Matt Harmon: With the first semester of the academic year, winding down. It's a great time to catch up with the university president Patrick Lehe, for a recap of the highs of the fall of 2021. This is faculty member, Matt Harmon. It's time for another episode of our ma with weekly podcast series number 37. Thanks. As for listening, Matt Harmon: You know, it's a good day at the Jersey shore in December. When prior to recording a podcast, I had to get up and shut the window because the landscape maintenance guys are still outside. Cutting the grass. It's an absolutely picture perfect day and good to be with you. Again, seems like it's been quite some time since our last episode of our mammoth weekly podcast. This is the 37th time we have done this with university president Patrick Lehe. I'm Matt Horman, uh, president Lehe. I hope the voice holds up. I know you just got done with an open call. I took advantage of the fact that I knew I was gonna have you for this 30 to 40 minute conversation that we always do. I was over in the fitness center, working out. I was, I was blazing a trail in the, in the, uh, swimming pool. There was a couple of members of the swim team down there getting some extra work. I had to share a lane with them and they were good enough to say, come on in old guy, I see you got your lifeguard suit on. We'll let you swim with us and, and see how you do. Um, but, but just such, such an amazing month that we've had here to cap off. What's been an incredible semester. Patrick Leahy: Well, if there are, um, uh, legitimate excuses for not attending one of my open calls, I guess it is, you're getting the exercise that we should all be getting. So you're forgiven. First of all, Matt. Um, secondly, uh, I can't imagine, um, our swimmers got a lot of real work in with, with you sharing lanes with them, sorry to say, well, Matt Harmon: It was more of like, uh, I was almost like a floating buoy that they had to work around. So you could, you could accelerate and decelerate in and out of the turn . Um, but, but Patrick Leahy: Yeah, 60, 60, I don't know, five degrees perhaps today in mid-December we'll take, it is one of, one of the great, uh, reasons it's, uh, great to be at mom here at the Jersey shore. Matt Harmon: And I'd have to think, I don't know, maybe episode 30, somewhere in that number. We started the fall semester back, uh, in September and, and just like, it always does. I mean, clearly the last couple years have been very unique and challenging, but the semester has flown by we're in, in the middle right now of, uh, of finals, which will finish up on Tuesday. Um, everybody will get home, hopefully be able to recharge the battery a little bit before coming back in the spring semester. But it, but it does seem like just yesterday, you and I were talking about the incoming class from Monmouth, just how talented they are, how important they are, especially coming in and out of the COVID stuff. Um, but yet here we are in December talking about the, the semester is over. Patrick Leahy: Yeah, it's going very quickly. I mean, um, it does in many respects, just seem like yesterday that we were getting ready for those for the fall semester and here we are days away from completing it. Um, just a, a great semester in so many ways. I hope we'll have a chance to talk about it, Matt, but the thing for which I'm most proud is the, the way in which we've managed still, uh, you know, a dicey COVID situation. I mean, we were fully, um, opened up here on campus and we were at a hundred percent, uh, basically capacity and a hundred percent activity. And, uh, while we have had a few cases throughout the course of the semester, no real outbreaks, which is a Testament to the, uh, you know, the willingness of everybody in the community to adhere to our, uh, healthcare protocols and to make this semester, in fact, as successful as it has been, Matt Harmon: You know, it, it's so interesting because as I look at the dashboard, it says 38 active cases, 133 recovered cases. And, you know, 38 out of several thousand people on campus. It's one of those situations that, that strikes me. And I do not want this to become a COVID episode because I know everyone feels strongly one way or the other about certain things from a political standpoint. But, you know, I, I actually went yesterday to get my third shot, got my, my booster shot. And I know on campus, they had, um, a clinic here that, that anyone around the surrounding areas and towns could have gone to, but I spent some time yesterday, cuz I was really curious talking to the nurse. And again, everybody's got their own opinion said with the vaccine, clearly you are protecting yourself. Uh, the booster will do that. It will raise your antibody level. Um, but you know, a as people do get vaccinated, I think the, the one thing is that people also then feel more comfortable with it to walk around to every once in a while, take their mask off to, you know, pop in and out of maybe more places that they were. So the rise in cases, I, I, I kind of think, make sense, even as people continue to get either vaccinated for the first time or get that third booster shot. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. I mean, I think the booster so important because, you know, if, if, if you were vaccinated way back in the winter or early spring as I was, and I know you were vaccinated even before me as a first responder, uh, you know, we, our, our I immunities wanes over time. It's just the way it is. And it's important to get that extra booster so that we can push up that immunity again. Um, I was at the doctor the other day and just checking in, you know, normal checkup and just checking in. And she asked if I had received all of my shots and I said, well, what do you mean? I've got three vaccination shots and one flu shot. What else you got for me? , I'll take 'em. And uh, she said, no, no, you've, you've gotten everything we're giving right now. And, uh, I just think for me anyway, and I think for 90% of our campus community, we just believe that's the best, uh, fight to, uh, against, uh, this COVID, uh, virus. And I'm just so encouraging continued, you know, growth in the vaccination level and now encouraging people, you know, who, who want to, to get that booster. And as you pointed out, we're, there's really little excuse on our campus because we're making the, the vaccine clinics available on a fairly regular basis. We had a flu clinic, um, uh, uh, uh, just a few weeks ago as well. I got both of my shots, flu and booster right here on campus. So really trying to remove all the barriers to more of our community, getting those important, uh, added shots. And Matt Harmon: I just saw an email just prior to you and I starting our conversation here that you can get tested before you come back. I'm sure they'll be testing when students come back, because those are the times that things, um, seem to seem to bubble over a little bit over that Thanksgiving break. And now students will be home for the better part of the month and not just students to be fair. You, me staff, everyone gets a Chi chance to, to maybe let their guard down a little bit. So, um, uh, uh, again from a, from a standpoint of, of how Monmouth has navigated it, I, I don't know. And I'm not sure if it, it can be shared. So this is maybe putting you on the spot a little bit. I mean, you said there hasn't been any outbreaks on campus that I know to be, to be true. I don't even remember during the course, at least hearing the communication department, hearing anything about, you know, classes being canceled or anything like that. It seemed like everything I'm sure there was a, a hiccup somewhere in there, or maybe something had to get changed, but, but nothing from a major standpoint where the alarm bells would go off. Patrick Leahy: Yeah, I'm, I'm, I almost hate to articulate that because I don't wanna jinx ourselves, but we, we had very little, very few disruptions throughout the course of the, of the semester. And, um, it's just, uh, allowed us to have 133 cases from July 1st to today. You know, that seems like a lot, but we always think of our community, Matt as 8,000 strong, you know, 5,500 students coming and going another thousand full-time employees coming and going, and then another 1500, 2000 part-time employees coming and going on the campus. So when you think about the Monmouth university community, I think of it as about 8,000 and to have only 133 cases in the past six months, uh, is a Testament to the, the great work of our crisis management team and, and, and everyone of Goodwill in our community. Who's trying to protect not only themselves, but each other, Matt Harmon: So many good things taking place on campus. Um, you know, again, bringing that class in, in September. And I would imagine right now that this is kind of the recruiting push time, right. To make sure that next year's class is, is, um, secured and locked in. I know, I know it might be a couple, a couple of months away from, you know, getting deposits, but this is when admissions is extremely, extremely busy. I know somebody that, that has a, um, friend of mine who has an, a, a sibling who works over there in admissions and how's work going. I mean, it's, you're here, you're there, you're driving up to this campus. You're going to that high school, you're checking things out. So now is the time to make sure that Monmouth gets another good group in. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. I mean, everybody works hard here at this university in their own way. And, you know, enrollment management, you know, chief among them. I mean, they just know how important it is to enroll a good class to so many of the things we do here. We had, in fact enrolled last fall, I've been touting this, we talked about it at a previous episode, you know, that we enrolled in the midst of, uh, a hundred percent remote recruiting, quite possibly the finest undergraduate entering class we've ever enrolled. It wasn't the largest, but it was still a large number 954, which for us is a good number. But most academically prepared, widest geographic diversity. The second highest percentage of, uh, racial and ethnic diversity is second highest percentage of access measures. You know, that is PE and first generation in the midst of the most challenging recruitment cycle, you can imagine we enrolled our finance class. I hope that is evidence of how Monmouth continues to improve its perception in the marketplace. Now, fast forward to this time of year, as you pointed out, I think our first wave of accepts are, are, are going out and, uh, you know, applications, at least at this point are running way ahead of last year and the year before that, now it's a snapshot in time, Matt. So it could change. I don't wanna take that to the bank too early, but anytime you check year over year, you wanna be above where you are. And we are, and I hope that's continued evidence of our perception in the marketplace. Matt Harmon: And from that standpoint, um, kind of working into clearly the Northeast section, but even from a Eastern side of the country, and then nationwide the fact that the school has been recognized a couple times during the semester from a ranking standpoint, that, that, that puts the, the university in, in a different light. I mean, you and I have said here on this campus, this hidden gem, that's a mile from the Atlantic ocean at the Jersey shore. I mean, you, it, it can sell itself in so many ways, but oftentimes sell itself to students that are from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania. Um, now, how do you get students from Maine to Texas, from Florida to Illinois? I mean, just picking random states. I mean, but, but being in those rankings, that's a really important thing for the university. Patrick Leahy: I keep joking that I'm tired of hearing that we're a hidden gem. I mean, I appreciate the spirit of it, you know, but I don't want to be hidden any longer. Matt Harmon: You said, you said that on this podcast, that was, that was a phrase you used to like to use Patrick Leahy: Oh, did I? OK. Well, I'm not using it anymore. It's we don't wanna be hidden. We don't wanna be hidden any longer. And there's a lot of things you do of course, to try to burnish your, your reputation beyond just your core recruiting market. And we have so many of 'em, you know, we have the polling Institute that brings recognition. We have the Springsteen archives, we have, uh, you know, an athletics program, which we'll talk about which competes against institutions all over the country. Um, but one thing you can't overlook is how third parties look at you. And that's what this basket of rankings is. It's a, a number of different rankings that, uh, use their own different methodologies to try to rank the quality of institutions. And, you know, we reported earlier this semester that we've achieved our highest ranking ever in us news and world report, you know, number 18 in our region. Okay. 10 years ago, we were number 41 in our region 10 years before that, I don't think we were even ranked. So, you know, you just sense positive progression. I always worry when I say that, say that because you never know in a given year, you know, you might go up and down a little bit, but it's clear over time that we've had a very positive, upward trajectory. And of course I envision that continually while I'm here. So, um, that was really positive news this semester as well, Matt Harmon: Some great enhancements this semester as well, uh, on campus. I can speak for myself as recently of a couple of weeks ago, being, um, wowed and enamored and quite frankly, a huge smile on my face, knowing that the part in broadcast center, uh, is up and going, it is located within the basketball arena, which is also has a new moniker on it as well. Um, but, but thinking of, and I know since you took over and with the new provost over the course of the last year, it's about how do we get our students from point a to point B point a being here at Monmouth point B being, how do you get yourself a job? And I think the pardon in broadcasting center is a perfect example of you want to get a job, get in that place and work hands on and be part of what's going on between the communication department, the athletic department. And I don't even think we've, we've probably scratched the surface of how that facility can get used because, you know, as, as intertwined with athletics, as I can be being a, a, a broadcaster there, it doesn't say the part in broadcast center for athletics. It's just the part in broadcasting center, which means it can be used for graduations. It can be used for functions on campus. When we get to back to that concerts, I'm imagining mean, again, sky's the limit for a facility like that, but it is so first rate and so impressive, um, with the gift that the pardons gave. Patrick Leahy: I mean, I think it's, uh, the envy of schools like ours across the country. That's what I'm told. Um, and it's, as you rightly point out, it was a, it was an investment in, in students and their academic journey here and improving their, their chances of getting the, the job of their choice and the career that they've always dreamed of. The part in broadcasting center did that in a way that the buyer, financial markets lab, which we dedicated earlier in the semester does for students in finance now that that had been built for years. And we, we, uh, named it for Tom and Susie Byer because of significant support that they've given to the university this semester. But, but that's another example, Matt, of, of an asset that enhances directly the student experience this semester. We also finished our occupational therapy labs. You should see how first rate these labs are. These are the kind of labs that, that, you know, occupational therapists out doing their work and their careers wish they had. , that's another investment in directly in the student experience to improve their curricular work that might lead to really good outcomes. And then there are other enhancements, of course, we are always making to the campus to improve, uh, the student experience the way we've repositioned. The great hall has been, uh, in so many respects, a home run. Um, as you know, we've, uh, renamed the athletic arena after a long time athletic director of Marilyn McNeil. But as part of that, there was a huge gift by the Raskins who are dear friends of, uh, Marilyn McNeil to outfit the arena and improve the viewing experience. In fact, next summer, uh, we hope you will see a, uh, brand new jumbotron in that arena. And when I look at the other visit other arenas and then watch games from other arenas, nobody has the arena that we have Matt, and nobody has a jumbotron like that at our level. I mean, yeah, when you go to the high major, you can find that, that, but at the mid major level, we have one of the finest athletic facilities anywhere. And, uh, this will just continue to enhance that Matt Harmon: With university president Patrick Lehe, I'm Matt Harmon. We're wrapping up the fall semester here and, uh, getting into the holiday season, no matter how you celebrate that, we wish you a happy holidays. We'll talk about, uh, plans coming up for both president Lehe and myself in just a minute. Um, one thing that I, I do know that you wanna spend a little bit of time with is again, a, a smaller function than that. I'm sure you would've liked and in a different time period, I would imagine it would've been, um, a huge deal. And that's given the president's award to someone who has been so important to this university in Bob sculptor. Patrick Leahy: So when I started here a couple years ago, you know, I sort of looked at the various ways in which we recognize people who have been so important to, to our university. And, and of course we offer honorary degrees and that's a, at an academic institution, what an honor that is to recognize someone with an honorary degree. But, but we offer that both to insiders and outsiders and people in the community. And the, like, there was not really in my view, a, a way to recognize individuals who, whose lifetime commitment to the place made a real difference. So I petitioned our board and I asked him for permission to create the president's medal, which is basically the highest honor. You can bestow on somebody here and we will award it annually, basically to that individual who represents the highest ideals of Monmouth university. We wanted to keep it admittedly vague. And so this first year, it was pretty clear to me that Bob Schoor class of 63 would be a deserving recipient. We did envision in mid-October hosting a big gala, the raise a ton of money for scholarships and bring anyone who's anyone, uh, in the Monmouth community together. Uh, but COVID, didn't allow that. So, uh, just last week I was able to host a small intimate gathering. I had Bob's school or appear on campus and was able to, uh, to, to give him the president's medal. And there's just so few people more deserving. I mean, he, what I love about it, he is both supportive of the arts and the sciences, you know, the arts, because he brought the opera here to, uh, to Pollock theater, the sciences, because he is a huge advocate of UCI, our urban coast Institute, he's on the board of the Springsteen center. So he is a big proponent of having that unique asset here. He's supported scholarship to give succeeding students the opportunity that he was afforded 50 years ago to come to Monmouth and get a first class private education, even if, um, it was not easily affordable. So for all those reasons, Matt, he was like a natural natural choice. Matt Harmon: Tell me from a standpoint, as you're sitting here talking about Bob skull Thorpe, who, who has been so important on so many levels to the university, um, the longer that you are here as president of, of Monmouth, how many times are you still caught off guard or enamored by maybe somebody you, you haven't spent time with, but then all of a sudden you do, and I'm not saying you had never met Bob's Goor before, because I'm sure you had, but just the, the outreach and the, the programs that Monmouth has created and the people that they've created. I, I would think for you having been at other universities and other schools, but now here at Monmouth for the last few years, I would think every once in a while you say, wow, I didn't even really know your connection and it's so great to meet you. And how can we almost bring you back into the fold a little bit? Patrick Leahy: Well, we, we have here such an interesting portfolio of activities for a school of our size and what I'm to your point, what I'm increasingly understanding is the individuals who have helped to support that portfolio over time. I mean, I heard that the Pollock theater, uh, brings the, you know, metropolitan opera in New York here to, to, to long branch west long branch. But I didn't realize that until I got to know Bob Schor, that it was he who made it possible. , you know what I mean? Um, so I'm constantly meeting people who, um, you know, some of whom are still very actively involved here at the university, but, but others of whom have been supportive of the university and have, you know, um, you know, completed their service here and are now doing some other things. But so many people that have been so generous to this university that allow us to build what we have and to do it with a strong, a balance sheet, as we have, you know, we've talked about, we didn't have to borrow a ton of money to get where we were well, that had to come from somewhere. And it came from a lot of generous people over the years who care so deeply about this place, that they, they were generous and helped us, uh, you know, build out the programming and the, the infrastructure that we enjoy today, Matt Harmon: You know, from a personal standpoint, I was reminded of that being at the, the part and dedication, uh, a week or so ago, just bumping into people, quite honestly, that that recognized me, or probably know my voice from doing games, but I might see them, you know, once a year or once every couple years. And, and they were like, wow, this is great. And I was like, great, you have no idea how amazing a facility like this is in the facilities that we have on campus. So it was pretty much, you know, thank you. I mean, I, I was part of the, the video that they put up on the, the jumbotron. And I think one of the things I could say was, was, I don't really know what else to say to people like the Partons or, or a Bob skull Thorpe or so many other names other than, than thank you. Because quite frankly, with, without them, the university isn't anywhere near what it is today. Patrick Leahy: No, I mean, that, that part in broadcasting center, you know, it was a, uh, as projects go a, a, a small manageable project, we get it done in just a matter of a few months. It costs a few hundred thousand dollars. Bang, you get the pardons interested in this and they underwrite it for us. And we can go from concept to, to finished product in just a few months, supported almost entirely by third party who sees the value of this for our students. And then we go ahead and dedicate it, um, right, right. Sort of at the beginning of the basketball season, it's like a home run. I mean, it's, it's not in and of itself a transformational project, unless of course you're studying communications. And then I would argue it's pretty transformational, but it, it isn't in and of itself a transformational project, but we have 10 or 12 of these that we want to get done in the next, you know, 5, 6, 7 years. And those all together will continue to enhance the campus and make us even that much more attractive, Matt Harmon: Good time to make a, a little transition, um, here for the next couple of minutes, give, give an athletic update as we've touched on so many other things involving the campus really good fall, um, president Lahee without, without question, you look at where the soccer programs were. Women's soccer, going back to the NCAA tournament, uh, field hockey, making their conference tournament, men's soccer, their conference tournament. Um, you've got sports like on the tennis side, on the track and field side on the cross country side. I mean, the programs here are, are just incredible when you think of it. And even in a, even, even in a year where, um, football doesn't win a conference championship and go back to the FCS playoffs, they have set the bar so high for themselves where it's hard to say it wasn't a good year because it was a good year, but, but that's what has evolved here at Monmouth. You are, um, if you're a, a administrator, a coach, a student, a faculty person, you've involved yourself with winning programs, and that's kind of the nuts and bolts of it. Patrick Leahy: I don't know what else to say, but excellence. I mean, you know, I visited before we talk about football. I had a chance to visit the cross country team, uh, not too long ago. You know, as you know, I try to visit every one of the teams, not just go to their games when I can, but visit with them at a practice and just tell 'em how proud I am of, of them and thank them for the ways in which they represent the university. Well, what a delight to go to cross country and celebrate the best year our cross country program has ever had this fall. You know what I mean? And then you can imagine what that means for our indoor track and field and our spring outdoor track and field. I mean, we're gonna be tough to beat, but you know, you go back to football. Patrick Leahy: You know, we ended the year seven and four, Kevin Callahan was still named the, the district too, I think coach of the year because people recognize, you know, that it's, it's tough to win and, and we win year in, in year out. And I'm so glad that Kevin got recognized again with that achievement. But the thing I love about it is I called Kevin the day. You know, we go to Kennesaw state, which was for all intents and purposes, the big south championship game. And, and we took it on the chin. I mean, let's be honest, it wasn't our best game. And they deliver, they really delivered and, and kudos to them. So I called Kevin the next day, just to check in on him and to tell him, you know, how much support he has. And he said to me, Matt, he goes, you know what he likes? Patrick Leahy: He said, I'm, I'm sorry, Dr. Lehi. It wasn't our best effort. He said, you know, we got outplayed and we got out coached. And then I added right away. I said, hold on a second. Every time you say you got outplayed or out coached, I hope you'll add. And maybe out administrated as well, because we are all in this together. How do I know that another, university's not doing things from my level to, to create an environment where their football team or their athletics program can be more successful. So I never want him or any of our coaches to stop short of saying, you know, if they're gonna say our players got outplayed and our coaches got out coached, it's only fair for us to say, maybe our administration got out administrative. I don't even know if that's a word, but you get, you get the idea. Patrick Leahy: And, uh, I wanted him to know that we're behind him, you know, that we we've got his back and that, uh, we, we appreciate that. You know, even for us seven and four, not winning the big Sal championship for some is deemed to be a, a down year. That's just a measure of the excellence that Kevin's created in that program. I'm glad his peers recognize him as coach of the year, because I guess that that award is a vote of fellow coaches. And there's nothing like getting that recognition from your peers. So, uh, really great fall all everywhere. You look at it and it's in terms of fall athletics Matt Harmon: And, and it's transferred into with some good energy on campus, into the winter sports as well. Um, I, you know, I think the, the theory would be, let's talk right away about men's basketball, which we will. I wanna talk about the women's basketball program real quick, um, at four and four right now. And I will tell you this, and I, I think I may have mentioned it to you. I know I've talked to Jeff Stapleton about it, and some of the other folks over in athletics, seeing the student athletes, and this is not by any stretch, meant as a demeaning remark to prior coaching staffs, the way that the student athletes of the women's basketball program right now are walking around campus is something I have not seen on this campus. And I've been here one way or the other since 1993 teaching for the last 20 years. I think this is my 21st year in some capacity or another, the bouncing their steps and the way that they're holding their heads up. I have not seen in the longest time when it comes to women's basketball, wins and losses. Yeah. They're four and four right now, but wins and losses aside. It, it it's a clear new direction for that program. Patrick Leahy: No, no question. I mean, a, a major culture change in that program with, with most of the same student athletes. I mean, there were a few additions, but, um, it's, it just shows you, you know, the, the power of, of great coaching and, and Jenny boas is a, is gonna be a great coach for us. And, you know, to her first year to, to get wins against Navy and, and St. Joe's, um, those are, those are really quality wins for us. And then they, you know, they, we, we, as, you know, we hosted Oregon state just last week. I mean, Oregon state's nationally ranked, I don't know, 23rd in the country, or 22nd in the country, high, high major program played. 'em really tough, I think, lost by 14 or something, you know, I mean, very, very respectable outing against a really, really quality team, you know, much, much bigger, uh, uh, uh, team than, than, than we feel. It's so, uh, so positive about where we are right now, we're ranked the, the fifth, you know, these NCAA net rankings. We're, we're, we're, we're the number five team in our, in our athletic conference, on the women's side, number five. I mean, do you know how, how significant that is compared to some of our previous years? So really, really positive stuff. Um, coming outta the women's program Matt Harmon: On the men's side king rice has his team off to a nine and two start. They've been, uh, terrific number one overall, but they lead the nation right now in road victories. Um, I, I do have to say this, and it's a shot at myself, but I'm gonna take the full fall of it. The two losses, I have broadcast both of those games. I, I, Patrick Leahy: You know, what, stay home, Matt David Matt Harmon: Charlotte. And I did the game in St. John's and both of them were really good games. Um, Charlotte game, they had a chance to win with a shot. They had the last possession St. John's, um, a, a, a tough, you know, instant replay call at the end part of the game to make sure that they didn't get an opportunity. Um, but, but the team super talented, very experienced. And I think we'll be clearly a team to, to watch out for all the way during the course, um, of, of this season and into the Mac tournament, which will take place in March. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. And a, and, and a ton of fun to watch play. I mean, you know, really skilled athletes, uh, as you said, a lot of, a lot of senior, well, frankly not only just senior, but graduate school experience out there. And, uh, I love the way they support each other. And they're so unselfish. I mean, they will always give up the extra pass for, um, you know, make the extra pass for, um, to get a slightly better shot. And, um, they're just a ton of fun to watch. And I'm so proud of what they've done so far. I mean, they've won a couple tight games too, so, you know, you, you win some tight ones, you lose some tight ones, but heck we're five points or so away from being undefeated right now. And there's a long way to go. And, you know, you get into Mac play, you know, this too, Matt. Patrick Leahy: I mean, every game's a tough game. I mean, that's just the way conference play is. I mean, there, there aren't gonna be any, any rollover games, you know, on the schedule from now to March. So, uh, there will be a lot of fun, uh, fun to watch, you know, just quickly, I, I did a little work here cuz you know, how excited I get when we get a chance to play other really great brand name institutions. And so I asked, uh, somebody in our athletics area to, to pull the, a list of some of the great, uh, schools that we've had a chance to play. And here here's a list of the schools, just a partial list of the schools that we've been able to play this fall, just this fall army Navy, Princeton, Penn, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, out of the Ivy league, Stanford and Cal out of the pack, 12 Penn state, Boston college, Yukon, Cincinnati pit, Syracuse, Villanova, Vanderbilt, other than the Ivy league. Every one of these is probably a, you know, a high major competitor. And we're basically even with them this year, we, we won 10 of these games and we lost 11. Now that to me is evidence that our athletics program from top to bottom is, uh, is strong. And it's a great Testament to the leadership we have over there. Matt Harmon: Yeah, no question about it. Men's team, couple of home games coming up. They'll play Sunday against Colgate. Uh, and then on Wednesday they will have host before they get a little bit of a break president Lee, Hey, let's, let's finish with this as, as the semester winds up officially on Tuesday, um, of next week with finals wrapping up, get a chance to catch up, right. Family holidays, who's home. Who's not what, what, what do you guys have going on for the holiday period? Patrick Leahy: Yeah, everybody's coming home. Um, so the, we we'll all be together again, which is, you know, I can't believe I'm at that age where I have to say they're all coming home. You know, it's still an adjustment for me. You know, the older girls are, uh, in college, the oldest is out of college, so she'll be home. And um, to me, that's, that's the most important thing is to have everybody together. We don't have any special plans just to be together. I'll, I'll go down to, to Baltimore to see my father. Uh, God bless him. He's 91 and in great health. Um, so I'll have a chance to see him and some of my, uh, siblings down there and then just be back here in Monmouth county, enjoying the holiday. How, how about you guys? Uh, Matt Harmon: We'll, we'll bounce around a little bit. We've got some family to see. We've got, uh, we're fortunate enough to have a family house up in, up in Vermont. So we'll spend some time up there. Um, and you know, hope upon hope that Santa's good to the kids and you know, nobody, nobody leaves Christmas disappointed and unhappy Patrick Leahy: well, um, you better collaborate with Santa on that to make sure . Matt Harmon: We want to, uh, I want to, I wanna say a happy holiday. Um, again, no matter how you celebrate the holiday in a great rest of, uh, the 20, 21 year to all of our listeners during the course of the season, presently, this has been, um, you know, as we wrap up one year, even though we're in the middle of the academic year, you're wrapping up a year, um, really look forward to, to what you and I can, um, keep coming up with and, and keeping the Monmouth community involved and engaged with our podcast series. We've got some fun stuff coming up on the other side of the semester. Um, and hopefully we'll be able to get together and do this in, in person in a normal normal-ish type way. I'll say normal-ish not necessarily normal. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. Let's try to commit to that in January to, to, to do one of our sessions, uh, together out of one of our studios. And, um, yeah, we'll try to, we'll try to keep doing these to the extent that we get a sense that, uh, people see value in them. I hope they do, cuz they're a ton of fun to do and they're particularly fun to do with you, Matt. So thank you for your energy around this Matt Harmon: For university president Patrick Lehe, I'm faculty member, Matt Harmon. We wish you a happy holiday season, a great rest of the 21 semester to students. Good luck with the finals to faculty. Don't forget to get your grades in on time. That is very important for all of us here on the mom with weekly side of things. Happy holidays. This has been episode number 37. We'll see you back at the beginning part of the spring semester in the year of 2022.