Matt Harmon: On this episode of Monmouth weekly university, president Patrick Lehe, and I spend some time catching up on the latest campus happenings and welcome in bill SMER, executive director for campus planning and facilities management. This is faculty member, Matt Horman it's time for episode number 36. So Monmouth weekly, our podcast series. Thanks to Zoe for joining us. Matt Harmon: It is a beautiful day on campus, looking out my office window here in the plan year center, um, and see nothing but bright, bright sunshine, which seems to be a perfect way to have our recording of episode number 36 of our mom with weekly podcast. Get up and going with university president Patrick Lehe, faculty member, Matt Harmon. Uh, we will be joined in just a little bit by bill Seymour, who is the new executive director for campus planning and facilities management, but president Lehe, as we always like to do spend a couple of minutes just to, uh, catch up. I, I missed you last night. I, I, I was at the soccer game as well. I saw you tweeting and very busy, but you're, you're a man who just jumps all over the place. I couldn't catch you. Patrick Leahy: Well, I was there for the first half and had to, had to leave at, uh, around halftime and felt positive with our two oh lead and then watched the second half, uh, through our fantastic broadcast capabilities here and was so pleased to see the, uh, final four zero, which as you know, in soccer, uh, is a convincing win, Matt Harmon: Very convincing, win, and, uh, into the finals, Christy Turner and the rest of her women's soccer program. That game taking place here on campus on Sunday, uh, make sure that if you have the time come out and see it. And if not, you can watch it as president and Lehe. So eloquently mentioned on our ESPN, uh, broadcast. It's been obviously a couple weeks, um, since we've, we've done our podcast on kind of our every two week rotation and a lot of good stuff taking place on campus, you know, just looking at the overall field. I think I mentioned this to you last time that we talked from, for me in my role as a faculty member, someone who's teaching in person classes like so many people now are, it is so nice to just walk around campus and for lack of a better term, just see people walking around. Patrick Leahy: I mean, I think the energy level is really high right now at mammo. I mean, I, I think people are happy to be back on campus. Uh, so we've talked about before our residence halls are, are full up this, this fall, which I think is evidence of the interest students and their, and their families have to have them back in a, you know, living and learning environment. Um, great, great energy, uh, around the campus. Uh, very excited for our students and their, uh, competition opportunities. I mean, talk about athletics in a minute, but you know, this, this weekend, our model UN team, which we've talked about at length on previous podcasts and is, uh, is, uh, headed to Washington DC for national model UN competition, you know, at which they will compete against the great schools in the country, you know, every one of which you've heard of and, you know, well, as a, as a very, very, uh, prestigious, uh, institution and we'll get a chance to compete against them. And, and I love that. It's one of the reasons I so, uh, love our athletics programs here because it gives our, our student athletes a chance to compete against other really fine schools and, um, you know, to beat Fairfield last night in women's soccer and, uh, field hockey is up in Maine today for the semi-finals of the America east field hockey tournament. So I wish our, our field hockey players, uh, well, um, soccer is in the, uh, Mac, uh, conference, uh, playoffs, uh, football returns home this weekend to keep their unbeaten streak in the big south alive. I, I mean, it's just an exciting time to be, uh, at Monmouth. And I hope that that's palpable when people visit the campus or walk around the campus, Matt Harmon: Not to mention basketball will start, uh, coming up next week as well. Both the men and the women's team get up and going men. Uh, the first one to play that will be November 9th down in Charlotte at UNC Charlotte. You know, you mentioned the, the debate team. It's funny in one of my classes the other night, we're working on, um, scripting out news newscasts, and we went through a mammoth newscast and I made the point of, there are so many things on campus and, and I think students are programmed into just having it be campus events. And we talked about making it a news story and the lead for a lot of the students was the debate team who was in California now going down to DC. And, and we kind of played into that. Um, I, I do like every once in a while, and it's, I, I say every once in a while, I'll say almost every two weeks, your competitive nature definitely comes out. Doesn't matter what it is across the board. You wanna make sure that Monmouth is, is registering up top. So I will, I will warn those on the debate team. They, they, they need to probably come home with some sort of hardware, right? Patrick Leahy: Well, I was even talking to one of our students the other day, who's involved in a very altruistic community service project, um, that other colleges and universities are also involved in. And, uh, I also, I said to them, you know, let's make sure Monmouth has the greatest turnout and the greatest impact, uh, compared to those other institutions. So my competitive nature extends even to the, the most genuine of community service, uh, uh, activities. It's, it's just, I think, a way to support our students and, and to keep them, uh, motivated and, and, and hungry. Um, you know, just yesterday, if I may say, you know, we, we had an episode on campus where, um, a student was in need of some, uh, health, uh, healthcare, um, unexpectedly. And one of our senior nursing students rushed to this student's aid and took over the, the, uh, management of the situation. A senior nursing student took over the management of the situation until our, uh, the EMTs could arrive. And then that same person, a few hours later scored the first goal in the women's soccer, uh, game last night. So that is just Jill Conlan is just an example of the kind of students that we have here at Monmouth. And, uh, as you can tell, it makes me so proud to be the president here Matt Harmon: Also proud as you look with, uh, the numbers being so positive on campus, speaking of nursing and health, um, from a, from a COVID perspective right now, the university is in, in a really good place. If I'm, if I'm saying that correctly, I know not perfect. There is no perfect probably in this world that we live in right now, but, but really, really positive. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. We have a handful of cases and, um, remember every case is its own unique, um, health situation. So, um, I'm hopeful that they are not serious cases and, and, uh, that the individuals who have them will recover very quickly, but just a handful of cases, because our vaccination rate is, is as high as it is. They're not resulting in, in outbreaks of any kind, which is the goal. And, um, you know, we still have the, the protocols in place, um, which I know, uh, for, for many, it it's getting tiring, you know, especially the masking. And I, I get that and I understand fully, um, we're gonna keep that protocol in place, at least for the time being until we get a sense that, um, you know, in Monmouth county here where our, our case numbers are at such a good spot, that we can relax those. But I think because people are so excited to be back on campus and interacting with one another, uh, it's a small price to pay to, to keep those masks on indoors, uh, for the time being, and as a result, we're managing the, uh, caseload, uh, quite well. Matt Harmon: I will give a, uh, quick shout out to the class that I just left my public speaking class, which is, um, probably not a huge fan of doing speeches with masks on, but they've been able to adjust and, uh, and doing a great job. And, and I, and I see it in all my classes with presentations and with broadcasting and things like that, classes that I teach. I, I, I think at this point in, in a way, um, to your point, students are tired of it, but also it it's almost become part of their daily routine, which I can't say I'm a huge fan of, but it has become part of their daily routine. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. And you know, the few cases that we do have on campus are very often breakthrough cases, which I hope is evidence that, uh, even with a high vaccination rate, we have to be careful and, um, you know, asking the faculty and the staff and the students to mask up indoors when they're not eating or drinking. I, I, I hope is deemed a small, small price to pay to, uh, to allow us to return the, uh, energy to campus. We should probably just talk about it right now. You know, protocols went out about those basketball games that you indicated are gonna start next week. Remember that's a large number of people I hope gathered indoors for a sustained amount of time, hopefully cheering loudly. Um, we are in fact going to ask, uh, attendees to stay masked up inside. And, uh, I know that that's, you know, not ideal and believe me, it won't be ideal for, for me either, but, um, but we are gonna ask them to, uh, demonstrate their vaccination status or proof of a negative test. And even when you, uh, are admitted to the building, we'll ask you when you're not eating or drinking, you know, to, to try to stay masked up. It's just all an effort on our part to try to keep, uh, the, uh, thousands and thousands of constituents that we have here at Monmouth as safe as possible. And when you have a basketball game, you know, you're inviting people from the outside, the Monmouth university community to campus. And, you know, we don't know, um, you know, what their, um, healthcare protocols are at their place of work or in their families. So that's why we've, uh, decided to put the, uh, vaccination requirement in place and, um, and masking, uh, during the game, Matt Harmon: You know, and an episode ago we can transition. I, I think, into bringing in our guest today, uh, an episode ago, we had Jeff Stapleton on who is the new athletic director, and going back to the end part of last academic year, um, we said goodbye to some very important people on campus in the athletic department, Marilyn McNeil. That's why we talked to Jeff Patty Swanick, who was in charge of so many things in her long time here, uh, at Monmouth. And, and I know one of the hires that you're excited about, and it seems very poignant on, um, kind of the, the weekend before veterans day, that bill SMER is a veteran and has that background in the military. He is the new executive director for campus planning and facilities management, uh, bill. I'll just, you've been so good in the first 10 minutes and, and very technical knowing to turn your mic on, as we say, Hey, good morning to you. And really appreciate you giving us a couple of minutes here. Um, I I'll, I'll start with, for you just what you've seen in the first couple of months of your daily routine at Monmouth. Bill Siemer: Yeah. So, Hey, thanks, Matt. Uh, really excited to be here. So, so, you know, as I was going through, um, um, I guess the hiring process, the interview process here, here for Monmouth. Um, the thing that really struck me, uh, the most about Monmouth was just the people. Um, I'll be honest, just the team, um, uh, you know, a across campus, the leadership team, you know, they're focused on, on, on the student student success here at Monmouth, which is, you know, obviously evident, um, and everything that has been accomplished, you know, these past, past couple of years, some huge accomplishments, um, down to my folks here in, in, uh, in, in facilities, um, just, just everyone, um, is, is passionate about what they do. They're excited about what they do, um, and, and really trying to work together. You know, some, you know, a lot of the folks here at Monmouth have, have been here for, uh, uh, several, if not, you know, tens of tens of years. So, so to me, it's like that, that, that means something, you know, Monmouth must really be a good place to work. So, so that's been, uh, uh, really the thing that has really struck me the most and, and obviously, you know, when you come onto campus here and, and we've all heard it, uh, we see it, you know, this is a beautiful campus. Um, some of the facilities, uh, the great hall, uh, the library, um, are just, you know, historic structures are beautiful. Um, the landscaping on this campus is just, uh, just amazing. Um, but, uh, but certainly there are, uh, opportunities to, to continue to improve here. Matt Harmon: You know, president Lehe, I, I think in order to kind of set bill up and those that listen to our podcast, um, to talk about the hiring process of what was Patty's job, which encompassed so many things to now, how that job has been, um, flattened out in one way or disseminated in others. Patrick Leahy: So, uh, Patty Swank who served here, I forget Matt, what 40 years or, or something. She ended her career as a vice president of adminis of administrative services. And that encompassed four areas, facilities, the police human resources and compliance, which is an increasingly important function at a, a university in the 21st century. And so when, when Patty announced her retirement, it gave me an opportunity just to think through how I'd like to structure and decided HR and compliance could move to one of our, uh, uh, current vice presidents. And, uh, the police could move to another one of our senior administrators and fit those functions into what I thought were really good places. And then it would give me this unique opportunity to hire a senior administrative official who's focused entirely on the physical plant. And as bill mentioned, enhancing that physical plan, I think we all agree that we start way out ahead of our competitors around with the quality of the campus we have in the unbelievable location. But when I walked onto the campus, I saw opportunities. And when bill walked onto the campus, he saw opportunities and we hired bill in large part because through the interview process, he, and I, I think saw it the same way. Like this is unbelievable, but wow. Imagine what we could do if we took a fresh look at a few things, and if we could execute on some capital projects that are embedded in our strategic plan. And so we did a national search, I mean, bonafide national search had a hundred applicants, you know, from all over. And, uh, I always say we, uh, emerged with three really good finalists, uh, someone from higher education, someone from traditional corporate, uh, work and bill and Bill's experience, as he'll tell you is, uh, with, uh, with the us Navy. And, uh, we just felt like bill had the personality that would work, uh, well with us, he had, you know, obviously, you know, his heart is in the right place with his dedication to our country, if we can just convert that commitment to our country, to this campus, imagine what we can do in, uh, in facilities. So, um, uh, that's why we went ahead and hired bill a little bit more of a non-traditional hire in some, in some respects, but, uh, I think the early, uh, reports suggest, uh, he's doing a fantastic job Matt Harmon: Bill, if, if you don't mind continuing that kind of theme and, and talking a little bit about your background, uh, within the, the Naval civil engineer core, right. That, that's your correct, that's your background. And, and, and for those that would be listening and say, well, what does that mean? And how does that translate into somebody that can run facilities and campus projects? How, how do, how do the two come together? Yeah, Bill Siemer: Yeah, no, that's, that's, that's, that's a great question. One. I, uh, uh, get asked, uh, often actually, so, so yes, I, I did, uh, uh, do, uh, you know, total 32 years, uh, in, in the military, started off in the air force a little bit of air force time, but, uh, uh, predominantly, um, I, I, I spent my time, uh, with the Navy, like you said, as a, as a Navy civil engineer core officer. And so, and so what, what that means is, is a, you know, a good part of my time was spent, um, leading the Navy CB. So I don't know if you ever heard of the Navy CB, but the CB are the Navy's construction force. You know, we have plumbers and carpenters and, and steel workers, um, who go out, um, in, in all environments across the globe, um, building, um, building and fighting that's, that's one of the CVS motto we build, we fight, um, and supporting, uh, you know, our, our sister services, Marine Corps, um, and the army and the air force and, and, uh, you know, support to our service or our country. And so, and so that's, that's a big part of what we do. So that's, that's kind of the leadership part of it. Um, when I'm not doing that, I, I spend a lot of time, uh, designing, constructing, maintaining, uh, Navy's basis, infrastructure, Navy Marine Corps basis, um, both here in the us and, and overseas as well. So, so very similar, uh, to my, to my current position here. Um, you know, I'm a, I'm a registered professional engineer, civil engineer by, uh, by training. Um, and, and, and so the, the skills and the experience that I gained in the Navy in that capacity, um, really translate directly, um, to, to kind of my role here in, in higher education as Dr. Lay, he mentioned, you know, little, little, little bit different, of course. Um, but there are certainly some, uh, some similarities there, Matt Harmon: President Lee, if, if you don't mind continuing with that theme as well from a non-traditional standpoint that you mentioned from, from the hire to bring somebody from the outside, into this position, um, as opposed to somebody who's worked in education and been on campuses for the better part of their career, what, what was it that set bill apart from the hundred people that applied for this position? Patrick Leahy: Well, the first is that I love the fact that he's a trained civil engineer. I mean, um, we've never had a civil engineer in, in a leadership role in facilities before, at least I don't think. Um, and, uh, that's very comforting to to me. Um, number one, number two, you know, we knew that his experience was a little bit different from, you know, the other candidates who were making their case. Having spent 30 years on college campuses, our feeling in the end was, you know, we have enough people around here who are experts in higher education. Uh, I'd like to bring a fresh perspective to our campus. And, uh, uh, this is why we got very comfortable with, with the sort of non-traditional experience that that bill brought. I mean, um, we, we see ourselves frankly, separating ourselves increasingly in the years to come from other higher education institutions. And we want to put together great minds who are steeped in higher education and, and great minds who are bringing a, you know, a fresh, innovative look at how to manage, uh, uh, campuses. So we think it's the combination of those two. That's gonna allow us to, to really advance and, you know, bill, you can tell from his personality, he has a personality to thrive in, you know, a collaborative setting, like, uh, like higher education as well. I mean, I think there's sometimes a mistaken impression, oh, you bring a military person in he's, you know, he's gonna have a certain kind command and control kind of style, and you spend a little bit of time with, with bill and you'll see that he is a first and foremost, a, a collaborator great listener. Um, you know, really tries hard to understand, you know, what his sort of constituents that is, you know, the people for whom he's building and renovating things, you know, really want out of a project. And that that's that's the bottom line is try to assemble a team with, uh, you know, the, the best possible mindsets you can with a variety of experience, but that can fit into the time of type of team that you want. And, and bill does all that Matt Harmon: Bill seamer, the executive director for campus planning, facilities management, joining us here, episode 36 of our weekly podcast university, president Patrick Lehe, faculty member, Matt Harmon, um, bill on that same idea as someone who is a non-academic coming to a college campus, tell me what you, what you've experienced in the first couple of months, or what you envision as you become more accustomed in terms of, of challenges that this job will bring mm-hmm Bill Siemer: . Yeah, no, thanks. Thanks Matt. So, so, so I'll say, um, you know, what we do, what we do here. It's, it's, it's really not rocket science. Um, I think, I think the skills, uh, that make a person successful in almost any job, um, are gonna apply to that, to that next position as well. So, so, so to me and, and Dr. Lehe kind of, kind of outlined, uh, some of those, you know, the, the leadership piece, the communication piece, the, the, the discipline. Yes. I guess that is something that maybe I get from the military is the, the, the discipline side. Um, but, but, and, and the teamwork and, and bringing that all together, uh, to support, um, to support a common, a, a common mission. And, and we, we talked about a little bit, uh, at the beginning about this strategic plan. So, so, you know, when I, when I got here, uh, to Monmouth, uh, certainly I saw some things that, that needed to be done, but I had to try to focus, focus my priorities. And so what I said was, was, uh, people, you know, my, my people, my staff here, my team, um, my customers, um, across, across the campus, and then just the way we do business, how, how we get things done, um, and then taking those three priorities and aligning that with, with the strategic plan. And so, um, that's, that's up to this point, I think that's been, uh, been, been very useful, uh, for me, um, in approaching issues and problems and challenges, um, uh, with, with, with that kind of, kind of focus in mind, um, um, you, you know, specific, specific challenges and, and opportunities. Um, gosh, there's, there's a lot of things, you know, I, I try to, whenever there's there there's a problem or an issue to, to solve, you know, my, my first interest is, is how, how is that going to support, um, uh, student, student success? You know, how does it enhance what we do here at the university? And I think, uh, certainly, you know, recently, uh, the upgrades up at the grade hall, you know, the, the, the furniture and the coffee shop, um, things like that, that, that are certainly improvements to the facility, but gosh, they're, they're focused right back on, on those students. And, and, uh, so that's, that's kind of what, what drives me, you know, that, that's, that's what makes me, uh, um, excited about being here at Mout. Matt Harmon: You know, I interesting in a lot of ways, both of you have mentioned in the 25 minutes that we've been recording the strategic plan and president Lehe, I'll ask you this, how the strategic plan plays into having bill on campus and somebody new with a fresh set of eyes. And I know in the, in the five year plan changes on campus, whether it's, and, and, and I'm thinking of Bill's job from everything to the way the campus looks from a landscaping standpoint to renovations, both of you have mentioned the great hall to potential new buildings on campus. All of that now falls under his role, correct? Patrick Leahy: Yeah, it's a, it's a big job. , um, I just was smiling at hearing bill because, you know, I, I was here. I was just touting, you know, his, his, uh, stellar service to our country in the, in the armed forces for 32 years. But he speaks as though he's been working in our sector for 32 years, you know, everything he does, you know, he takes back to what is this gonna do to enhance the student experience here? And so this, this is what I mean, like he's a natural for our, for our sector, but, you know, when I reorganized, I made it clear. I wanted to keep the facilities person as a direct report to me, because this is how strongly I feel about continued development of our campus as a living and learning environment. So our strategic plan is replete with continued investments in our physical plan, both to increase the functionality of, uh, this great asset that we have, which is the campus and to in increase the attractiveness of it so that more and more people are drawn to it, prospective students, and really high, highly qualified staff and faculty. So, um, our strategic plan, a big part of it is modernizing our campus. We had that built before we went out, looking for Bill's position, and then we showed that to prospective candidates and said, you know, look at this plan and tell me if it is exciting to you, because if it is not, then you're not the right person for mom. . I think when bill saw some of the, you know, we're some generally speaking, some investments in student housing are, are, are in the offing and more investments in academic, uh, programmings in the off academic, uh, spaces in the offering and enhancements to, you know, the number of fields that we have on campus, both for our student athletes, but also for all of our intermural and club athletes as well. Um, and then all kinds of different ways that we want to, uh, uh, beautify and enhance the campus. All of that's embedded in our strategic plan. And I think when bill saw that, tell me if I'm wrong bill, but that was like, wow, I, we could have a lot of fun here at Monmouth over the next five years and beyond, Matt Harmon: You know, in, in, in a standpoint, um, bill of, I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna say this and, and hopefully you'll understand where I'm going with it. If the campus needs to get refurbished, redone, new projects, um, to president's Le he's point of having fun of putting that together, not that you get a blank check in essence to do whatever you want. And if you do get that blank, check let's talk before you cash it. I could use a couple of things in my office. Patrick Leahy: There will be no blank checks , Matt Harmon: Which we sit in right now. But, but, but the idea of already having such a beautiful campus facility, the piece is in place, but tweaking them to make them better from an engineering standpoint. I, I, I would think like your, your mind is almost going 24 7. Bill Siemer: Yeah, yeah, no, it, it, it, it, it actually is. And, and, and that's where I, I start to bring in, uh, you know, some of my engineering side is like how, how that's solving problems, right? I mean, that's, that's what all of us do we solve problems. And so, and so trying to figure out the best ways to optimize, you know, the limited resources that we have to make sure we're doing things, uh, correctly, you know, I, I can look at, let's say construction costs. So I, I kind of feel like sometimes we, we maybe pay a little more than, than we really need to, or we should. Um, and that's, that's typical, that's, that's typical across large organizations. Um, but it's something we gotta, we gotta focus on. You know, I, I see, um, deferred maintenance or a backlog of, of our, our, our maintenance, which, which is really the things across our campus and our facilities that, that haven't been taken care of, you know, just, just like your house, um, your HVAC system, uh, wears out your windows, start to leak your roof starts to, uh, you know, shingles blowing off and you gotta maintain it. You gotta take care of it. Um, it's not always, uh, the exciting work, uh, that, that building some, some, some new facility might, might, might present, but, but it's critical. Um, I, I feel to, to this success of, of, of the university and in our mission. So, so that's, that's gonna be a big focus of mine is, is trying to figure that piece out. How can we do that? How can we take care of what we have, um, to meet, um, our requirements and, and doing it in a, uh, fiscally I'll say, fiscally responsible manner. Patrick Leahy: And that's that I think Matt is where Bill's discipline will be really, uh, really important. I mean, um, we have to continue to make sure that we limit our deferred maintenance. And as bill mentioned, you know, you don't really like to allocate money to that because it just doesn't strike you as, uh, a really exciting, uh, way to, to invest in the campus, but we've gotta do it. And we just need to make sure that we have that discipline, that bill brings that certain amount of money has to be allocated to maintenance certain amount of money. Of course we can allocate to enhancement. And then of course, it's incumbent upon me to go out and raise a ton of money that, uh, bill can use in, in the enhancement of the campus. I mean, I'll just give you two quick examples. I mean, just, just since bill arrived, these projects were in, were in play before he arrived, but he's bringing them now to, to completion. One is the, the great hall and the enhancements to the great hall, which, I mean, I can't tell you how enthusiastic I am about the way in which we have repurposed the great hall for the benefit of students. I mean, the, the, the, the furniture is starting to come in and we're putting it in as we get it, and the students are already using it and are already Laing what a great enhancement this is. And I keep saying to them guys, it's only about a third of the way complete, you know, we have the lights coming in and more furniture coming in and the coffee shop hasn't been activated yet. Wait until all of that is done, and you will find the great hall to be a completely re-energized, uh, building, uh, uh, in be, you know, in particular for the benefit of the students. And then in the other one, and I don't want to get at two out too far out ahead cuz we haven't dedicated it yet. But last night was the first broadcast of our women's soccer game from our new part and broadcast broadcasting center in the ocean first bank center, wait till you see this project. I mean, it's a small project as capital projects go, but I mean hugely important to our, um, broadcast efforts and our communication students. And can't wait until we formally dedicate that that result of a major, major gift from, uh, one of our board members. So, uh, say combination of new and exciting stuff that continues to enhance the campus, but making sure that we're tending to this historic campus from a maintenance standpoint as well Matt Harmon: Was, was in that, uh, facility just last week, I was finishing a workout and popped my head in and was just really wow. They were putting almost the finishing touches on it. Um, the new broadcast facility looking forward to, um, having an opportunity to be part of the broadcast of which I'll do, uh, tomorrow with the, with the football game, that'll be broadcast bill, you, you know, one of the things as, as you talked about some of your roles and responsibilities on campus, for whatever the reason it, it popped into my head that you probably have to deal with and field some complaints as well of people wanting things done immediately, something's broken, something's not working. This is out of place, make sure this is taken care of right away. Um, and, and you strike me in the first half hour as someone that knows on a pretty even keel as to how to deal with that type of, um, responsibility. Bill Siemer: No, that's that's you, you hit the nail on the head, Matt. I, I, I do, I do feel a lot of, a lot of, a lot of calls, uh, a lot of requests. Um, and, and, and really, I think the thing that, that, that helps me is just talking to folks and communicating with them. I think everyone understands everyone is pretty reasonable. Most people are reasonable. Um, as long as you talk to them and explain what, you know, maybe some of the challenges are, obviously we can't do everything. Um, right now I, I, I wish I could. Um, especially when I, when I get calls from, you know, colleagues saying, Hey, bill, you know, this is something we really need, can't you can't you help us out. And it's like, well, yes, but you know, maybe I need this, I need more time or I need to prioritize it. So, so, um, communication communication is, is key. Just, just talking to folks, let 'em know that you, you understand what their needs are. Um, and you will, you will work, uh, to, to, to meet those needs. Um, yeah. Matt Harmon: Let, let let's finish. Um, both president Lehe and, and bill with this as we lead into next week's veteran's day. It, it seems perfect timing that we had bill on with this 30 plus years of service, um, to our country and, and in the military and president LA, it's always been a day that on this campus, um, I I'll say both before you took over, but certainly since you took over that, you really wanna make sure you highlight just how important veterans day is to the campus community. Patrick Leahy: Thank you for saying that, because I feel very strongly about supporting, uh, our military, those that are in service and those who are, who, you know, who are returning from their years of service and are enrolling here at Monmouth in the hopes of, uh, completing their degrees and, um, and moving on to another part of their careers. It's, it's, it's such an important thing. And I, as you point out the university's always been dedicated to it. I hope I just continue that dedication. Um, I always have this saying Matt, that, you know, I, I did not personally have the privilege of serving my country in uniform. Uh, frankly, the older I get, sometimes I regret that a little bit that I didn't take, you know, even a two or three year stint in my life to do so, but, uh, what's done is done. So I, I look at it as, you know, one of the ways that I, and my colleagues here who didn't have a chance to serve our country uniform can serve our country, is to take care of those who did, and to be as supportive of those who did as possible. And, you know, we open our arms very widely to returning veterans here on this campus. I'm so glad that third parties recognize us as a military friendly school. It's great, I'm pleased, but I don't really care whether third parties recognize us that way or not. It's the right thing to do. And we will continue to welcome veterans here at Monmouth and do everything we can to support them in their, uh, journey to, to get the education they need to live really, uh, productive lives. So, you know, November 11th is really important to us. Uh, Memorial day is really important to us. Flag day is really important to us. I mean, any, any day that signals, uh, to our military and, and to their families, you know, I often say on veteran's day, when is the national holiday, uh, uh, to, to, to de dedicated to the families of our service men and women, there should be a national holiday just for them given the sacrifices that they make for our country. So, um, looking forward to, uh, November 11th, again, uh, this year, so that we have a chance to, to, to thank our veterans for their service. Matt Harmon: Well, one of those veterans are guest today on Monmouth weekly, uh, bill Seymour, the executive director for campus planning and facilities management bill, I'll say, thank you for your service for 30 plus years to our country and welcome, uh, to the Monmouth university community and the campus. I know you've been on the job for a couple months, but really enjoyed being able to catch up with you here, um, this morning and, and appreciate your time looking forward to all the great stuff. Now I know where to file complaints and I have a direct line there, and we've already talked about the blank check thing. We're on, we're on line with that as well. So there was a lot of progress that I feel like was personally made for me today on the podcast. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. So is that, is that, is that why we had this podcast, Matt, is that that's really the underlying reason, right. Was to get you that get you that direct access to our key person here. I'm Matt Harmon: I'm okay with that. I'm okay with that. Um, bill again, welcome to the Monmouth community. Thanks for giving us some time here this morning. And, uh, um, on behalf of president Elaine and myself and early happy veterans day. Speaker 5: Thank Matt Harmon: You. Thank you, Matt. For university, president Patrick Lehe, bill Seymour, our guest I'm Matt Harmon. This has been episode 36 of Monmouth weekly. Thanks as always for joining us. We'll talk to you again in two weeks.