university president Patrick Lehe. Good to be with you. This is believe it or not episode number nine of these podcasts, trying to keep you updated and involved with all things that Monmouth has going on and really excited today to be joined by, uh, vice president for student life and leadership engagement. She has been at Monmouth for a very long time. Her first graduation in may of 1986. And as I say, a very good afternoon to vice president Maryanne NA this vice president a in 2020, does it sound crazy to say that this is gonna be the way that your streak of 34 years comes to a close because we're not having a graduation that takes place?

Mary Anne Nagy:
Well, we're not gonna have a graduation in may, so my may streak will close, but, um, I'm looking forward to being able to, um, get our students back to campus at some point when we're able to do so and, and continue that streak of, of commencement exercises going forward. So it's a little weird to be on a beautiful sunny may day and, and not be in the frenzy of cap and gown, distribution, and talking to you from my kitchen table. But, um, you know, it's, it's, it's where we are and, uh, we're gonna work to make the best of it.

Matt Harmon:
You know, you said the word frenzy. And I think that is kind of a, an interesting way, because from the outside perspective, I I've talked to so many students and parents and other faculty members, staff administration, and it looks like it's, it's a breeze. What, what, when you think of it, this is the day that there is so much planning that goes on to making sure everyone knows when they get up. Everybody knows where they're supposed to walk. You know, who's supposed to be doing what and dare I say to make sure that the people normally doing the name announcing make sure that they are on time. They know what they're doing, and they don't butcher too many names as they roll through it.

Mary Anne Nagy:
You, you know, you're absolutely right, Matt. Um, um, it's, it's kind of like planning a wedding. Um, everybody only sees the outside, they don't see the stuff behind the scenes. Um, the commencement committee works literally almost year round to prepare for our commencement exercises because we all know that, um, outside of the first time that a student and their family walks on campus, um, we know that commencement day is, is incredibly important for them. It's a huge milestone. It's a really, you know, wonderful day for their, their parents and their extended family. And we want it to run perfectly and, and, you know, I'm, I'm a perfectionist. Um, um, and I think that I see all those little things that may not go right. Uh, most people just see it, you know, it, it, it flows. And so they might think it's, uh, it's pretty rote at this point, but it's anything bud. And it's one of those days where it's, uh, it's, it's high energy, it's, it's high anxiety. And, and at the end, when, when you see that last student walk across the stage, and you've certainly been there, um, in your role as a, as one of our readers, you know, there's a great sense of, of pride and satisfaction for every member of the commencement committee.

Matt Harmon:
Dare I say, as I say, good afternoon to university president Patrick Lehe for, for myself. And I'll think I'll speak for anyone who has ever read names with me during this graduation. Uh, it it's quite frightening because as many games as I've done and as many classes I've taught, this is everybody's moment. And man, that you'd wanna talk about pressure there's pressure on us that read the names, but it is so good to be part of it. And I know this year more so than even the last couple, and, and I can reflect back to 1996, uh, graduating from Monmouth university. At that time, it was no longer Monmouth college that switch had been made the year prior. It was a scorching hot day, uh, on the great lawn PNC bank. Art center has been the site for the last several years, but this year president Lehe was gonna be a two day event, not just a one day event, but a two day event. And more importantly, it was gonna be back on campus. Something that everyone, yourself included was really looking, uh, looking forward to.

Patrick Leahy:
I was, um, when I arrived, uh, here at Monmouth back in August, uh, Maryanne, uh, met with me and shared with me the news that the PNC bank arts center unfortunately, would not be available for commencement this spring. And I think she came and presented it to me, uh, with a little trepidation, maybe Maryanne that as to how I might react. And I actually rejoiced Matt because we decided immediately that, uh, we were gonna bring commencement back to campus, which is where I would've argued. It should be. Anyway. I understand that it adds, uh, additional logistical complexity. I fully understand that, and it would've required the, the best of us to pull it off, but I firmly believe that if at all possible the students ought to graduate right here on their campus. That is undergraduates and graduate students. I, I couldn't wait to, to give it a try and, uh, and to see how it, um, how it played out. I will say that as we planned it, I think Maryanne would agree. We got great feedback from the students and their families, uh, that, uh, would be back here on campus. So w when we are able to do do it, we'll will have it here on campus. We'll test it out, but it's quite likely that as long as I'm the president here, uh, commencement will be right here in west long branch on the campus,

Matt Harmon:
Vice president. NA when you think back over your years, um, at Monmouth and, and some of the other people that we've had on, whether it's been, uh, Michael plak, the, the chairman of the board of trustees who has been in Monmouth for an extremely long time in connections to the school that go back a long way. Um, Marilyn McNeil, vice president, director of athletics, RA CADA, mm-hmm, <affirmative>, uh, the interim provost all with long connections, yours not withstanding going back to 1986. Can you ever remember anything that would compare to what we are involved with right now with this coronavirus pandemic?

Mary Anne Nagy:
No. Um, Matt, I, I think the only thing that comes close to, to that will, will be, um, the experience that we had over those eight or 10 days back in October and November of 2012, um, regarding super storm Sandy, but, um, something to the extent that we're, we're, we're dealing with now and the length of time, um, you know, I've said this to many people, there's no playbook for this. Um, we're all learning along the way. And, you know, we can, we can take some lessons from previous, um, crisis kinds of situations, but, but we're, we're really, um, forging a new path here when it comes to managing through, um, a really challenging, um, set of circumstances,

Matt Harmon:
President Lehe, when you and I had on provost data, uh, a couple weeks ago, I, I think we made the point and you, you made the point more so than, than me about how important it is to have the person who sits in that provost position, someone that you talk to every day have, you know, a like-minded philosophy with, I would think just on the same side, but maybe a different conversation that takes place with vice president Navy in charge of student life, in charge of leadership engagement, you have to be able to, and, and actually, as we were getting ready to record, you said, good to talk to you again today, meaning that I I'm sure these conversations that the two of you have are almost daily. Um, if, if not even probably some days more so,

Patrick Leahy:
Oh, no doubt. I mean, Maryanne, uh, and I have spent more time together virtually, but more time together in the last 10 weeks than, than probably any, any other, two people on campus. Wouldn't you say, Maryanne?

Mary Anne Nagy:
Yeah, I would agree. Absolutely. Um,

Patrick Leahy:
Maryanne is the chair of the crisis management team here. And when I arrived, she was already named to that position and I, I welcomed it, um, with her range of experience with her, uh, total commitment to students, um, uh, with her wisdom that, that she brings her ability to collaborate with, uh, everybody else around campus. She's like the perfect person to lead our crisis management team. And, uh, this has been a crisis. I, you know, we've talked about this in previous podcast. It, it, it is a, a crisis, um, public health crisis followed by an economic crisis. Our, our hope is we're doing everything we can, Matt to ensure it doesn't become a lingering crisis for the university. And we're working hard at that. And, and Maryanne has been, uh, an unbelievable partner in that effort over the last, uh, 10 or 12 weeks,

Matt Harmon:
Vice president a when, when you think of that as the chair of the crisis management team, your involvement, um, is, is day to day, hour to hour, probably even minute to minute making decisions. And, and in a way, probably being, um, a, a person who's trying to, in essence, tie everybody together, get everybody under the same umbrella. How, how difficult maybe has your job been during the course of these last eight to 10 weeks?

Mary Anne Nagy:
Um, well, you know, that, I mean, there's a great number of people who are also involved in the crisis management team and, and there's a core group. And, and depending on the crisis, we also add others that may be able to bring to the table, um, other information and, and other points of view. But, you know, we're really tasked with looking at what are the operational aspects that we have to think about, what are the, what are the logistical aspects to the crisis? You know, how can we lead? How, how do we manage, how do we marshal resources, um, how do we communicate? And, and I think the big element in all of this is, is how do we not just think about those pieces, but maybe put this bow around it, of the human resources and the human capital and the human impact that we have to be thinking about as we're, we're running through and making those decisions and, and, you know, it's, it, it is it it's very challenging.

Mary Anne Nagy:
Um, and you, you do need to be all in. Um, we meet twice a week, um, but in between people are constantly thinking about things and, and it is, it's almost a, I wouldn't say it's a 24 7, but it, it, some days it feels that way. Um, but I think, you know, we wanna make sure that we're doing everything we can to, to, to, to do what's right. Um, to take into account the human element of, of the crisis as well, and position the university to also not only get through the crisis, but, but thrive once, once we're through the storm.

Matt Harmon:
You know, I think that's a theme that president LA, that's a theme that, that you and I have touched on so many times, um, whether it's just been, you and I talking about certain things, or it's been when we've had, um, some of our guests on over the course of the last month or so your position, and, and I can hear it in vice president and Nike talking about it. Your position has been mammoth to be successful during this time period. And moving forward has to be very proactive rather than reactive.

Patrick Leahy:
Yes. I mean, um, I've said many times, I, I, I don't think there's a college or university anywhere in the country. That's been more student focused than we have. I mean, maybe there are some that have been as student focused, but can't imagine how you could be more student focused and so many decisions that we've made throughout the course of the last 10 weeks. I hope are evidence of that. Um, and that got us there to the end of the spring semester and, and, and had all those students continue to complete their coursework. And then the case of 900 or a thousand students complete their coursework, uh, and enable them now to graduate. So, um, as Maryanne suggested, Matt, you know, there there's no playbook for this. So we always say, you know what? You have no choice, but just fall back on your institutional values. And one of the institutional values that is pretty clear to me in my first nine months is that this place really does care about people and really cares about its students. And, um, in the end will make decisions with, uh, with individuals in mind. And, um, I think that is, uh, stood us in really, really good, um, position over the course of this, uh, spring semester.

Matt Harmon:
It's another episode of our Monmouth weekly podcast. It is episode number nine, faculty member, Matt Harmon joined as always by university president Patrick Lehe today. Our guest is vice president for student life and leadership engagement, uh, Maryanne NA vice president of NA I, I ask this of you because I, I know how involved you are and have been for such a long time on campus with the actual student. Your title says it vice president for student life, but how many times, um, or how often during the course of this pandemic and situation, have you had one on one group zoom type meetings with, with the student body at Monmouth to try and talk some issues out?

Mary Anne Nagy:
So, um, as recently as last week, I had a, um, zoom meeting with the leadership of the senior class, um, to go over some things to, um, to talk about a plan that we have to be able to now, um, have their caps and gowns ordered and actually shipped to where they would like them to be shipped to. Um, we talked about how do we get other things like honor cords and things like that out. Um, uh, so that's, that's one example. Um, you know, I, I also, co-advised the student government association and I sat in on their last meeting, uh, that they had via zoom with, you know, 40 some people. Um, and, and that was a lot of fun and, and I've, I'm actually doing a lot more techy stuff now, I'm actually making some, some of my own videos and, um, sharing them with our, our student government association.

Mary Anne Nagy:
And I'm doing one, um, as a, sort of a congratulations with our RAs. So, you know, you have to create those kinds of opportunities. It's weird not to be able to sit in my office and have, you know, face to face conversations with students, but, you know, this is this, this is our new normal, and, and we need to figure out how do we still be socially. I think as the president talks about physically distanced with one another, but not, not be separated from a, a, an inter from a, a personal perspective. So, um, it's been different, but it's, it's also been fun to learn this stuff.

Matt Harmon:
It is crazy to think just how much everyone ha has somewhat changed. I mean, our, our podcast that we're doing here week in and week out, this was, uh, a creation that was kind of, I, I thought born out of necessity and obviously president Lehe, uh, has taken to it. And we've been fortunate enough to be able to have guests on like yourself to try and kind of spread the word, keep everybody updated, get a little bit more in depth with things, um, vice president Navy since, since the spring semester just concluded over the course of, let's say the last week, depending on people, when people might be listening to this, what issues would you foresee from students that had, um, trouble finishing classes, passing classes? I know that, uh, between the provost and the faculty council, the idea of the pass fail, um, instead of taking a letter grade, but, but maybe other than that, or certainly you can comment on that, on that. What other issues that are, are students having dealing with this over the course of the last two months?

Mary Anne Nagy:
Well, certainly I think the decision, um, by the faculty and faculty council to move to a, um, a pass fail option was, was really, uh, terrific and, and, and showed a lot of, of, of foresight. Um, I think students have appreciated that. And, you know, I think that there are a number of students that are gonna take advantage of that. Um, let's face it, the abrupt, uh, change over, um, after, you know, spring break was difficult for all of all the parties. And I think, um, that, um, using the, having the Passal as an option, um, provided some, some sort of comfort for students. You know, there are some students that have been frankly, directly affected by COVID 19 over 50 students, um, are on our radar as either having, um, had COVID themselves, um, be caring for a parent or, or someone in their family unit who has had COVID or, or has experienced unfortunately, a loss in, in their immediate family. So for some of those students, um, not only is the pass fail option, um, important, but for them, um, you know, they may want to, uh, take it in complete and, and, and, and work with our faculty to be able to complete those courses when they're, you know, physically able to do so, or, or really in a better position to be able to complete. Um, I think that what we've all needed during this semester is, is flexibility and, and patience. And, um, you know, I, I have certainly seen that exhibited, um, you know, many of the faculty who had concerns about students that maybe they lost touch with in their classes for a couple weeks, um, would reach out and, and, and ask for help to, to track that student down and, um, were generally concerned. And, and I think collaboratively, we were able to do that and, and put our students and, and, and in the right place. Um, for this point in the semester,

Matt Harmon:
President Lee, a couple of things in there that I just heard vice president a say, flexibility and patience from a faculty side, from a university standpoint as well. Uh, the word that has kind of struck me is, is almost a sense of cooperation. Everyone trying to make sure that everybody else is taken care of. That's been a theme for you during the course of these podcasts. And I'll say it again, it does speak to kind of the essence and the spirit of Monmouth in a way no person left behind during this.

Patrick Leahy:
Oh, no question. We, you know, early on, I said, um, unprecedented times require unprecedented collaboration. And I think that that's been true over the last 10 weeks, the way in which different constituencies of the university have collaborated all with that underlying belief that as you, you, you point out, you know, we have to navigate this and make sure that nobody is left behind. And that is, uh, of course, starting with our students. Uh, Maryanne did not share with you that, you know, when we cleared out the campus, um, two months or so ago, now, Matt, I mean, there were, I think starting initially 70 or 80 students who, um, did not have another home, um, to which to go and, and we of immediately said, well, then you're welcome to stay here. I mean, you know, if we are the closest thing you have to home, you're welcome here. And, uh, we took care of those students. We continue to feed those students that we allowed them to shelter in place here on campus. And then, you know, over time, those numbers thinned out, um, either because international students got home or a situation at home changed, and the students ended up going home. I think right now we're down to only just a, a couple students living here, uh, on campus before we start inviting students to come back, uh, for the summer, if, if, and when that's allowable. Um, but that's just the emblematic of the, the commitment that individuals here at Monmouth have to each and every student. And, uh, you know, we're trying to keep a close eye to, on trying to do the best we can to take care of each and every faculty and staff member, uh, who are charged with serving those students. So, uh, it's just part of the mammoth way,

Matt Harmon:
Vice president ne um, if you can share with us a little bit as, as not only the chair of the crisis management team on campus, your connection, um, with Monmouth medical center is part of a, a, uh, board of trustees member. And just how important Monmouth has been from a healthcare standpoint. I I've seen, um, and president Lehe jokes with, with me that I'm one of his, you know, loyal followers on Twitter. I've seen him tweet out that Momo has been actively involved with trying to help out the local healthcare system. Um, but, but share with us, if you can, H how that process maybe takes place. Is it still ongoing? Um, and, and just how Monmouth stays involved on that, on that level?

Mary Anne Nagy:
Sure, Matt, um, within the first few days, really of the COVID 19 crisis, um, I received a, an email from the CEO of Monmouth medical center, who, who was asking, did we have any goggles that we might be able to provide, um, for the staff down at the medical center, um, because he knew we had chemistry labs on campus. And so that sort of started the, the, the Aquest off in our, our partnership and relationship off with them and with Hackensack Meridian, um, to be able to gather the personal protective equipment that we have on campus. Um, and surprisingly enough, you know, first we only thought about, well, we've got it in health services because we know masks and gloves and things like that are there. Um, we knew we had some goggles over in chemistry, um, but I started to think, well, you know, maybe there's other places, and I can't tell you how wonderful people on campus were from our physician's assistant program, our nursing program, biology, the psychology labs, the bookstore, all these places that also had PPEs that stepped for forward and said, we're not gonna use them. Please make sure these get into the right hands. So we were able to get them to Monmouth medical center, to Hackensack Meridian health, to the state of New Jersey, even to the local west long branch EMS squad. On top of that in partnership with our dining service, because we were still operating for dining for a small group of students that w we, we were caring for on campus. We, we, we, we purchased meal vouchers and we made those meal vouchers available to Elberon Oakhurst and west long branch first aid squads. And just today, I spent some time with some people from Hackensack Meridian showing them some of our apartments down at the Bluffs where they're going, are going to have medical doctor residents, new docs that are going to be joining their workforce in the fight with COVID 19 to be able to have a place to stay for several weeks, because they're coming to start their rotations earlier than what they normally would. So those are just a couple of examples of how Monmouth has been able to really fulfill part of our mission, you know, in a, in a big part, which is public service to our communities,

Matt Harmon:
President Lehe, you and I have been able to talk about this a couple of times, um, a as the university president, when you hear things that Monmouth gets themselves involved with and trying to help out the, the surrounding community, the frontline workers, the student stories that have been shared, uh, via the Monmouth website or any of the social media platforms, how proud does that make you to, to know that you're the university president,

Patrick Leahy:
Very, um, when, uh, Maryanne first came to me and, uh, with this request, you know, I, I, I hope she recalls the response being absolutely. Let's, mm-hmm, <affirmative> clear out the closets, let's, let's do what we can to make beds available. If we have to, um, you know, that the idea that gourmet was still serving some of those students that I mentioned a minute ago on campus. So they had an operation. Well, why don't we just, uh, uh, you know, enhance that operation a little bit and create these meal vouchers so that we could be serving others who would typically be going around trying to get their hands on some food along the way. And with so many restaurants closed, we thought it was a, a nice way to serve the community and, and throw a little bit of extra business to gourmet dining. Who's been a really good business partner through this, this whole pandemic incidentally. Um, it's, it's what universities do. And, you know, I say that a lot because it's one of the things that really motivates me. And it was a, um, really inspired by a question that president Kennedy asked way back in 1963, when he was speaking on the campus of a private college in Massachusetts. And he started that address by asking what good is a private college or university, unless it's serving a great national purpose. And if you think about that for a minute, I mean, it is really challenging to, to, to ask what good is a private university, unless it's serving a great national purpose and in a normal situation, there's all kinds of ways that I, I would tick off that, that private universities serve a great national purpose, but in the midst of a public health crisis like this, we have to turn our attention every conceivable way to supporting the healthcare response. I mean, what we have done amounts to, uh, so little <laugh>, uh, compared to what the, the brave people that are working in healthcare have done, but I guess we just want them to know that, um, Monmouth university supports them. In fact, uh, I don't know if we've mentioned this at a previous podcast, but one day Maryanne Maryanne, and I were just talking and I said, you know what? I just wanna get a banner and hang it up right on Cedar avenue that just proclaims publicly that Monmouth university salutes our healthcare workers. And first responders, I, I just felt like I wanted a public proclamation of that support. And I heard just a few days ago that whenever people drive by it, they honk their horns or they roll down the windows and scream. I, I just think that that's, um, the least, the least we can do to demonstrate our support for the people who are still fighting with fight on the front lines.

Matt Harmon:
I'm gonna ask this, uh, first of vice president, NA, and then president Lee, if you wanna just jump in right after that, I think this is, this is something that, that both of you probably spend a considerable amount of time with knowing now that the spring semester has come to a close the decision to have summer classes be remote. I would think much of the focus would be on hoping that the fall semester can be, uh, whatever normal is at that particular time. And that leads me into this question. Um, vice president, a from a, from a standpoint of planning, how frustrating is it, or is it just part of the job knowing that you can put all of these plans laid out and somewhat in place, but because this situation is so fluid, things can kind of change at, at less than a moment's notice.

Mary Anne Nagy:
Um, you, you know, you're, you're, you're exactly right, Matt. I mean, I think we're all trying to think about and put together three, four or five different strategies or scenarios that might be in play, um, for the, you know, going forward, but so much is going to be dictated by what is the, what, what is the direction from public health and what is the direction from our, our, our governmental units. Um, it's still really important exercise for us to go through. Um, and, and, you know, I think it, it, it gets back to what we talked about before the need to be flexible, um, the, the need to, um, to, to be able to, to, to, to shift. Um, and that's something that I think student affairs people do very well because, um, we, we may think we have plans, but, you know, a lot of stuff happens then that goes bump in the night and you've gotta be able to shift quickly. So, um, it's been, it's been frustrating, but I think at the same time, it's also been a little exhilarating and it, it really gives you a little more juice to be thinking about how can you be creative? How can you take the lessons that we've learned over the last eight, 10 weeks, and, and maybe be able to, um, institutionalize some of those changes that have worked reasonably well.

Matt Harmon:
President Lehe, did you wanna add to that?

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah. I just wanna add that, um, you know, like everybody, Matt, I desperately want to be able to welcome all of our constituents, our students, our faculty, our staff, back to campus in the fall. I mean, um, we want to get as close to pre pandemic operation as possible. I mean, this is, this is why all of us are so energized by working, uh, in this field and on a college campus, because we love the energy that a college campus typically offers. So we're working as, as diligent as we can to prepare for that, but we just don't have clarity right now on what we're going to be allowed to do in the fall. So, uh, as Maryanne mentioned, we're working on a number of different scenarios so that when, uh, we get that right, that clarity from the state, we, we will have considered, uh, each one of those scenarios when we have to choose one to Mo to go with, uh, we think that's the prudent way to plan. Um, but we're not gonna know, uh, probably for another couple months yet, what, how exactly we're gonna be able to, to open in the fall. Um, but we, we desperately want to get back to normal as quickly as possible. We just will not do anything that will put any of our constituents at any unnecessary risk.

Matt Harmon:
I will readily admit president Lehe. I'm not sure that this was ever made public, and if it was, I, I didn't see it, but let's, uh, let's circle back to where we started talking about graduation. I'll leave you with this last one, who, who was going to be mama's honorary degree award winners this year?

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah, this, this year we had two, um, one, one of whom was Jack Ford, whom I think the Monmouth community knows well as a Emmy award-winning, uh, journalist. Um, he, he, he lives locally. He's been plugged in it here at Monmouth. I think he's taught for us before certainly, uh, often, um, conducts, uh, or leads some of the events that we have. Um, he's a real professional and, and a top shelf, uh, journalist. He was gonna be one of our honorary degree recipients. And then the other was gonna be, uh, an alumna Linda Deutsch, who, uh, was herself, uh, trailblazing journalist, uh, for the associated press. In fact, she was in Southern California in the LA bureau, I guess it is, um, at the early part of her career. And at the time she was the only woman on the, on the AP floor. Um, so talk about a trailblazer. She spent much of her career fighting for the rights of female journalists, and we just thought that tandem, and they do know each other incidentally, they, they both covered the OJ Simpson trial, uh, back in the nineties together. So they know each other. And we just thought that would've been a great tandem, um, uh, set of honorary degree recipients, especially at a time where we need to be celebrating the importance of good journalism and, uh, of free press. So they will remain our commencement speakers and honorary degree recipients just as soon as we get the green light to host that traditional ceremony.

Matt Harmon:
Well, I will say this as someone who is a proud member graduate, and now faculty member of our department of communication, I think very well said. And we've proven just how, uh, important over the course of this pandemic, that the media, um, still is good, bad, and different, whatever your, whatever your view might be, uh, that is how the message still gets out vice president. Agie. Thank you so much for giving us your time. You know, a as I got prepared for this, um, podcast today, I did learn something new about you. Oddly enough, Springfield college, you are a graduate there. Bachelor of science. I have not just a father who graduated there in the sixties, but my, my brother went there as well, graduated in the nineties. So we, we have a, we have a little connection there that we can talk about in the

Mary Anne Nagy:
Future. Oh, that, that that's, that's great. You know, I had such a, it it's, it's, it's funny that I had such a wonderful undergrad experience that to, you know, it is a, it is actually an real honor and a privilege to be able to continue to work on a, on a campus because it's, um, I want my, um, students to have that same kind of experience that I had and, and that Springfield has provided for years. So, uh, it's great to hear that, uh, there's more Springfield people around

Matt Harmon:
And not just one, but two master degrees from Monmouth, one from Monmouth college in 91 and one from Monmouth university in 2001, I love it. You've been such a, such a huge part of the university for such a long time. I know the may street comes to a close this year. Uh, but whenever that graduation is, I think president Lehe and I will be okay, we'll, we'll say that it continues though. Maybe it just won't be the month of may anymore, but, um, I know this, this, this week and these days of graduation, um, really your baby for such a long time on campus and kind of the crown jewel of the year for so many, your work has always been appreciated. It's been a pleasure for me to be involved with it, um, on that small level of, of being a reader. We thank you for your time here today, nothing but, uh, safety, health, and wellness, and look forward to seeing you back on campus real soon.

Mary Anne Nagy:
Sounds great. You too, Matt. Thank

Matt Harmon:
You, president Lehe as always. Thank you for your time as well. We'll do this again. Next week. Our mammoth podcast will continue. Uh, we'll see what we can stir the pot with and come up with our, our guests. Just keep getting better and better each week,

Patrick Leahy:
Better and better. And thank my, thanks to you, Matt. Uh, again for your, your, uh, continu and enduring interest in this mammoth weekly, uh, series. And my thanks to you, uh, Maryanne for your, uh, stellar, uh, leadership here at Monmouth.

Mary Anne Nagy:
Thanks, pat. Appreciate it

Matt Harmon:
For all of us here. The Monmouth weekly podcast this week, vice president, Mary Anne, nay university, president Patrick Lehe, I'm faculty member, Matt Harmon, as always, we sign off by saying if you've got any questions involving Monmouth, we invite you to check out all the social media platforms and go to.edu. Thanks as always for listening to us, Monmouth weekly episode number nine comes to a close we'll. Talk to you again next week.