Matt Harmon: On this episode of Monmouth weekly, we give a full update of Monmouth university Hawk athletics, reflect back on a mentor loss for university president Patrick Lehe, and much, much more. This is faculty member, Matt Horman it's time for episode number 25 of our Mammouth weekly podcast. Thanks as always for listening. Matt Harmon: Certainly Good to be back with you. As we turn the corner here to episode 25, I am hearing as I welcome in university president Patrick Lehe I'm of course, uh, faculty member, Matt Harmon, I'm hearing the highest rated episode that we've had in, in a year's time was episode 24, just ratings off the charts, uh, that, that being a little facetious there is, Patrick Leahy: It's always the quality of the guest Matt Harmon: Man. Oh, that's what I was gonna say. I, somebody, you know, I was gonna joke to you, somebody called and said, who was the guest on the show this week? And I said it, well, it was me. And, and clearly, um, you've been the guest for the other episodes. I've, I've taught you enough in my educational background to be able to put the questions together. Uh, that was, that was a lot of fun. You know, I've actually had some fun going back to listen to it. And, um, I even got, I think at least one of my three children to listen to it along with my wife and a couple of family members. And they all said, um, how, how, how good it was and how much fun it, it seemed like you and I have doing the show. And, um, I'm always grateful to be able to, to be on here with you. Um, and, and I know, and I know, unfortunately, you know, we usually have a theme for our shows and I think the theme today is a little bit of a, of a Pope where we're gonna touch on, um, a lot of different stuff. And I hate to throw this at you right away, but just because it's, it's part of everyone's journey, how you get involved, you know, and, and it almost is a perfect transition from you asking me about my journey at Monmouth, your journey into the field of academia, um, from an administrative level and, and where it kind of started for you and how you got involved and knowing that from, from a personal standpoint, I hope you don't mind me bring it up. I, I saw your tweet, um, within the last, you know, 24 hours that you lost someone near and dear to you that I know was a mentor friend and, and someone that you could always count on. Patrick Leahy: Yes. Uh, I don't mind you raising it at all. Matt, it gives me a chance to, uh, to talk about this special person whom we just lost yesterday. Um, I shared with the Monmouth university community that, uh, my mentor, my, my colleague former colleague, my, my lifelong friend, uh, the Reverend Scott pillars, father pillars passed away. He was diagnosed three or four years ago with ALS. And if you know anything about ALS you know, how debilitating a disease is, that is, and, uh, he fought it. So courageously, I cannot begin to tell you how courageously he fought this never feeling self pity, uh, never, you know, wondering why me, he just, uh, felt that, you know, as a Jesuit priest, he felt that, uh, God had a, had a plan for him, and that was part of it. And, uh, he just handled it so well. And yesterday, uh, afternoon, he succumbeded to, um, you know, complications of, of that disease. So it's, uh, with a heavy heart that I join you today for this, this episode, Matt Harmon: You know, I, I think obviously president Lehe first and foremost, um, condolences to you and, and to the SCR family, um, where, where the connection was forged there, you know, I, I think everyone, Monmouth associates, you with president Le who came from Wilkes, but before Wilkes, you were part of the administrative team at SCR. Um, obviously made that connection there as well, but, but just maybe the, the, the way that you got into the academic world and the role that he played for you. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. Scott pillars brought me to the university of Scranton and, uh, I spent eight years, uh, working with him very, very closely as he transformed, uh, that, that university. Um, so our, our professional relationship was forged then, but to be quite candid, Matt, uh, of our personal relationship dates back way back, people always think it was at Georgetown because I went to Georgetown as an undergrad, and he had gone there nine years before me as an undergrad, but that is not true. It actually went back further to my Jesuit high school in Baltimore when my senior year, this, uh, Jesuit novice arrived on campus. He was Mr. Pilars at that time, he had not yet been ordained a Jesuit priest. And, uh, he, he never actually taught me, but he was a moderator of the student government. And I was involved in student government and of course, uh, got to know him very well. He became a friend at that point and, uh, we stayed, you know, close throughout our, our, our lives. Uh, he was, uh, one of the, uh, officials at my wedding, a Amy and my wedding. So he married us. He baptized, uh, three of my four kids. He, uh, you know, gave first, first penance to one or two of my kids. I mean, uh, I'm just trying to express to you, you how important a figure he was in my life. And then back in, uh, 2003, I guess it was Matt. I was trying to transition out of more traditional business jobs into higher education because, uh, that was my real love. And I just had not found a way into it. And father pilars had become the president at the university of Scranton. And, uh, I called him for advice, frankly, simply advice about how do I get into the field and where should I apply? And he said, I'll give you Patrick, all the advice you want on one condition. Of course, anything what's that, uh, you must apply for a couple jobs that I have available here at the university of Scranton. And, uh, I did, I'd never set foot in Scranton in the re my entire life, Matt. Uh, but I did apply for one of those jobs as essentially his chief of staff. Um, we, we called it, uh, something slightly different, but that was essentially the role. And, uh, I applied for the job. There were a few other candidates and, um, he selected me and that started, uh, my career in higher education. It started an eight year, uh, partnership with him. I became his chief, uh, advancement officer and then ultimately his executive vice president at the university of SCR. So he gave me, uh, an opportunity not only to get into the field, but to advance in the field. Uh, and, uh, I don't, I always say I don't have this job at Monmouth. I don't get to be the president of Monmouth university, the dream job for me, if Scott LAR is, is not, uh, part of my life well. And so you can imagine how important this day is Matt Harmon: And, and to, and to be fair, not only do you maybe not have the job here, uh, at Monmouth, you probably don't get the job at Wilkes that you had prior to coming to Monmouth. Would that, would that be fair to say Patrick Leahy: Not a chance exactly. Right now, work backwards. I don't get the job here at Monmouth. If I, uh, uh, probably don't get it. If I'm not the president at Wilkes university for seven years, I don't get the job at Wilkes university. If I'm not the executive vice president at the university of Scranton, having run prior to that, uh, you know, 130 million capital campaign and, and so forth. So all these opportunities that, that he gave me, um, I'd like to think I produced for him. So that was one of the reasons that he kept giving them to me. But if I don't get these Matt, I don't get to look at Wilkes to become the president at Wilkes university at 42. And then, and then if you know, that was a, a, a pretty good run. And if I don't have a pretty good run at Wilkes, I don't get to be the president here. And every job he was, uh, my chief reference because, uh, he left the university of Scranton, uh, and moved on to Marquette. He was the president of Marquette for a short period of time, the president of Georgetown, uh, prep in Washington, DC. And then he came back to the university of Scranton just a few years ago for a second stint there. So, uh, you're absolutely right. I, I, it's not false modesty to say if he didn't gimme these opportunities and, and challenge challenge me. Um, I wouldn't have the position. I, so I'm so proud to have today. Matt Harmon: The university president Patrick Lehe, faculty member, Matt Harmon, episode 25 of our mammoth weekly, uh, podcast. We're talking about a, a personal loss to a mentor and friend, uh, Reverend Scott, Lars, the connection going back as president Lehe, just spoke of all the way, uh, to the days as a high school student and continuing president Lehe a again, I, I don't want to cross any lines, but I mean, continuing essentially until the day he passed away, right. I, I, I would imagine that this is somebody that E even as he declined with ALS you still stayed in touch. You still talk to him on a, on a almost regular basis. Patrick Leahy: I did. And, and, uh, we have a very dear mutual friend, uh, there's a real long story to how we became, uh, mutual friends, but there's a, a, a dear mutual friend who was a father Lars's, uh, now vice president of advancement and very, very close colleague of his. And through, uh, through this individual, I would stay in close touch with Scott and to be perfectly candid, uh, with you, Matt, it was about three weeks ago, only three weeks ago that I called my friend, Tom. And to check in on how not only Scott was doing, but how he's doing. I mean, this is a huge, huge, uh, loss for, for him. And I said, um, and he gave me the update. And then I said to him, uh, Matt, um, I sure want to come up this spring for a visit. And Tom said to me, um, pat, I think you need to come up as soon as you can. And that was like a Wednesday. And I, uh, Thursday, I cleared the decks, um, and, uh, was able to, to travel up to Scranton overnight, uh, to get a final dinner with, uh, with Scott and Tom. And there were moments in that dinner, Matt, where, you know, God bless him, you know, he had was on oxygen and, you know, he paralyzed from the, from the neck down. That's what this debilitating disease does. Um, but there were moments in that, in that dinner conversation, you know, we were socially distanced and everything, but we, we wanted to have this in person visit where he would tell stories and, and he would re he would, uh, remind reminisce on things that we had done together. Uh, there are, there are jokes that he was telling where for a brief moment, I forgot all about his current challenges. And I had the old Scott pillars back. Um, didn't take long before coughing would get in the way or other kind of challenges that reminded all of us that, uh, he was dealing with this terrible disease, but I had the great, uh, privilege of seeing him, uh, we think, and speaking with my, our mutual friend last night, we think I was the last person to have a, have a real visit with him. And so you cannot imagine how, how much I treasure that visit and how many times in my life I'm gonna say to people, uh, if you think you there's ever a chance, you're gonna lose someone. You've got to go see them right now, because I, I know what my own experience that, uh, how satisfying it is to know that you, you did make that move. And I got this special time with him and was one of the last people to have a, you know, a, a, a real visit with Matt Harmon: Him, what a great, um, I, I, I I'm, I'm almost overcome with emotion, as I know you are, you know, we're, we're, we're putting the audio out of this, but I we're seeing each other as we record, and I can, I can see it all over your face and I can hear it, um, in your voice, I, I think in a way to honor the relationship and the fact that, um, he, he got you involved in this field and essentially you're looking back and basically saying, you know, I'm here because of this. Um, I was there because of this and it all kind of relates back to the same person. Tell me 1, 2, 3, I mean, pick, pick the number, the, the lessons that you learn that now, I mean, the relationship you and I have has been, has been great over the last year, developing this podcast and being able to talk openly and freely, I consider you to be, and I've said this to you, hands on, you wanna be involved with the students. You had to have learned that somewhere. And I could only imagine that it goes back to father pilars. Patrick Leahy: I J I, in fact, I just sent a, I just sent a tweet out on that very, that very point, cuz I was just thinking about my relationship with him. And I learned so many things from him, Matt. I mean, I, I could, I could, we could have a fill a whole episode. I could tell you the things I learned working side by side with him at the university of Scranton. But the thing I most remember more than anything else was his repeated insistence that we who work in education in particular in higher education should always, always, he used to emphasize put students first and it seems like such a simple thing. And of course, if you're an educator, you should put students first. Nobody I ever met put students first, like he did. And he would remind all of us, you know, faculty and staff members that, you know, this is really sacred work that we're involved in because of the incredible opportunity that we have to, to transform students' lives. But that's really only possible if we remain focused on the students and their wellbeing and their, you know, supporting them and challenging them, he was also would say, and I've said this many times, he's like, we need to support students that does not mean co them. It means to support them and challenge them and get them to move to another level of, of uh, of development. And, um, I learned that from Scott pillars. Matt Harmon: Do you look last question before we, we change gears and I, and I feel like what you just said, um, especially in a year that we've dealt with so much personal strain, stress, financial issues, family issues, um, you know, losses of probably family members and lives and, and, and everything that has been associated with the pandemic and COVID and all the social issues that we've talked about. Um, how, how do you view yourself to that point of the lessons that you learned, that one being right at the top of the list being paramount, that if you are part of the, I'll make an athletic analogy, if you're part of the, the coaching tree of Scott pillars, how does, how does your branch now grow that you can pass those messages along to not just the students, but, but I'm gonna take it a step further, the faculty, the staff, your administrative team, so that you can do the same thing for somebody that's coming up behind you. Patrick Leahy: I mean, I hope, I hope I can. I mean, uh, you just try to model for people where your values are and, you know, that's, one of the reasons I came to Monmouth we've talked about is because I sensed that, that there was a deep abiding commitment to, to students and that, that spoke to me. But, um, I just hope in the day to day, you know, the day to day decisions that we make, we always ask one final question. And that is how will this decision in influence the lives of our students or the experience of our students or our ability to recruit students or our ability to support students? I hope that that's always sort of the last question we we ask. And, um, my hope is that, you know, we have people here already feel that way. Hopefully I can, um, you know, extend or, or, or live up to Scott's legacy by advancing that even more, not only here at Monmouth, but you know, at other places when, you know, the inevitable happens, which is people come to work with me and then, and then move on. I'm, I'm always really proud of the number of people, uh, with whom I've worked, who have now been, you know, spawned into bigger jobs. Uh, the, the last provost, uh, that I worked with at Wilkes university, after I announced I was coming here about two months later, she announced that she was gonna become the president of a university down in Georgia. You know, how proud that makes me to know that, um, you know, people are taking these shared values and spreading 'em out throughout the, throughout the industry. So it, it, it goes back to your point about the tree. It goes back to, you gotta learn that from someone. And I learned it from Scott pilars directly. You've also heard me say, um, talk about Tim Healy, who was the president of my undergraduate institution at Georgetown. Scott learned this from him. Uh, I think he would tell you that, and then I'm not sure where father Healy learned it, but you know what I mean? It's just this it's values that are passed down and, um, I'll never forget, uh, Scott and I'll be forever grateful for the lessons that he taught me. Matt Harmon: Well, I, I, um, I, I, I will say I appreciate, um, listening to you over the course of the last, almost 20 minutes. And again, I, I, I see it in your face and I can hear it in your voice. And I, and I think it really adds a nice element when we have these human moments on the podcast. Um, cause as, as busy as everybody is, and as stressful as life is, um, as you said, sometimes realizing, you know, this might be the last time you see somebody would be something that you, you cherish. So I, I, I appreciate you, um, in, in a, in a time that's probably very emotional for you spending the time and talking about the relationship that you had. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. No, thank you for, for asking. I hope it wasn't too, too personal for our, for our Matt Harmon: Audience. No, quite honestly, I, I hope you feel proud enough of, of what you said that you can share with your colleagues between Scranton Wilkes and anybody, um, that that father polars had touched. So just a, a fantastic job, um, with our remaining time, dare I say, let's try and change gears. I mean, that's a, , that's, that's tough to tough to follow. Um, but from a Mauth perspective, um, you know, on a, on a personal side of things, I know this morning you made, I will say a disappointing ride home from Atlantic city. You were down, uh, for the men's and women's conference, basketball tournament. Uh, women knocked out the other day. We'll get into that in a second, but let's go with the most recent first. And that was, um, the men, despite a fantastic regular season, um, tying for the regular season championship, a, a, a disappointing exit in a strange year, in a tough year and a lost a Fairfield. Patrick Leahy: Yeah, I guess it was disappointing. I mean, I won't kid you, I mean, um, unfortunately we, we came into this game, um, I think favored to beat that particular team and, uh, we just did not play our best. And we caught another team that maybe played its best game all season. And when you put the two of those together, it, it often results in a, you know, a, a bad outcome. But, uh, I am so proud of our, uh, basketball programs. Uh, Matt, I mean, if you had asked me three months ago, whether we're gonna get a full season pretty much a full season in, I know we didn't play a lot of non-conference games, but you know, pretty much a full season in get a chance to play in the Mac tournament. Um, I would've, I, I would've said that it's not likely that we were gonna do this and the fact that they persisted the way that they did and always cared for each other and, and that they were abiding by the, the letter and the spirit of the COVID protocols in order to, you know, enhance their ability to complete that season. And they did. And they were, as, you know, share, share of the regular season, uh, title, uh, king rice, uh, was for the third time, I believe the Mac coach of the year. I I'd like to think. And he'd probably be the first one to say that that is really an accolade to the entire coaching staff, not just the head coach, let's be honest. That's the, that's the third time this coaching staff has been recognized that way. So I'm, I, you know, all in all while I'm disappointed and, uh, I had packed for three days, uh, but, uh, , uh, returned this morning with my sons in toe. Um, a little disappointed. I'm, I'm really proud of, uh, of the effort, uh, through the, through the program the last few Matt Harmon: Months disappointed, but maybe a little, um, richer in the wallet, you know, three days in Atlantic city that can be a dangerous proposition for anybody. Um, so, so on, on that front, president Lee, he let let's, um, look at the other side, that's the women's program. Um, they they've been in the news and I, and I I'll be up front on a, on a level that you maybe don't necessarily wanna see. Um, not only were they knocked out in a tight game, um, in the playing round of their tournament, they played it without their head coach, Jody Craig, who, um, just a, a day or so ago, decided to resign and step away from the program. Um, and, and, and I would probably echo the feelings of a lot that follow along with the athletic department. Um, it, it, it would be amazing when you look at everybody else on campus, every other program that the women's basketball program, you just wanna see, 'em take that next step and, and be a little bit closer, um, from, from that level of, of joining kind of all the other amazing male and female programs that we have on campus. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. I mean, you know, it was, uh, I think, uh, coach Craig was here for, I think four years, maybe five, I think four. And, uh, I just think it, it was mutual determined that, uh, you know, it wasn't advancing the way that, uh, that we had hoped. And, um, as you mentioned, she, um, resigned yesterday. I, we have nothing but respect for Jody and I wish her so well in her, uh, future endeavors. Um, but I, you know, I think now's an opportunity for the women's basketball program here to, uh, to, to take another step. Matt Harmon: You know, it, it, it's interesting, um, in that Dr. McNeil stepping down at the end of the academic year, um, in, in a way maybe all the change kind of runs together and whoever the new athletic director is with a new women's basketball coach, you essentially build it from the ground floor with all of the positives that Monmouth has to offer as a university in supporting women in athletics. Um, and, and kind of just take it step by step. And, and again, I'll, I'll use the analogy, build it from the ground floor up. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. I mean, as you know, we're in a search, uh, for an athletic director now we've committed at this point to, to, uh, searching internally, to see if we have the, the talent to step up into that role. If we, if we don't find the person that we want and need at this point, we'll extend that to an external search, but, um, that person, no matter who it is, has to be committed, totally committed to the letter and the spirit of title IX. And, uh, um, I will be vetting candidates very carefully on that front to make sure that there is a, um, sort of an equal commitment to, uh, the men's programs and the women's programs. And as you suggest, there'll be an opportunity here with the women's basketball program Matt Harmon: On the rest of the athletic front teams, like, uh, women's bowling, men's tennis, both men's and women's golf, uh, back up and going. I know, uh, track gets themselves back up. Women's soccer played this past week. Women's lacrosse played this past week. Those are the good, right. Those are the good on the flip side of things, field hockey, a field hockey had a game that was canceled. Um, men's soccer had a game that was canceled, and most recently news coming out just a, a day or so ago that the I'll say much anticipated after the year they had in 2019, um, football who, who skipped the fall of 2020, they were supposed to play out at Robert Morris. That game has been postponed. So it, it, it's almost like put the seatbelt back on and, and probably be ready for an up and down type of spring. Patrick Leahy: I think it's a perfect example that this, uh, pandemic is not yet over. Um, you know, we, we, we are managing the caseload. Well, we had a little bit of a spike in the last day or two, but we're still managing the caseload very well, especially compared to, you know, the problems that we encountered way back in the fall, but managing that caseload really well, Matt, but you can't control really where the cases emerge and if it emerges on one of the teams or if it emerges as in the case of football on one of the other teams and it, uh, and you know, the contact tracing in the quarantining and isolation requirements, uh, demand it, that knocks the team out for a period of time. And that's, what's led to some of these cancellations. So it's a pretty good, uh, illustration that we're not entirely through this pandemic. I am really proud that, you know, the, uh, women's lacrosse picked right up where they left off and, uh, women's soccer picked right up where they left off with, with two convincing, um, convincing wins. And I suspect for them, it was very satisfying to be out competing again. So we're gonna do everything we can throughout the spring to, uh, make these, uh, act these athletic opportunities available. Why, because we always always need to put students first. And that is why we're doing this. And, and, uh, there is no other reason than to try to figure out a way, uh, consistent with all the healthcare protocols to give our student athletes, these opportunities that, that they so desperately want. Matt Harmon: You know, that, that leads me in with a couple of minutes that we have have left. And this is something, you know, oftentimes you and I will spend a minute or two, like, Hey, let's talk about this, this, this one. Um, I'm gonna throw you a little bit of a wrinkle, and this is not meant at all to put you on the spot, but, you know, a as you hear that, um, vaccines become a little bit more readily available and educators now on the list, I did see the other day, the education list does not include colleges and universities, whether whether, unless I missed it public or private, it doesn't necessarily make a difference. Is, is that a little disappointing just to hear that news? Patrick Leahy: Uh, it is disappointing, but, but, uh, I would suggest that, that, uh, you know, that, uh, discussion has not ended yet because I can promise you that there are, uh, those of us in higher ed here in New Jersey that are gonna continue to make the case as to why, you know, colleges and universities, their faculty and staff, as well as their students should be, uh, queued up to get those, um, the vaccines. I mean, we are prepared when the vaccine's available to distribute to all of our campus communities. So that's, that's good. It's just the struggle of getting our hands on, you know, five or six or 7,000 doses. And that's where I think we're gonna continue to try to make the case that that would be a really wise use of five or 6,000 cases because, um, uh, uh, you know, not only protecting the faculty and the staff who might be slightly more vulnerable, but if we get it out to the students as well, the students live in the communities. And I think that's a, would be a really, uh, effective way to keep the caseloads in all of our respective communities down as well. So, um, we, we're gonna keep working on that in, in the hopes that we can free up some of those vaccines don't, don't wanna, you know, hear me correctly. Don't wanna steal it from people who are, you know, really, really, uh, vulnerable, uh, by any stretch. But when we start expanding the, the, the roster, if you will, um, I hope we are we're on it. Matt Harmon: I hope so, too. That would be, uh, great. I would think for, for high, uh, higher education, um, as a whole. So I, I, I know it as a faculty member, midterm grades are due next week, so we're kind of smack dab in the middle of the semester. Turn the page to that. Usually the next thing after that, that people look forward to is commencement graduation. I know you wanted to give a little update as to, um, uh, dare I say the, the potential plan for it, but right now, maybe there, there isn't that. Patrick Leahy: Well, you know, we remain committed as we demonstrated last year, you know, in the throes of the pandemic, we demonstrated last year, a willingness to, uh, to offer in person ceremonies for our graduating seniors and our, you know, our graduate students. It's again, how we roll here at Monmouth. And I would argue it is yet another example of how we're trying to put students, you know, first we know that this is what they want. We know it's what their parents want. Uh, so we will do everything we can to try to deliver it for them. The only problem right now is that the state has not given us the guidelines that we desperately need in order to plan ceremonies. In fact, the governor, I think, is, uh, loosening some of the restrictions, uh, I think starting next week. Uh, but I think that only increases the outdoor gathering size to like 50 right now. So somewhere between that relaxation and some of the things he's said about, you know, attendance at athletic events and all that kind of stuff, we, we think in there is an opening for the, uh, office of the secretary of higher ed to hopefully give us some guidance that if we do it well and responsibly, uh, we'd be able to offer in person ceremonies again. Now we may need to offer a whole series of them. Like we did last year. Remember we did nine last October or last August, we may need to do a whole series of them, but we're committed to doing it because we know it's what our students want. Matt Harmon: Yeah, very, very important. And I would imagine, um, as, as we move closer to, you know, potentially the date, and I'm looking at the academic calendar right now, it all says TBA, TBA, TBA, the TBA will be filled in with more detail, um, and information. I, I, I wanna finish with this one and I wanna make this very clear that I am going on the record that I learned that on Tuesday, March 16th, you're doing an interview with somebody else that we're, you're gonna be front and center somewhere else in these long form interviews. I'm not quite sure. And I have to, I have to go back and double check when we started this idea. I thought I had exclusive rights for mama weekly to get you once every week. But I, and he's a, he's a friend of mine. He's a fantastic friend of the university, uh, that of being Jack Ford. You, you and he are gonna do a little sit down, uh, next Tuesday virtually, correct? Patrick Leahy: Yes. I, I, I'm sorry that, uh, that you had to bring this up because, uh, I certainly don't want you to think that, uh, our, our contract is in jeopardy. Okay. This is a one off, I promise you Matt. But, um, it was a, it was actually an idea that our advancement people had that. So many of our alums, um, that our, you know, significant contributors to the university know Jack Ford and really respect Jack Ford. Not that they don't know and respect you, Matt, but, you know, they just know Jack, uh, they know him better. They know him to be an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist. And, um, Jack Ford's just so graciously offered to, to do, uh, one of these kind of longform interviews with me as a way to try to get me even more fully introduced to, uh, to the Monmouth university community. Um, he was so gracious in offering to do this because, you know, he has interviewed presidents of the United States and I think tiger woods and, you know, other major, major figures, and for him to, to, to dilute his pool of, of, uh, of, uh, can, you know, his pool of interviews by, uh, interviewing me was really, uh, uh, very, very generous of him. Patrick Leahy: Let's just put it that way. So just a one off, we are expanding it so that if there are folks in the university community that are, that are interested or aren't getting enough of, of our podcast, they're, they're welcome to join as well, but it's really designed principally for, uh, donors to the university and try to give them something a little bit unique, uh, in this virtual Matt Harmon: Environment. Well, my, my relationship with, uh, with Jack goes back several years, actually. Um, no, no one of his daughters fairly well. He he's, he has come to speak in some of my classes on campus. And again, as I, as I prefaced, um, he is a, a tremendous friend of the university. I, I did a quick little look up two Emmys, a Peabody, an American radio TV award, national headline award March at dimes FDR award. You mentioned the president's thing. Um, I mean, I, you know, I I've won a couple of New Jersey sportscast over the years, but I'm gonna have to, I guess, yield, I will yield the next Tuesday Patrick Leahy: This one time. Matt Harmon: And I say that because I know know that Jack is a sports guy as at heart. So the transition, uh, will be good, but I, I, I'm actually looking forward to, um, logging on and watching that. I think information, if you wanted to be part of it is just on the, the mammoth website, correct. Patrick Leahy: It is. And, and we'll be pushing out of an email message, uh, soon as well, Matt Harmon: President Lahey, I, I appreciate you coming on. Number one, starting with, and, and going into such detail, the relationship that you had, um, with, with father pillars and, and how it kind of started you on your road into academia, the lessons you learned, the connection that you had. And I know that's something, not only that you're, you're probably hurting from on this day, but so proud of, and looking forward to a, as we talked about giving that path, maybe to somebody else down the line, um, student, faculty, staff member, um, I I'm with you in your, in your time of need. And, and I appreciate you being upfront, personal and honest about everything that you're going through. Patrick Leahy: No, thank you. And I, I appreciate the, you know, the opportunity to talk through it with you a little bit, Matt, Matt Harmon: We are expecting to be back in, uh, two weeks on our mammoth weekly podcast. We'll have some guests, uh, coming up for you as well for now. I will say goodbye, um, and invite everyone. If you've got comments, questions, suggestions, feel free to reach out to president Lehe or myself and faculty member, Matt Harmon. You've been listening to our weekly podcast, episode 25 in the books. We'll see you in two weeks until then stay safe and fly Hawks.