Matt Harmon: On this episode of mammoth weekly university, president Patrick Lehe discusses the opening and start of the 20 21 22 academic year with the latest on COVID the latest on the campus. And some of the new faces you might see within the Monmouth community. Plus the fall sports are up and going. We look at that and a whole lot more great to be back with you. I'm faculty member, Matt Harmon. This is the latest edition of Monmouth weekly episode number 33. Thanks as always for listening. Matt Harmon: Well, it's the unofficial end of the summer season here at the Jersey shore on the precipice of what looks to be a beautiful labor day weekend here, uh, in between Monmouth and ocean county. Great to be back with you so much to talk about after taking a summer break, it is Monmouth weekly episode number 33, returning here to the airwaves and giving you everything up to date as it involves Monmouth university I'm faculty member, Matt Harmon. Again, great to be back with you really looking forward to spending some time with the university president Patrick Lehe. It's just the two of us today after taking a couple of months off, we've got a lot to talk about with the start of the fall semester. Now, just couple of days away, the traditional Tuesday after labor day start president Lehe. I wish you a very good morning. Um, I know it's been a busy summer for you so much going on, you know, the, I think everyone assumes, uh, the university it's quiet during the summer, but probably more. So this year than any other, that's been as busy as it's ever been. Maybe not with a ton of students in and out and all the camps that are necessarily there. Um, but so much planning as we still are in the throes of the, uh, COVID 19 pandemic. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. Good morning, Matt. Good to see you. I'm so glad that we're back at it again after our summer hiatus. Um, there are a lot of people that still ask me, oh, you work in education. Um, do you, uh, do you work in the summer and, uh, uh, I, I inform them that, of course, uh, the, you know, the, the administration's working all year and the fact the summer is often in many respects the busiest time, because that's when we can get capital projects done and other kind of planning done. And of course fundraising never ceases. So, um, I had a busy, uh, summer, uh, at Monmouth university. I hope we can talk about some of the things that, uh, we were able to accomplish this summer, but as you point out, in addition to the normal activities, lots of planning around, uh, the fall semester, especially still in the midst of this, uh, global pandemic. Matt Harmon: Well, you, you think of it. And, you know, as, as a faculty member getting the emails, here's the plan here's what's going on. Um, I think the university has done a very good job of keeping people kind of up to date with the expectations, what it's gonna be like on, on campus. And, and listen, I think everyone would've loved to have said, ah, we're not gonna have to worry about wearing the mask. Everything's kind of back to normal, even as recently as when you and I recorded our last podcast, which, which was right at the end of June, beginning of July, I think there was still hope that things were gonna go in a positive direction, unfortunately with the Delta variant and all the different parts of COVID with everything going on. Um, we're, we're still kind of stuck, I guess, is the best way of saying it right in, in, in a very layman simplistic way. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. I mean, we, we so desperately wanted COVID to be in the rear view mirror. I mean, we got to may and we had our spring commencements and we were reporting our dashboard zero cases week after week after week. And we just thought, you know, this is, this is what we wanna, this is where we wanna be as we get into the summer and get prepared for the fall. And then that Delta variant, um, started, um, uh, you know, circling the, the, the, you know, the, the world, frankly, and, and it showed up here in Monmouth county and, you know, given our unique location at the shore where we invite lots of visitors to our, our, uh, you know, great piece of, uh, heaven here. Uh, we, you know, no doubt had, uh, a spiking in COVID cases in our area. Fortunately it hasn't affected our Monmouth university community directly very much mad. I mean, we were only re reporting, I think today three cases in the Monmouth university community, but, um, it has forced us, uh, to, uh, realize that harsh reality that the pandemic is not in fact behind us, we're still very much dealing with it. And so it has prompted, um, healthcare protocols that we had to put in place that we were hoping we wouldn't have to, Matt Harmon: A lot of those protocols carrying over right from last spring to this fall, meaning in the classroom have to wear a mask when you're inside buildings have to wear a mask. I think I'm, I'm getting the, the latest, right. Those are kind of the, the most up to date. Again, I, I don't think we need to talk about every single protocol here on the podcast, but the main ones. And, and clearly one of the main ones that people wanna know about is do I have to wear a mask when I'm on campus? Patrick Leahy: Yeah. And the answer is yes for now, yes. Everywhere indoors, whether you are vaccinated or not. And this is a, this is a, a precaution based on prevailing public health recommendations from the Monmouth county, uh, public health department, as well as the state of New Jersey, um, CDC recommendations. So like, like we've done from the beginning, we're trying to get the good council of our local public health officials. And they're recommending that we stay masked up at least for the time being there's good news underlying this though, Matt. And that is that, um, when we went ahead and put our vaccination policy in place, which basically said that we are mandating the vaccine for all members of our campus community, we were not gonna treat the faculty and staff separate from the students. We just didn't think that that was fair. So we put a mandate in place for all of our campus community, and then of course allowed for those acceptable exemptions, um, for religious medical. Patrick Leahy: And then we had the emergency use authorization called a temporary exemption, if you will. And I'm really pleased that our vaccination levels are, are really high. I mean, uh, in the mid nineties for faculty and staff in the, in the mid eighties for our student body as a whole. So underlying these masking protocols that we have to put in place is a really, really strong level of vaccination among the Monmouth university community. And that gives me great comfort as we go into the, into the fall semester. We'll look at it regularly, cuz I, I know that I don't wanna stay mashed up anymore than anybody else does. Uh, but uh, we'll look at it daily as we've been doing all along and make adjustments, uh, when we think it's safe to do so. But, um, I've gone ahead and had, uh, all of my meetings in person and trying to have as many gatherings in person as possible and just staying masked up, uh, for the time being during those meetings Matt Harmon: And a, and a little bit different right than last year, even from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021. And now the fall of 2021, if I'm on campus, when I say I meaning the general public walking around, let's say, I'm going from building to building, uh, I'm at an athletic event. I happen to park my car and I'm walking to the Plange center. If I'm outside, I do not have to have a mask. Is that correct? Patrick Leahy: That's right. BA based again right now on, on the best advice we're getting no masking outdoors. No, no limitation on events outdoors either right now. So, um, this simple way to think of this is just as you articulate it, Matt indoors stay masked up for the time being irrespective of whether you're vaccinated or not what you're doing. Of course we're gonna be reasonable with eating and drinking. Yes. We're gonna leave the dining halls open. You don't have to, you know, eat between your mask when , when you're in the dining hall or what have you, but indoors masked up outdoors, uh, no mask necessary. Uh, so we think that that will serve us well, at least for the, you know, the next six, six or eight weeks, you know, when it gets colder, we're gonna have to, uh, think through, um, a lot of that outdoor activity that we can do, uh, here in the early part of the fall will get increasingly difficult later in the fall. But, um, indoors masked up outdoors, no masks required Matt Harmon: Coup couple more. I don't wanna spend the entire, we usually do about a half an hour on COVID, but, um, clearly it's on the, on the minds of so many as we go back to school, you mentioned the mandate of getting people, vaccinated, faculty, staff, administration, students, um, whoever that might be with the exceptions. I guess my, my question would be, how does one deal with any of those faculty staff, students that are exempted? Is that the idea of making sure that people still have the mask on because listen, it I'm vaccinated. I have no problem saying that, but if I wasn't, it's not as if I'm walking into a classroom with my hand up or, you know, a V a V on my forehead that says I'm vaccinated or not. We're not asking people if they're vaccinated, but that's the idea of wearing the mask still inside. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. And in a way, because we're requiring everyone, the mask up there, there's a, there's a sort of an equity to that. You know, everybody has to stay masked up right now when we remove the mask mandate for vaccinated people, we will in fact, require unvaccinated people to stay masked up, uh, unvaccinated, uh, members of our community also have to be subject to surveillance testing, uh, on a regular basis. Those are protocols that if we're granting you a vaccination exemption, you have to represent that you'll comply with those added healthcare, uh, on a healthcare protocols that are not, uh, necessary for vaccinated people. If that, if that makes sense. So in, in that case, it's wearing masks even longer than, um, the, uh, the mask mandate for everyone right now, also being subject to surveillance testing. I, I do wanna make one thing clear though, Matt and, and, and I, I wanna make sure our community hears this from me, that we put this ma this vaccine mandate, uh, policy in place. As I mentioned, I'm very happy with the, the high levels of vaccination that we have, but the members who are unvaccinated have those who have filed for officially for the exemption have, and have been granted it and are wearing the masks and wearing them properly and are, um, complying with the surveillance testing protocol. That's in place. As far as I'm concerned, they are fully compliant with our healthcare protocols for this fall. Um, and I wanna make sure that there's no sort of, uh, you know, you know, uh, uh, difference of opinion among the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. We have the policy in place, as long as the unvaccinated have followed those, those policies. I consider them fully compliant as well, and should be, uh, included, uh, fully as full members of our community, whether that's a faculty or a staff member or, or a student, the key will be making sure the compliance for those additional healthcare protocols, but as long as they do, um, every, you know, they are in full compliance with our restart strategy here in the fall. Matt Harmon: Let's finish with this one. And I know it, it was a good chunk of your academic year, last year. Um, how busy has the summer been for yourself, the administration in terms of addressing whether it's parents of students' needs or the actual students' needs, and, and maybe in a, in a word or two, what they're most concerned about coming back to campus? Patrick Leahy: Well, you, you hear a lot and you hear a lot of differing opinions about, you know, you need to ensure everyone's vaccinated to, um, the other side of the equation is, you know, uh, how dare you demand. I be vaccinated. So I, I appreciate that there's a wide variety of opinions on this. Can't imagine the number of, uh, messages that we have, um, tried to, uh, respond to over the course of the summer. Uh, people want to be heard in our community and they deserve to be heard. Um, they've earned the right to be heard, and if they reach out to us, we'll respond to them and just try our best to articulate more fully the rationale behind our, our policies. And, um, in most cases, when we're able to do that, uh, there's, it creates greater understanding among the community. So, um, my hat is off to the, uh, folks in our student life area and, uh, Maryanne NEK in particular and Kathy Maloney or director of our health services who have born the brunt of, you know, most of those inquiries to try to get greater understanding around our healthcare protocols, but having said, and that will continue , but having said all that, um, I am very positive about, uh, where we are on the Eve of our, uh, new year. This is sort of like, uh, new year's Eve here today, the Friday before labor day, when you start on the Tuesday after labor day. So, uh, feel positive on this new year's Eve. Matt Harmon: I don't think I've ever thought of it that way. I've never put new year's Eve together with labor day, but I like that we just, we just we're able put that connection together. So many people try and hold onto summer as much as they can. Nobody wants to think about any date in December, but somehow you've put the, you've put the two together. Patrick Leahy: Well, I said this yesterday to the campus community that, you know, I, I started my open call with happy new year. I, I, I think some people were wondering what I was talking about. And I said, you know, for those of us who work in the academy and, you know, get used to these cycles that were involved in, you know, the beginning of the traditional academic year is really to me as big a change in the year as turning the calendar from December 31st to January 1st. So, uh, in some respects, I feel like this is the Dawn of a new year, uh, which is actually, um, I was reflecting on this my 10th year as a university president. So, um, I guess a little bit of a milestone year for me too Matt Harmon: Fortunate to have you be as part of the Monmouth community university, president Patrick Lehe, faculty member, Matt Horman, it's our 33rd episode of Monmouth weekly after taking a little bit of a break during the course of the summer months, um, president Lehe let's switch off of, of the COVID stuff. You mentioned capital projects, obviously there's new staff that start, um, at the beginning of an academic year. And, and, and maybe one of the biggest of those is someone that we did mention, and that's a brand new provost, which I know you're extremely excited about, Patrick Leahy: And I hope that we can have, uh, Dr. Pamela Scott Johnson on one of our calls, uh, Matt, maybe, maybe the next one or, or the one after that she joined, uh, our campus community this summer. It is the first time I believe in the history of our university, where we have gone out and recruited into Monmouth, a senior vice president and provost. Uh, you might recall that when I started here at Monmouth, I immediately elevated the position of the provost, uh, to that senior vice president position. And I felt it was important at an academic institution that it is abundantly clear that the number two person on the org chart is in fact, the, uh, provost and the chief academic officer. I, I often joke, uh, the number two person on the org chart, but maybe the most important person at a university in some respects, because the heart of what we do is, is in the classroom. And as our chief academic officer, she has responsibility for that. So Pamela Scott Johnson joined us, um, she's off and running. I'm so, uh, proud to have her here as our provost. I think she's gonna do, um, you know, remarkable things, uh, here at mom is, uh, collaborating with our, our faculty to, uh, to advance, you know, the heart of the matter, which is our, uh, academic enterprise. Matt Harmon: You know, you think of it. And, and I, I think when we took our break, um, was right around the time some of those moves were announced maybe, and I would love to have her come on. And I think we actually have it scheduled coming up over the course of our next couple of podcasts that we have set. What was it about, uh, Pamela Scott Johnson that, that attracted you to, and in turn, what attracted her to the university? Because that has to be a two way street. Patrick Leahy: Well, we went out and conducted a bonafide national search, and if you needed any evidence of that, um, it is in that, in that we brought someone from Los Angeles to west long branch . So Pam, Pam, uh, you know, moved across the country this summer from the furthest reaches of our, of our nation. So hence a bonafide national search, but I was just so impressed as I know, so many others around campus were with her mix of credentials. I mean, she has Sterling academic credentials, uh, that, uh, an undergraduate degree from Pelman college, which is one of the great liberal art colleges in the country. And master's in doctoral degrees from an institution maybe you've heard of Princeton. Uh, so Sterling, academic credentials, and then she has had herself, uh, a Sterling career as, uh, an academic as a teacher and a researcher. Um, she, uh, uh, is a member of the board of the American psychological association, which in that field is a, is a, uh, big time position. Um, so she is herself, uh, a serious academic, but then in later years, she's got a ton of experience as an administrator serving as a Dean at two different, uh, institutions. In fact, the, she was the Dean of a, of a school, uh, at her, uh, previous institution, which served more students than Monmouth university does as a university. So, um, she has that, uh, unique mix of Sterling, academic credentials, great academic, uh, pedigree and, um, strong administrative experience. And she's a, uh, you know, folks are finding out she's a ton of fun to be around. So you put all that together. I think it bodes really well for, um, her future here at Monmouth. I'd be anxious to have you ask her, what was it about Mammouth that attracted her? Because I do think you're right, you know, and, and anytime you, you make a key hiring decision, you hope it's, it's, uh, mutual. I mean, you're interviewing that candidate and that candidate's interviewing you at the same time. And in this case, it, it came together in the, in the hiring of Pam, Matt Harmon: I think very unique in fact, that you mentioned coming from California, but has connections to New Jersey with her, um, post bachelor's degrees, both at Princeton. So looking forward to having her on in a future podcast, if I said to you president Lehe, what else is going on on campus? Very broad question. And you could probably take in a ton of different directions, but what else has been happening during the course of the summer? Patrick Leahy: Yeah. One, one quick thing. I'll say about Pam. We, we have, uh, vetted her, um, uh, devotion to Bruce Springsteen. So I think we're covered there as well. Matt Harmon: Well, I was, I was gonna say too, just to add, also make sure that she's sitting on the right side of the stadium, uh, when Princeton comes and visits, Mammouth in October in a football game as well, black and white. I hope Patrick Leahy: I better talk with her privately about making sure she, uh, demonstrates her proper allegiance, uh, that day. But, you know, there, there's a couple other things, you know, one other key hire this this summer. And I think we've mentioned this at a previous podcast, but Raj, uh, dev Agam Dr. Raj dev AGA has started, uh, this summer also is the new Dean of our Leon Hess business school. And, uh, he similarly comes with, uh, a great mix of administrative and, and academic experience. And, uh, we're really thrilled to have Raj part of our, you know, our senior administrative team. You know, I said this, uh, again to the campus community that this fall, you know, with the, uh, sort of reorganization, uh, at this point complete, I, I always say that the senior administrative reorganization will continue sort of odd in infantum frankly, when I'm, uh, of the present, because, you know, things are, you're always trying to, uh, tweak your senior administrative team to make sure that it is, uh, best position to lead the university. But, you know, there's a major change last year with the retirement of a few people. So, um, the, uh, the, the, the latest reorganization is complete with the hiring of, of Pamela Scott Johnson and with the, uh, hiring of Raj and with the appointment of Jeff Stapleton and the appointment of bill seamer, who also started this summer, he's our new executive director for campus planning and facilities. We welcome him to, to Monmouth, uh, this, this summer, um, this fall, we, we, uh, start the academic year with two fewer vice presidents than we did last year. Uh, I think two fewer associate vice presidents than we did last year. And I think four fewer vice provosts than we did at least two years ago. And, uh, you know, I hope that's evidence that, you know, we're trying to make sure that, you know, our senior administrative team, you know, is, you know, as lean as possible and as nimble as possible, so that, uh, um, you know, we have, uh, resources, you know, dedicated to the right places. So, um, really proud of where we are as we get into the, uh, the fall semester. Matt Harmon: I, I, I was gonna say, and, and as you were saying, lean and nimble, I also thought of a word, and that might provide an opportunity for some of the senior administrative people to be maybe even more hands on. Right. Isn't that a way for them to make sure that they're connecting back with the campus a little bit more? Patrick Leahy: Yeah, to, to be honest, when I started at Monmouth, I thought that we just had, you know, a whole bunch of, uh, administrators and, uh, I welcome what they do. They're all themselves dedicated to our students, but I just felt that there was, you know, an infrastructure that was not necessary. And, uh, it showed up in decision making and it showed up on getting decisions to people. And, um, so I just wanted to thin, you know, uh, uh, streamline it a little bit, maybe is the, is the best, uh, the best term. I mean, I still have a lot of direct reports, 10 direct reports, and that's a lot, um, it's a measure of how I'm trying to keep the, the senior administrative O organization as flat as possible so that I can stay involved in the different component, uh, components of the university. Um, but that's more than I had at a previous place where I only had six. So, uh, we'll, that's why I say we'll keep looking at, you know, over time, you know, how we continue to tweak the senior administrative team. But yeah, the idea is to, is to, is to get, uh, the senior leaders directly involved in, in, you know, in the work of the university and to make decision making, um, uh, you know, a, a much more, a much quicker process, no less collaborative, just, uh, quicker because, uh, you know, it's a competitive environment out there and we need to be able to, to move where necessary. Matt Harmon: You mentioned capital improvements, usually take place during the course of the summer months, president Lehe. If, if someone was walking back onto campus, having not been there for a couple months during the course of the summer, would they notice anything different or is it more long term things as the, the strategic plan and the long term plan kind of come together? Patrick Leahy: Well, they would, they will notice a few things. I, I wanted to get most of this completed by the beginning of the fall semester, but as you know, there's so many delays in getting access to materials and, and access to, to furniture and the like, so there's been a few delays, but all of this will happen. This fall one, we had made investments in our, uh, first year residence halls. Those will be complete, um, this, this semester, uh, this, uh, weekend as students move in. So I'm, I'm really pleased about enhancing the experience of our first year students, the great hall, uh, I'll call, um, you know, the, the, what did someone say the activation of the great hall, which is, you know, turning that marque building on campus into much more of a gathering space that continues, uh, we'll be opening up our new cafe on the first floor here in the next, uh, couple weeks. Patrick Leahy: Um, the, the furniture that we've ordered to outfit that as a gathering space for students and faculty alike, um, there's been a little bit delay on that. So that will be coming in, uh, during the course of the fall semester, you go over to our graduate center and our occupational therapy, uh, labs, the, the labs for our new occupational therapy doctoral program. Those are, uh, finished right now and are serving, um, our first cohort of, um, OTD students right now. Um, you, something that you might appreciate in particular, Matt, is that, uh, we have through the generosity of the part and family, we have a, uh, significant gift to build out the part and broadcast center right there on the, on sort of the second floor of the ocean first bank center, uh, overlooking the, uh, the basketball court. That's gonna be a major enhancement to, um, our ability to, to, uh, broadcast, uh, all of our games. And, uh, that will be happening. And we finish this, this fall. So some small, uh, nonetheless, uh, high value, but smaller projects will be done this fall. And you will notice them, um, when you're in and around campus. And then the planning for the bigger issues, uh, also began in earnest this summer. So more on those as they develop, Matt Harmon: Spend the last couple minutes, uh, with an athletic update. I think people always, uh, some people know, and, and others probably kind of forget there have been students, student athletes on campus for the last couple of weeks with pre-season camps, and now, uh, fall sports up and running I, myself getting ready to take a flight later today for football's first game, uh, their FBS game down at middle Tennessee state that will take place tomorrow night. You can listen to that game@monmouthhawks.com. And I also saw something pretty unique, the women's soccer team, which is off to another great start, they were supposed to play Rutgers, but because of the flooding situation that took place in that area of the state, that game is now gonna be played, um, in, at Monmouth, uh, I think this afternoon. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. Yeah. How exciting to be able to bring Rutgers, uh, to, uh, Hess field for that game. So really, really pleased about that. I'm sorry to hear about the, the flooding and I hope everything, uh, you know, dries up quickly there, but really proud of our women's soccer team. You know, we've started the, the year they played four games already and they're four and oh, and those games were against Lehigh, N J I T Delaware and Bucknell. And, uh, if you can play, draw those really fine, uh, academic and athletic programs draw those, uh, teams. And then, uh, come out on top. I mean, that's just such a, should be such a source of pride for us here at Monmouth, and then to be able to play Rutgers. I, I understand that, uh, we're not gonna be, uh, in, uh, at full strength, uh, against Rutgers, but, uh, what a, what a great opportunity for us to play, um, Rutgers, uh, today. Patrick Leahy: So really proud of them and all of our other student athletes, you know, I know you're, as you pointed out, you're headed down to Tennessee. That's another really unique opportunity for us, for folks who don't follow it that closely. You know, we, we, we all play division one football, but you know, there's 120 or so, or, uh, schools that play FBS level, um, football bull subdivision level. And they're the ones, you know, like, uh, Rutgers and Alabama, et cetera, we play at the FCS level against, you know, the, the other fine schools, uh, in the Patriot league, the Ivy league, et cetera. And every once in a while, an FCSS school gets a chance to, to, uh, to compete against an FBS school. And, uh, that's what we have tomorrow, uh, right, Matt. So it's a big opportunity for us to show people at that FBS level, what a Monmouth has made of. And, uh, I, for one, can't wait to see, uh, how we fare against a really good middle Tennessee state team. Matt Harmon: Yeah. Football nationally ranked in the FCS poll going into the year after winning the big south, uh, season ago, uh, and losing in the opening round to the eventual national champ, Sam Houston state field hockey, I know has a game this afternoon up in Fairfield, cross country gets up and going this weekend. Men's soccer plays this weekend, uh, against St. Francis Brooklyn, um, and football as well. It, it, it's always exciting, right? When you think about just everybody getting back to campus and, and hopefully this is a year unlike 2020, where the other students on campus can go and support their classmates and be part of all the excitement that goes around athletic events. Patrick Leahy: Yeah, we haven't, we weren't able to open like this last fall. So, um, this is mimicking more our, my first year here, the fall of 2019, and it is so exciting, um, to be welcoming students back to campus in this way, even if we have these, you know, added protocols that we need to, to, to keep in place. But I said, you know, this is the idea around new year. You know, I just said that if you work in the academy, um, you have to get, uh, excited about this time of year, because, you know, as nice as it is to, to have that, you know, little bit of a break in the summer, um, we have to bring the energy in the enthusiasm when our students return. And for, for, I think Mo all of us who are involved in education and particular higher education, it's just a time of year that should, uh, remind us why we're in this line of work and, uh, should just energize us. And I'm just so glad that we're able this fall to bring students back and, uh, and to restore that energy and that vitality to campus. I mean, that, that's why campuses were designed for energy and enthusiasm and vitality and that, and that collaboration and the opportunity to develop those relationships that last a lifetime, uh, I'm looking forward to that this fall is, uh, restoring that energy to, to campus. Matt Harmon: I think that you actually kind of stole my thunder. I was gonna finish with, how do you envision the semester looking like, and what's your expectation? You, you kind of said it there. I mean, the, the Monmouth campus, having been part of it quite honestly, for, for so long, going back to 1993 and been there one way or the other, the campus is at its best. And I think you got a, a taste of this in 2019, the campus is at its best when it's busy, when there's activities, when students are all over the place, when, uh, athletic events are going on, when student groups are doing their thing and, and, and trying to connect with the other students on campus, that's when Monmouth is at its best. And I'm sure that's, that's true right? Anywhere across the country, all the university presidents that you've probably talked to everyone is struggling with, how do we get things back to normal? So that, to your point, a college campus is supposed to be vibrant and alive. Not people scared to talk to each other and looking and going in another direction. Patrick Leahy: Yeah, I'm really, really proud of the way over the last year and a half that we've adjusted and continue to serve students, uh, as well as we have, you know, our, our, I didn't get a chance to mention this, but, you know, our, our, uh, six year graduation rates at an all time high, our first year retention rate, this fall is close to an all time high. And that's because, uh, the campus community rallied around, uh, our students and supported them and, uh, aided them and continued to serve them so well, during the course of this pandemic, it'll just be nice to be able to serve them well in the more traditional way this fall. And, uh, um, I, for 1:00 AM, I'm looking forward to it. I do think as we started this podcast, we're gonna monitor very, very closely, you know, this continuing public health challenge. And, uh, if we have to make adjustments along the way we will, but I'm just so pleased that, uh, as of now we have a record number of students, frankly, coming, coming to live with us this year, or close to a record number of students coming to live with us. And, um, you know, all of our academic programming pretty much is gonna be in person. And, uh, I just, uh, am so glad that we're gonna be able to, uh, just kick off the academic year in that fashion. Matt Harmon: Totally agree. Good to be back up in talking about the start of the semester, which comes up on Tuesday university, president Patrick Lehe, and I will continue to do mam with weekly, uh, during the course of the fall semester, if you've got any comments, thoughts, or anything that you want to hear about, please feel free to reach out to either one of us we'll invite some guests on coming up in the near future as well. President Lehe was great to see you and talk to you and, um, look forward to getting our podcast series back up and going after a couple of months off, enjoy the last weekend unofficially of the summer, though, you'll come to learn pretty quick. September is what we call local summer around here. It's usually the best time of the month. Patrick Leahy: yeah, I can't wait. I mean, uh, happy labor day, uh, to you Matt safe travels down to, to Tennessee. I'll be listening very closely to the, uh, broadcast, uh, tomorrow. And, um, I don't know if we will get our next podcast in before September 11th. So I guess I just wanna sign off with, um, you know, remembering this really solemn anniversary, uh, this year, um, on September 11th and, uh, in particular I know how this community was directly. I, we were all directly affected by it, but this community in particular. So we'll be thinking of, uh, of, uh, all of our men and women in uniform, uh, during September 11th. And maybe when we're next together, we can, um, we can remember, uh, them as well. Matt Harmon: Monmouth has always done such a great job remembering nine 11, and, uh, beautifully said, great words. President Lehe 20 years seems like yesterday for so many, um, that will take place on a Saturday nine 11 this year. And I'm sure the university will do a great job remembering as they always do. We'll be back again over the course of the next week or so for university president Patrick Lehe all involved with our weekly podcast faculty member, Mount Harmon, saying so long. Thanks for listening. And we'll talk to you very soon.