Matt Harmon: On this episode of Monmouth weekly, we talk about some of the recent hires the university has made, including some breaking news. Commencement plans also now said for the university as well come mid-May. This is faculty member, Matt Harmon. I'm joined by university president Patrick Lehe. This is episode 27 of Monmouth weekly. Thanks as always for joining us. Matt Harmon: Well, this is a bit of a rarity I will say, as we hit episode number 27 of our Monmouth weekly podcast series university, president Patrick Lehe, faculty member, Matt Harmon. We've got a lot to talk about. I feel like if I waved out the window, I might be able to see you. It's a day that we are both on campus. I'm in my office. You are in yours. Uh, that's not always the case. Sometimes we're, we're in our separate residences as well, but this is probably about as close as we've actually been to recording live and in person, as opposed to being in, in different parts of the county, uh, Patrick Leahy: It took us 27 episodes, but I think we're at least on the same campus. And maybe sometime soon we'll be in the same room when Matt Harmon: We do this. Yeah, I'm gonna, I, I might throw a rock out my window because as I look out from the, from the beautiful plans you're building, I can see the administrative building, you know, it looks like there's stro lights going on in one of the floors in, in the administrative building. I maybe that's just what happens on Friday. I'm not sure. Yeah. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. That's that's for me to know and you to find out. Matt Harmon: So president LA, he, you know, when, when we did our episode a couple weeks ago, not really knowing how those two weeks in between when we did 26 and 27, who knows what's gonna come up. You know, we, we always think, can we get a guest on, can we have some talking points? Um, and man, there is a lot to break down in this one. Um, we, we kind of made the, the unilateral decision to just say, it'll just be the two of us, um, because of all the activity that was going on over the course of the last two weeks. And, and I wanna focus at least the beginning part of this episode and, and our podcast on all these new hires and announcements that have come, because it, it does seem like there have been some in the past that we can, you know, maybe catch everybody up on, but then a couple real big ones this week, athletic director, women's basketball coach. Um, we, we may be able to sneak one more in if, if we have the time, we'll see how that goes, but, but maybe before we even get into what took place in the last, um, 72 hours, let, let's talk a little bit about how those hires that you've done in the past month have kind of come together. Patrick Leahy: Well, it's all about, uh, you know, my attempt to build a, a team that can help us, uh, navigate the, uh, challenges and the opportunities that we see, uh, here at Monmouth in the coming years. And, uh, I've had the great, uh, opportunity here with some turnover in the senior administrative ranks to do some reorganizing, uh, to set things, you know, in a way that, uh, is most comfortable for this president anyway. Um, I'm really proud of the fact that none of these positions are incremental positions. Uh, in fact, they're replacement positions. In some cases they've been reorganized and retooled. Uh, so, uh, we're trying to be really, really sensitive to, you know, budget realities in the process. But I have, uh, just as fate would have it over the last, uh, few weeks we have, uh, uh, hired a number of different people to senior administrative positions. Patrick Leahy: I don't know if we, I forget whether we mentioned it at our, at our previous, uh, episode, but, um, we now have a new permanent vice president for university advancement in Amanda clause. Um, I think you, Matt and others know Amanda well around here, she is an alum of the university and had been serving as the interim vice president for advancement. And, uh, we just decided, uh, to lift that interim title after, uh, putting it out to see if there were other interested candidates and determined, quite frankly, that, uh, Amanda is the right person at the right time. And so we placed her in that job in a permanent way. And, uh, can't tell you how enthusiastic I am to have her in that external relations, uh, role at the same time. Um, I think I've mentioned in the past that I created this, uh, chief of staff position in my office. Uh, we did some reorganizing and redeployed, some people that were working in the president's office around campus into really good jobs. And, uh, then I brought from advancement over to my office, Emily Miller Gonzalez. And, uh, she, uh, has now been formally, uh, placed in the role of chief of staff. Uh, she is again a, a star here at Monmouth Georgetown undergraduate degree. So don't hold that against her. Uh, but, uh, a Rutgers law degree, Rutgers master's in social work has been working in advancement for the last number of years. Um, and now she gets this opportunity to work in, you know, directly with me in my office, two great hires to get us started before, even the announcements of this week. Matt Harmon: So let let's just go back and, and, and talk about tho those two specifically. I mean, clearly those have not been the only hires that you've made over the course of, of the last, uh, year now, almost year and a half, or probably a little, little bit more than that, that you've been on the job. Uh, Amanda specifically, you mentioned as a, as a mammoth grad and a mammoth alum. Um, I, I, I know that's not part of the application process, but when you think of it in her particular job university advancement, how important do you think that it is, that there are so many people here Amanda included that have connections back to the university? Patrick Leahy: I mean, I think it's in great enhancement to the position because, uh, Amanda is a product of this place and has a deep enduring love of the place that just is so easily, uh, illustrated in, in her, uh, in personality, in her commitment to the place. However, Matt, I don't, I don't wanna suggest that that is a, a requirement for that position or any other position after all. I am not, uh, a product of Monmouth university, but in my two years I have come to love this place and, and what we do. So I like the mix, you know, some who are products of our place and maybe have that unique enduring relationship and others of us who were drawn to the place. Um, and, uh, once here have fallen in love with it. So, um, I think it's an enhancement in particular, the advancement job, but not a requirement. Matt Harmon: You know, you mentioned some of the other, uh, jobs that have, have come up and, and kind of the reformulation of the senior staff on campus. Uh, we had mentioned in, in episodes, uh, previously Dr. McNeil stepping down as a director of athletics, um, at the end of the academic year and, you know, the, the internal job search that you would put in instead of a, a huge national search yielded, not only a great candidate, but again, someone who has been with the university for a really long time, over 30 years of service and, and essentially the promotion of deputy athletic director, Jeff Stapleton to take over as the ad. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. I credit actually, uh, Dr. McNeil for creating, um, such a deep bench, uh, in Monmouth athletics that as I started looking around Matt, I determined that, uh, we have talent right here, right in this department who have been helping to develop us into one of the premier mid-major programs in the country. I really believe that, uh, it's not just my opinion. I think most objective third parties based on our performance would say we're one of the top mid-major programs in the country. Um, so that's when I decided in, in large part to, to start with an internal search and try to determine whether we had the right talent to lead the department going forward. Uh, we did an internal search, there were multiple candidates, put them through a process, and then it became, uh, very clear to me and, and to so many others that, uh, Jeff Stapleton, uh, deserves the opportunity to lead the program. I mean, 31 years, he has been serving this institution quite loyally, uh, in that time has been exposed to all the intricacies of intercollegiate athletics. But I always say what was so interesting to me was when I sat down with Jeff and talked about not just the past 31 years, but the next number of years, it was his, uh, his passion for the place and his enthusiasm for where we're going as a university and his deep commitment to student athletes that, uh, made it clear to me that he was the right candidate, uh, for, for the position. So, um, this wasn't a, a, a specific intention to keep it in the family. It was because we had so many talented people in athletics that one of them was gonna be ready to step up into this job. And Jeff was the clear, uh, person, Matt Harmon: You know, you, you think of it. And, and, and knowing Jeff personally, and having worked with athletics for the broadcasting side of things that I do, and, and, you know, helping put together the original ESPN kind of idea that we do on campus. Um, I mean, it seems like he's touched on so many different areas as an attractive candidate, and you mentioned 31 years already with the university with, with, and I heard the press conference, um, and, and the news, you know, more tank, a more gas in the tank to move forward and kind of take Monmouth into essentially a, a new spot. I mean, look at all of the AC, uh, athletic, uh, success that the university has already had, but now a new women's basketball coach, which we'll talk about in just a second. Um, you know, when, when you think of, of why Jeff was, as you said, a perfect candidate to take mammoth from where they are now to where everyone thinks that they could be even better. Um, what were a couple of things that kind of stood out for you, Patrick Leahy: First of all, uh, and you know, this because you know him well, um, the credibility that Jeff Stapleton has, uh, among the coaching staff, among the other athletics, uh, administrators over in, uh, athletics, uh, really spoke to me. I mean, he was a coach for a short time before he got into athletics administration. He understands, uh, coaches. And I think, uh, to a person has been very supportive of our coaches. He said something to me, and I hope I, he wouldn't mind me sharing this, but, you know, Jeff has been to this point anyway, mostly an internal operations person, you know, I mean, nobody attends more, uh, as sporting events here on campus, I think than Jeff does. I mean, Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons and Tuesday nights and everything. Jeff is there, uh, as part of his role as in, in internal operations. And when I talk to him about stepping out more into the external component of the job, he, he said he would be very comfortable with it. Um, he's got so much credibility, Matt, that, uh, I think people will respond to him, very favorably donors and external partners, but he said something to me that really spoke to me, which was, he said, you know, to me, the stars in any athletics department are the coaches and their student athletes. And if we can continue to be as successful as we are, perhaps even more successful in the years to come, and people don't even know who the athletic director is, I will consider that successful. And, uh, really spoke to me of, uh, the measure of the, of the person and, uh, how humble he is. And, uh, he just does, uh, what needs to be done, what do they call it, uh, winning in the dark or whatever, you know, it does what he needs to be done to support our coaches and the student athletes. And doesn't look for, uh, you know, really any fanfare in the process. And I think he learned that from frankly Dr. McNeil and, um, to me that really spoke to me, uh, about his deep commitment to student athletes and their welfare Matt Harmon: LA last question on the, on the ad job before we transfer into another big hire within the athletic department. And that would be clearly, Maus had so much success athletically under Dr. McNeil with, with Jeff being in that essentially number two role for as long as he is been. Wh what are the things maybe moving forward that you could build on that success? And, and, and I'll, you know, I'll use a term blow it up even more to make it even more successful on a, on a bigger stage. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. I mean, I'll think of it two ways. One is let's just talk athletics for a minute. I mean, we'll talk in a minute about, uh, one of our programs that let's be honest over the last number of years has not been meeting our, our high standard for excellence. Uh, women's basketball and how immediately, uh, Jeff and, uh, Jennifer Lawler said about, uh, writing that. And we'll talk about that in a minute. So clearly we can improve, uh, there, I want all of our athletics programs to be able to compete for championships year after year after year. I mean, um, it's a, it's a commitment to excellence. I hope we have everywhere at this university, and it's just easier to measure, uh, in athletics because sooner or later after all the preparation is completed. You, uh, put on your uniform and you go to compete against other institutions, and it's pretty easy to measure how you're doing, but I, I hope we can continue to compete in every, uh, at every sport that we, uh, sponsor here in the hopes that we can get to the postseason tournaments. I mean, that's what we really want in all of our respective sports compete for our conference championships and then get an opportunity to compete nationally in national tournaments. So I think there's a couple areas where we can continue to do that. Um, and, uh, and we will under Jeff's leadership, but non athletics, if you will. One of the things that Jeff said to me, he thought was so important was we need to continue to work more aggressively with our student athletes to help prepare them for postgraduate careers and postgraduate, uh, you know, graduate schools, education. Uh, that's a major effort around this university anyway, in the coming years is to expand and improve our career development services for all of our students. But it was really spoke to me that he felt like, uh, we, we do a really good job supporting our student athletes while they're here, but he'd like us to take the next step in supporting them, uh, upon graduation. And, and I thought that really spoke to me. So I think the beauty of an internal hire is they've learned all of the things that we need to do to continue to be successful, and then identify a couple areas where, um, we can improve. And, and, and Jeff, uh, was able to convince me and the other members of the search committee of that. Matt Harmon: I'd like to think somewhere in there, there's, there's probably a, a solid, um, raise for the broadcasters that would, that would be discussed, but we can talk about, we can talk about that at another, another. You Patrick Leahy: Did not say that you guys were the stars of the, uh, no, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Matt Harmon: You know, you, you, you mentioned the, and, and, and I watched the, the press conference yesterday, the announcement of gin boas, the new women's basketball coach. And, and I will say, I think to your credit, you are very honest. It, it has been a program that over time has maybe underperformed when, in comparison to every other program on campus, male and female, um, clearly the idea of getting a new face, putting a new plan in place, um, and, and the confidence that yourself and Jeff Stapleton, uh, who was part of the press conference yesterday, it, it, it seems like this could be a potential game changer for the Monmouth women's basketball program. Patrick Leahy: Uh, yeah, Jenny boas will, will be a game changer for the women's basketball program. And as that program I improves and becomes, uh, much more nationally competitive. It could be a game changer for this university, given how much, uh, you know, exposure there is for rightly so for women's, uh, basketball. Um, you know, there's no reason that we're not, uh, more competitive in women's basketball. I mean, Jenny articulated it herself, uh, that we have a great academic institution, unbelievable facilities, wonderful location in a hotbed of where a lot of great talent is, is developed and bred. Um, there's no reason that we're not a more competitive women's basketball program. Um, one of the things that so spoke to us about, uh, coach boas is the fact that she's been at multiple places and rebuilt was instrumental in rebuilding those programs. So she sees what we have here to offer at Monmouth and says, I think all the pieces are there. We just need somebody who has done this before. And I think we found her in, uh, in Jenny boas, Matt Harmon: You know, I thought one of the most interesting parts of her press conference yesterday, and, and clearly I'm sure you knew it before it was mentioned. Um, but, but I thought, and again, someone who's been associated with mom with one way or the other student grad student faculty member, uh, since 1993, I thought the best part of that was listening to her say that one of the best connections during this process was with the other female coaches on the staff, that she had an opportunity to, to talk to all of them, to meet with all of them, um, to ask questions, to have open dialogue, um, and essentially it, it became almost a reverse. It wasn't the, the people on staff already, the coaches, the head coaches of the women's programs asking her questions. It was her almost interviewing them, which I thought was fascinating. Patrick Leahy: Yeah, it was really a mutual interview in many respects. I think I, I really do credit. I, I think Jeff Stapleton and, and Marilyn McNeil would also credit Jennifer Lawler, our senior women's administrator for that idea to let the candidates interview with the other coaches of our women's programs. Um, you know, they, they themselves would be, uh, uh, you know, great at measuring, uh, character and, and the individuals. But I think as you point out Matt, that those candidates think it was important for them to talk to those coaches and give a, get a chance to ask them how they feel supported here at Monmouth. And, um, you know, one of the things that our next ad Jeff Stapleton said, basically, um, around title IX, when, when I asked him about title IX and his commitment to title nine, his answer was very simple. We will treat our female athletes here at Mammouth the same way we treat our men's athletes here. So he didn't go into a, you know, a comprehensive, uh, you know, explanation of title IX. He just said, look, we all, we all agree that that's the way we're gonna treat our student athletes here. Maybe that's the father of four daughters speaking. Uh but, uh, but I think there's one of, it was so important for, for Jenny to meet our other coaches of our women's programs, because, um, they're doing so well a as you know, and I, I hope they feel supported here. I mean, you know, our history in women's soccer and in field hockey and in softball, but, but even lately, our bowling team's doing really well. And our golf team, uh, is, is improving under, uh, Michelle's, uh, leadership, our tennis women's tennis program had one of the epic wins, um, of Patrice Murray's career, uh, just, uh, in recent days when, um, when Mammouth knocked off Fairfield, which is a perennial power in the Mac. So all of our, uh, women's programs are doing well. And, uh, I hope they feel supported by this administration because they will continue to be. And I think it's important for Jenny Jenny to hear that from the other coaches, Matt Harmon: You know, you just mentioned a couple of the sports, let, let let's finish with the athletic kind of side of things before we get into some other news. And, and that being, um, with, with as busy as a spring as could be possible on campus, because fall sports are playing in the spring, spring sports are now playing, uh, in the spring. Um, there there's been a lot of success. I mean, you're looking at, um, you just mentioned them. The, the, the tennis is on both sides, the golf programs, uh, you know, out outdoor track and field is always one of the top teams, but you're also kind of seeing, and I, and I think in an interesting way, you're seeing the fall sports have success in a time that they're not really used to men's soccer, just qualifying back for the conference tournament again, the other day with a, with a four, three win, um, up in Niagara women's soccer team, um, back into the conference tournament, lacrosse teams have had a great year of football with an opportunity over the course of the weekend to get back into the FCS playoffs, um, baseball right now, top team in the league, softball off to another great start. I mean, it, it, it's almost a dream scenario for, um, dare I say, the administrative side of things and the president of the university to look over and just say, we're, we're, we're, we're knocking 'em dead. Patrick Leahy: I mean, I always joke that, uh, um, you know, it, it all starts with, uh, leadership at the top. That is a joke, Matt, because I have nothing to do with that this is years and years and years of, uh, Dr. McNeil, uh, hiring the right coaches and, and putting the right support staff in place and supporting our student athletes. But it is amazing. And I don't, I don't wanna jinx us of course, cuz there's a lot left to play this spring, but it is amazing our, uh, performance to this point last Saturday, for example, I, I think it's probably the one day in the history of Monmouth university where more of our student athletes competed than any other day, probably. I mean, I, I don't know that for a fact, but all of our major teams played including football and, and and soccer and, and uh, uh, you know, uh, baseball as you pointed out. I mean, so many of our teams played and, and uh, virtually all of them won in that day. So, um, I hope we can continue this momentum cuz it just, uh, creates, uh, you know, an excitement mostly for those programs. You know, there aren't a ton of people around campus to get swept up in this excitement. I mean, I hope it's a source of pride for all of us here at Monmouth, even throughout our student body and our alumni population, but it's mostly exciting for those student athletes who have, um, endured so much over the past year that to have an opportunity to compete and to compete well, I hope will soften the, you know, the struggle that they've had over the last year during this pandemic. Well Matt Harmon: Here's to hap uh, hopefully a real good April and into may for all these teams as they, as they try and make, um, their, their runs to conference championships and potential NCAA bids as well. Um, you know, we, we, we've spent a good bulk of the time talking about hiring and with the focus on what's taken place athletically, um, wanna jump into a couple other things with the time that we have remaining, um, talk about what, what is coming up from an academic standpoint because clearly that's the reason, ultimately that we're all here from the academics side of things, um, and to go back and touch on the hiring process. I said, we might have some news. Uh, so I'm gonna pressure you into, I wish I had my, my old fashion when I used to work at 10, 10 wins. I could be in the middle of a sports update and you'd hear the breaking news now sounder. This is, this is essentially breaking news, big news from the, from the academic side of things, as you've decided on a provost, uh, for the university. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. And I'm gonna share it with you first. I'll share it at, uh, my biweekly open call with the campus community, uh, next, and then an announcement will go out, uh, to the entire university community later today that, uh, that I have offered the position, um, of senior vice president and provost to Dr. Pamela Scott Johnson. And she has enthusiastically accepted my invitation to come here to Monmouth this summer and to serve in that, uh, really important role. I mean, it, remember I elevated that position upon my arrival here. So, um, while all of our vice presidents are really important and I value all the work that they do, I wanted to make sure it was clear that at an academic institution, the number two person on the org chart is the chief academic officer. So, um, I, I promoted that position if you will, to senior vice president and provost, uh, Dr. Scott Johnson, uh, was, uh, sourced from a national, uh, pool of candidates. Um, we had about a hundred applicants for this position. How comforting is that to know that a hundred people would be interested in coming here to Monmouth and then, uh, through the great work of our search committee, we narrowed that down to 40 sort of really legitimate, uh, people and then interviewed, I think, 12 to 14 candidates via zoom, and then brought four candidates to campus to, to, to go through the, the campus process. We had to do that all virtually, uh, this year, of course, but nonetheless, um, each candidate had to, uh, uh, to manage, I think, a dozen interviews with different constituencies around the campus. And I collected all that feedback. I took my own individual soundings with faculty leadership and with the deans and with other academic leaders. And, um, and then I, I, I spent a weekend, uh, contemplating it and just decided that, um, Pamela Scott Johnson is the right person for us. Patrick Leahy: She is currently the Dean of, um, natural and social sciences at California state university at Los Angeles. So when I say a national search that's about as national is, as you can get, she's the Dean of, uh, that school, Matt, which is, uh, itself serves 6,000 students. Her school, part of that larger university serves as many students as we do here at Monmouth. So she has excellent experience. In fact, some, a lot of people may not know Cal Cal state LA, and quite honestly, I didn't know that much about 'em, they're a, a larger public institution, but was really, really impressed with the fact that, um, a recent New York times, uh, report suggested that that institution is the number one upward mobility institution in the country that is bringing in diverse students of different academic backgrounds, giving them a first class experience, graduating them in, in, in due time, and then launching them into higher socioeconomic, uh, brackets, uh, upward mobility and for an institution like ours, it is hungry to grow our retention and graduation rates and to diversify our student base, um, that we thought was really, really relevant, uh, experience. Patrick Leahy: So, um, I could go on and on about her. She's got great administrative experience. She was the Dean there and also the Dean at Morgan state. Um, she has Sterling academic credentials. Her, uh, her own education is at an institution. Maybe you've heard of Princeton. She did her master's in PhD at Princeton, her undergraduate institution at Spelman college, which is one of the fine, uh, liberal art colleges in, in the country. Um, she was a professor of psychology, uh, at, uh, Spelman college before going on to Morgan state and then onto Cal state LA. So I, I just, couldn't be more enthusiastic about, uh, about, uh, the hire. Matt Harmon: Yeah. I just looked it up real quick while we were talking Cal state, um, in Los Angeles, 26,000 students total. So, uh, and, and, and to your point, I, when I first, you know, I was thinking that might be just another way to say UCLA, it's a completely different school and university Cal state being associated. I think most would probably say Cal state Berkeley you'd you'd know that one and maybe the couple of the other, um, schools associated with it, but, but obviously a congratulations here from, from us at Monmouth weekly to, uh, Dr. Scott Johnson on becoming part of the Monmouth family, clearly present Lehe, a big hire. What, what I do want to ask you is as we talk about all these different searches, um, and, and you made note of it yesterday in the women's basketball press conference, um, and you just made mention of it here, the search committees that are involved with these. I, I, I am curious to know from, from the side of being the president of the university, how hands on have you felt like you you've been part of, of each and every one of these hires, Patrick Leahy: Uh, vary. I mean, you know, if I had this, uh, belief that if the person is ultimately going to report directly to me, then, um, of course I'm gonna be directly involved in the, in the hiring process. I mean, there are some presidents that commission their search committees, they go out, do all the work and then just bring that per, you know, bring the president two or three good candidates. And, um, I've just learned that, uh, if they're gonna report directly to me, I need to be more, more involved in this search and, and roll up my own shirt sleeves, and sit down with the search committees and work with them along the way, which I have been able to do in, in these hires in the case of women's basketball, obviously that does not report, uh, directly to me, but I wanted to be involved in the search there for a couple reasons. Patrick Leahy: One is I want to make sure in particular for an incoming coach on a women's program, that they know that the president of this university is gonna be very supportive of her and of, of her program. I just feel like I would be involved in a men's search if we ever had to do that. So I wanna make sure that, that I also demonstrate my commitment to, um, to, uh, women's basketball as well. Um, and also gives me a chance to sell Monmouth to, uh, really good candidates, as you said earlier, I mean, you know, interviews or dances, you know, like where each side is sort of vetting the other and also selling the other on, on, uh, on the situation. And, uh, I never wanna lose an opportunity to, uh, to sell Monmouth university. So that's why I was involved in, in that search. Matt Harmon: Clearly, one of the reasons that the student population is here at Monmouth is to ultimately finish their degree. Let's finish our podcast this week with some more news that came out, uh, over the course of the last 48 hours that is now concrete plans for commencement. Patrick Leahy: You know, we, we were getting this inquiry for months now, and we've talked about it, our previous episodes. And, you know, to this point, I, I just had to say, I, I recognize how important this ritual is. We are committed to having in person ceremonies to the extent possible. I just didn't have clarity, uh, up until now. Well, now I have clarity because we have been in touch, close touch with the office of the secretary of higher ed in the state. They've given us the parameters, uh, that we feel we need in order to host, uh, once again, uh, you know, fairly traditional in person graduation ceremonies for all of our graduates this spring. Um, I'm so proud of this, Matt, because I'm gonna be honest with you. A lot of other colleges and universities are not going this way. And, and to be fair to them, maybe they're they're, uh, states or their, uh, uh, local health, uh, organizations aren't allowing it. Patrick Leahy: So I get that, but, um, but we've been holding out and holding out and pushing the office of the secretary of higher ed, all in an effort to try to get to a point where we can have in person ceremonies. And we will, this year, we just announced, uh, Earl, I think it was yesterday in fact, that, uh, we will have commencement ceremonies over four days, the 12th and the 13th of May one week and the 19th and 20th of May the next week, uh, we may end up having to do, uh, seven different ceremonies, uh, but we're committed to doing them. We'll do them outside. We'll do them main Kesler stadium. We'll do them, uh, socially distanced and masked up and, and all the protocols that make these, uh, gatherings safe. But every student who wants to graduate and wants to walk through a traditional ceremony will get an opportunity to do so. And each graduate will be given three tickets to, uh, distribute to family members. And then beyond that, all ceremonies of course will be streamed live. So if, um, three tickets isn't enough, uh, we'll, we'll be able to stream it live to the rest of the friends and family, but, but to be able to get to a point where we can, uh, do the ceremonies and then offer three tickets to each graduate to us is a big, big win. Matt Harmon: If memory is serving me correctly, without having it directly in front May 12th, May 13th, May 19th, May 20th. Does that sound right? Patrick Leahy: Yes. And I, I think I'm pretty sure that's right. And an announcement just went out to, uh, you know, to our campus community in particular, our senior, uh, and, and our graduate students who are graduating with those dates, but 12, 13, 19 20 Matt Harmon: Should be an exciting time. Uh, lots to unpack in this episode of Monmouth weekly, president Lehe appreciate your time is always coming on, uh, keeping us updated and, and having you the opportunity to kind of expand on some stuff as well. Look forward to see what we have in the next couple of weeks. And we'll sneak in, I don't know, two, three more episodes before the end of the academic year, take our normal, uh, summer break and then be back up and going for you. But this was fantastic to kind of get updated on almost a state of the union, the status of the university with so many moves and things taking place. So it was always, I appreciate your time, um, and, and look forward to talking to you in two weeks. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. Meet you, Matt. Thank you. And I wish you well, as you, uh, complete the semester yourself, Matt Harmon: We wrap up episode number 27 of Monmouth weekly. For more information on this, go to Monmouth, uh, dot EDU for all things involving the university. You can go to that spot as well. If you need to reach out to myself or president Lehe, you can do that. Give us some insight as to what you'd like to hear on a future podcast for now. He is university president Patrick Le I'm, Matt Harmon, faculty member. Thanks has always for giving us part of your day.