Matt Harmon:
It's time for our Thanksgiving episode of our Monmouth Weekly podcast series with university President Dr. Patrick Lehe. This is faculty member Matt Horman. We catch up before the break and look at all the happenings around the Monmouth University community. It's time for episode number 43 of our Monmouth Weekly podcast. Thanks as always for listening.
Thanksgiving break is upon us here as the fall semester of 2022. Continues to just fly by only about a month remaining. Um, with University President Patrick Lehe, a faculty member, Matt Harmon. This is our mom with weekly podcast as we've gone to a monthly rotation, planning to talk about in between the month of October when we recorded and into here the month of November. President Lehe a very good morning to you. I know it's a short week for everybody, but, but kind of a special week, right? I mean, you get Thanksgiving on tap family around. We'll talk about some of what, what we have planned over the course of the next couple of days. But, um, as I've been talking to my students in my classes, even though we had fall break in October, it's a time where I think everyone is kind of ready to go home and just recharge for a few days.

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah. And you would know, uh, better than I given that you're in the classroom, uh, with the students, but it sure seems like this is a really good time of the semester to take a break, uh, before we head into the home stretch. Cuz you know, that that period between Thanksgiving and the winter break is really intense on most college campuses as it is here. But I love Thanksgiving. Uh, it's one of my favorite holidays. I love the fact that it's really become almost a Thanksgiving week if you think about it. You know, people start thinking about it the weekend before and then, you know, there's a couple days of work here and school this week. But, um, the university is, uh, pretty much closed tomorrow, uh, through the rest of the week. So, uh, gives everyone a chance to celebrate for the entire week.

Matt Harmon:
You know, I, I think on so many levels, we, we focus on the students getting to go home, but you just reminded me there in that short answer. It's nice for everyone, faculty, staff, administrative people, and I know, you know, you and I always kind of remark on how great the campus looks. I think in our October podcast we had just come off of open house and how beautiful the campus looked. Vic, uh, look then, and I'm not saying nobody will be around in, in case of an emergency, but it's nice for everybody to get away and get a couple of days off.

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah. You know, I was walking to, uh, the office this morning and I was remarking just as you indicated, how beautiful the campus looks right now. I mean, I get to walk up, you know, to the back of the Great Hall and then around. And, uh, it, it looks fantastic, uh, this time of year as it does all times of year. But, uh, I don't mind, uh, it slowing down to, uh, just the essential few people that need to be on, on Call because, uh, it's comforting for me to know that our our faculty and our staff are getting the break that they need before we get into the home stretch. I was really pleased to, to share with the campus that, um, often we give a few hours release people a few hours early the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and this year we just decided to go the whole way. The university's pretty much closed, uh, tomorrow to give that extra extra day with family and friends. So, uh, it's a, it's a special time. I love college campuses in part because, you know, they're built to be, you know, places buzzing with activity, but when that activity slows down and the campus quiets, it's also a really special, uh, time to be on campus as well.

Matt Harmon:
I think before we, we dive a little deeper into how busy the campus has been and how many good things have taken place. Um, to, to pause for a second here and kind of go back over some stuff, which is on the other side, some tragedy, uh, on campus. Monmouth lost a freshman business student, Nicholas Kani, uh, which I know is just so sad for the campus community you hate to see, and we have some other things that we can talk about, but if you can just spend a minute or so on, on how the university reacts to something like that, when in essence it is, it is one of their own, um, that tragically pass away.

Patrick Leahy:
I mean, you can imagine it's the, the call that I, uh, most dread as a university president that we've lost one of our, our students. And in, in this case, uh, Nick, as you said, was a, was a freshman and was diagnosed, you know, actually at our health center with, uh, um, you know, a very rare disease. And, um, we lost some just weeks later. So, um, a horrible, horrible tragedy for our campus. But I will tell you that in a funny kind of way, I, I think sometimes our, our campus community is at its best in a situation like this because of the way the campus community, uh, comes together and supports, uh, the family and the friends of Nick. We had a, a a vigil or a ceremony of sorts, uh, last week, and it was extremely well attended, and the family was there and they were, uh, repeatedly told me how, uh, how touched they were with the, the outpouring of support.
And then, then we all went over to the basketball game and had a moment of silence, uh, before the basketball game in honor of Nick. And that was, uh, really important for the family. Um, and it really touches everybody. I happened to see a, an interview with, uh, our head men's basketball coach, and, uh, he was really moved by it. He never met Nick, but he was really moved by it. So those of us that work in education, uh, as you do, uh, know, uh, how, how, um, poignant these moments are on college campuses. So I send my very best to, to Nick's family and friends, uh, during this holiday season.

Matt Harmon:
You know, it, it, it's a reminder for me as well, when things like this happen, and you just alluded to it, sometimes in, in tragic situations or negative situations, the community can, um, really highlight themselves on so many different levels. And I think since, since Covid obviously, but probably over the course of the last five or six years, you've seen this heavy increase worldwide, certainly nationwide, but, um, worldwide and, and, and in this age group specifically about how important mental health is. And I know from a campus community, and it's not just mammoth, it's probably all over the place. And, and we're gonna talk about a couple other things as well, but having those services that students can turn to when they need, I think now, so more than ever, and it's been glaringly obvious with Covid, and now it's continued and it will probably be something even more that's important. You have to have services on campus and around people that if they need it, they can turn to,

Patrick Leahy:
You have to have it, and you have to have it available. You have to have it available right on the campus. You have to have it available at a moment's notice. I always, uh, often say to to, to folks who are critical of the escalating cost of education, I, I get it. I, I appreciate it and we're doing everything we can to keep the net cost of attendance here as reasonable as possible. But one of the things that pushes those costs up, uh, are the, I think, legitimate expectations of students and their families that those services will be available, uh, right on the campus. And, um, you know, we do our part to try to make sure those services are available, but, you know, physical health services, if you will, and as well as increasingly mental health services. And I'll tell you just a quick, quick story.
Uh, Matt, my dad, who's 92, God bless him, and, and, and really healthy, I saw him last weekend and he was talking to me about these tough decisions he has to make about whether he can, you know, leave his home and go to, you know, a a sort of assisted living facility. And he started talking about the services that he expects on the campus, <laugh>, god forbid there's a problem, or there's a health concern or, or what have you, he wants service right there on the campus, and he is willing to pay a little bit extra for that. And I just smiled and I said that is what we do at colleges and universities today, is we try to, uh, you know, mimic that living experience by making sure that as many services as possible are available, uh, for the students who are living with us. And, uh, uh, it's just a constant reminder that, you know, it's, it's, uh, increasingly complex to, uh, to create living and learning environments today. And, uh, you, you hit it on the head, one of the, one of the additional, uh, investments that we need to make in order to, to provide that best possible environment.

Matt Harmon:
And you're reminded in, um, you know, speaking of tragedy, losing a student on campus, and then over the course of the last two weeks, you are starkly reminded of how quickly things can change on a campus from even a larger scale. You're talking about tragic events at the University of Virginia tragic events at the University of Idaho, um, where again, you're, you're getting into, and we don't have to politicize it and talk about gun control, but, um, things like that, that happen, it rocks a campus community, not just in the short immediate term, but for years to come, right?

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm following, like everybody in higher ed, the incidents at UVA and University of Idaho, um, in fact, the, the situation at the University of Idaho has not completely resolved itself and just can't imagine the anxiety that that creates on campus. But, uh, every time something like that happens, I, I pause, take stock of, uh, where we are as a campus community, and then, uh, my first reaction is to send a, a private message to our chief of police, Carlos Ortiz, um, thanking him for the ways in which he's tried to protect our community. So, um, the Monmouth University community, uh, sends our thoughts and prayers not only to the people at uva, but uh, the folks out at the University of Idaho.

Matt Harmon:
You know, you, you talk about, um, uva and the ironic part was the basketball team was down there, you know, two days before this happened. And, um, I, I wasn't specifically on that trip. I had went to the game in broadcast at the University of Illinois when Mammoth played, and it was a, a Friday, Monday. And, you know, the, the way that the schedule worked out, it could have very easily been reversed, and it could have been play Illinois on Saturday and play UVA on Monday, you know, and, and I think things like that, and not to overstate it from a Monmouth perspective, but you can be in a situation that you would never even think of, and then all of a sudden you have to react to this. And you talk about the campus police at, at Monmouth and probably all the things that go on behind the scenes that we would never know about drills and learnings and teachings and going to seminars about how to react to situations like this. And unfortunately in our country today, it's, it's become, you almost have to expect that something bad could happen rather than something good could happen.

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah, yeah. It does require that, uh, extra training, making sure that we're hiring real professionals in these positions. Um, it wasn't lost on me either that, uh, our, our men's basketball team was down in Charlottesville at UVA just that Friday night. And, uh, I think this terrible incident there happened on Sunday night, if I remember. So, um, you're absolutely right. You just, you just never know, uh, Matt. So you just plan, uh, plan for the worst and then, uh, hopefully you're as prepared as can be. And then, um, you know, hope for the best.

Matt Harmon:
We'll have, uh, some time in our, our December podcast to kind of go over, um, a a full review in essence of the fall semester, but in between October and now. I mean, there, there's been a lot of good stuff that have been taking place. Um, I'm, I'm focusing a little bit, and I know it's, it's something that is, is so important from the idea of, of social justice. You speak the name Martin Luther King will transition from one segment to another here. Um, and, and I think people automatically think one of the greatest speakers and civil rights activists of our time, but yet his legacy lives on. And it lived on very recently on the Monmouth campus with Dr. Bernice King on campus doing a conversation and a talk, things like that. I, I, you know, we, we actually talked about it in one of my classes, cuz I had several students that were at it and, and attended it and were involved with it. And they were so taken with the idea, um, that we had Dr. Dr. King and I say Dr. King, Dr. Bernice King on campus. But things like that just so important to the overall scope of the student perspective.

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah, it's a great, um, part of being on a university campus is that we can bring individuals like, uh, Dr. King here, she is the youngest child of, uh, Martin Luther King Jr. And, um, you know, I I, when I introduced her or welcomed her, I, I said that, um, it was such an honor to have a child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Here, 56 years. I think it was after, um, uh, MLK was here to speak on campus, but I said more important than that is that she is a civil rights leader and educator for our time, and I'm pleased to have her here on campus. Uh, I had this really interesting experience, if you don't mind me sharing. I wanted, had a chance before the event to, to go backstage, if you will, and to introduce myself and to meet her. And we had a nice, really nice exchange.
But there was a point, Matt, at which I looked into her eyes, you know, just visiting with her. And, uh, I could see Martin Luther King Jr. Now, no surprise, she <laugh>, she's a daughter of, uh, th that man. Uh, so it shouldn't have surprised me, I guess, but it just hit me, you know, like all these years looking at his picture, uh, throughout my life and in various, you know, museums and, and history books and, and the like. And then to meet her and to see the resemblance was just really, um, shook me in a really positive way, but it was a really interesting experience that I did not expect. And then she went on, of course, and, and, and, and I had a q and a, which was, uh, really, really insightful about the tensions in our society right now. So it was one of the many highlights here at Monmouth, this, this fall semester.

Matt Harmon:
You know what's interesting, I'll, I'll share a story back with you. And, and one of my classes, which is a broadcast class, we were working on putting together a, a newscast. And so many students had that as part of their newscast. Um, and we talked about how to arrange it. And, and there were so many in my class that started with Martin Luther King, who was on campus at MoMA 56 years ago. And I said, now, wait a minute. Let's, let's highlight the fact that his daughter is on campus. And I, you know, not speaking obviously, but if you knew anything about Martin Luther King, he wouldn't even want to be noticed in the story. He would want it about his daughter. And I'm sure for her, and, and I don't know if you got a sense of it, like she has to carry that legacy of being his daughter, knowing that he's not around to have his voice be part of anything anymore. It's gotta be in, in a lot of ways, an amazing, and I'll use this term, amazing burden for her to kind of carry, because I think so many people probably look at her and think right away, oh, Martin Luther King, well, no, actually, she's her own person with, with so many of her own views that are interesting and important.

Patrick Leahy:
And she would've, even if she had not been, uh, you know, directly related to Martin Luther King Jr. She would've been, uh, welcome on our campus because of the work that she's done throughout her life and her own right. So, you're right, I, I always wondered what it would be like to carry, uh, that, that legacy. Uh, but she does it, uh, so well, I mean, much of what she talks about, I think she claims she learned from him, but then she has, of course developed into her own, her own person. That's why I say she's a, she's a civil rights, uh, leader and educator for our, for our own time, not just trading on the legacy of 50 years ago.

Matt Harmon:
Over the course of the last couple weeks, Monmouth has always, has always done a great job, and it's something that has continued, um, so well, if not even magnified under your presidency here on campus. Um, veterans Day taking place over the course all the last couple days. And, and the university has always done such a good job of making sure that they recognize the veterans of this country from, um, a, a military perspective. And I know, you know, listen, we're we're talking here late November. This was mid-November. So it's within kind of the idea, and it's, and it's something that I know for you and for Mammoth is, is has such an important feel that people know how important it's,

Patrick Leahy:
So yeah, every, every November on the, uh, 11th at the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month, we gather to celebrate Veteran's Day. And to me, it's a really important, uh, uh, gesture that, uh, frankly, all Americans ought to make. And I've always committed that as long as, uh, I'm involved at colleges and universities, I'll try to do what I can to ensure that those communities celebrate Veterans Day properly. Um, maybe you've heard me say this before, Matt, but I, I never, I never had the privilege of serving my country in uniform. And, you know, sometimes I look back on my life and it's one of the regrets that I have that I, that I never, uh, demonstrated that commitment, uh, to my country. But I have learned over the years that, uh, there are still ways that those of us non-veterans can serve.
And one small way is to try to take care of those who did. And that's the, that's the motivating, uh, factor around the things we try to do to support our veterans here. We're recognized year in and year out by national organizations as a friendly institution. All three institutions at which I've spent majority of my higher ed career have all been recognized as such. So, um, I will continue to commit to that. But this year was special because the state of New Jersey recognized us as well. In fact, the governor has a, an award that, um, that he calls, we value our Veterans Academia Award, and I think it's distributed to colleges and universities that demonstrate that special commitment to our veterans. And I was really pleased this year that he recognized Monmouth. So, uh, we don't do it for the recognition, we do it cuz it's the right thing to do, but I hope that our veterans, um, see that as a tangible commitment of our, uh, uh, uh, and, and honor of their service.

Matt Harmon:
Uh, among the accolades I have known you to be over the course of the last several years, a very competitive person. I think that's a pretty good way to say it, whether it is in a sporting event, whether it's touting Monmouth, whether it is students doing other things, uh, and I know one of the projects that you have become very attached to is, is the Model UN that we have on campus. And, um, I I I, I hope I'm getting his name correct, Nick y a senior finance major earning top honors as the most outstanding delegate at one of the more recent Model UN events. Put a smile on your face, doesn't it?

Patrick Leahy:
Oh my gosh. And, um, I reached out to Nick to, to congratulate him, and, um, he was so honored that, that, that, that I did, I, I figured it was the least I could do it. Our Model UN team, um, traveled to the UK and competed over there and, um, uh, Nick among some really fine institutions, um, was recognized as the most outstanding delegate. And, you know, that's, that's always a source of pride, uh, for me that, uh, one of our students, you know, anytime our students can compete against other really fine students and win or, or compete well, that's a source of pride, uh, for me. So, uh, congratulate Nick on his, on his individual accomplishment.

Matt Harmon:
I think, um, I don't remember if it was September or October. I know in one of the last couple episodes we had mentioned, um, the Springsteen, uh, Springsteen archives, which are housed at Monmouth. And you know, interestingly enough, I don't, I'm, I'm sure that you heard of it and maybe saw it, it was pretty interesting to hear him with, in essence, a two hour interview on Howard Stern dropped Mamoon a couple of times, right? That was, that was a fun little, uh, shout out for the university.

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah, I, I didn't actually, I haven't heard it yet, but I've heard countless people tell me about it. In fact, I I look forward to, uh, finding that tape somewhere. But, um, yeah, I guess at one point, uh, Howard Stern said something to him about, you know, who, who's gonna, who's gonna, uh, steward your legacy or something like that. And he said that Monmouth was going to get all of his stuff <laugh>. So that's, uh, that's the idea, is that we would, we would be the permanent, uh, repository of his, uh, archives and that, uh, we would be responsible then for telling his story for generations to come and what an honor that is, um, to be able to do that.

Matt Harmon:
Speaking of the Springsteen archives and Center for American Music, the executive director, uh, Bob San, um, receiving a pretty esteemed award, the 2022 Deans Taylor Virgil Thompson book Award for his latest co-authoring Woody Guthrie songs and Art Words and Wisdom. Again, you know, you and I are, are sports fans, and I think we, we talk about it so much, but really do try in our podcast to hit all these little different things because, um, something like that, again, a feather in the cap of the university.

Patrick Leahy:
I mean, this is the way I, you know, you, you talk about we're sports fans, I think Bobs Canelli would tell you that this is the Heisman trophy of awards for individuals who cover music, right? He said, I didn't know the Dean's Taylor Award. Forgive me for not knowing that. But he said the night that, uh, they called him with this news, he told me that this was a really, really big deal. In fact, to him this was better than getting a Grammy for a, you know, for writing a song. This is like, for those who cover and write about music, it's the top award. And for one of our own, not only the executive director of the Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, but the fact that Bob San is a product of Monmouth. He is a, he's an alum alumnus of Monmouth, and, you know, you know, taught here for many years. Um, it's just, uh, all around great thing for, for our institution.

Matt Harmon:
Yeah. If you wanted more information on, on the Deans Taylor and Virgil Thompson Awards, you could go to the ASCAP Foundation, which is, uh, who in essence gives that out@ascapfoundation.org. But congratulations, Bob, uh, fantastic job of, of continuing to, uh, be so involved in, in the music industry and, uh, would be a book. Obviously you can put it on your Christmas list, right? Somebody can grab that one for you. Um,

Patrick Leahy:
Do you know Bob San Matt

Matt Harmon:
Know him? Yes, absolutely.

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he's a very, so, you know, him to be a really remarkable person. I mean, I I I've been saying this to people like, uh, last week, I guess the, the, the, the, uh, the World Are Earth registered 8 billion people for the first time. Did you know that

Matt Harmon:
I did not

Patrick Leahy:
November 15th, they, they, uh, estimate that we, we reached 8 billion people. And I always say, you could travel, uh, the world and interview 8 billion people, and you would not find a better person than Bob San to run our Bruce Springsteen archives and Center for American Music. And, uh, uh, I mean that, I mean, there is no better person worldwide to be running this and advancing this. And, you know, I, I hope in the coming episodes I'll have more to share with you about how we're developing the Springsteen archives into, um, a real destination, uh, place. Um, not only here in Long Branch, but at at Monmouth.

Matt Harmon:
Let's finish, um, we'll, we'll go back over athletics in just a minute since we're in that bridge between fall and, and spring. But I will allow you an opportunity to promote a highlight event coming up in early December, thinking that we might not have a podcast before it, the gala at the Great Hall, which is the, uh, kind of annual holiday, uh, festivities that take place at Monmouth.

Patrick Leahy:
Well, thank you. I mean, I'm very excited about it. It's, um, there are two major fundraising events we do a year now. We used, we do a lot, a lot, a lot more, but we really have tried to consolidate them that into two major events. The, the athletics golf outing that we do in June, I think we've talked about that at a previous episode where we gather all of our friends and, and supporters of Monmouth Athletics together. In, in years past, we would raise 20, 25, $30,000. This past year we raised 200, um, and we're on our way to a pathway to, we think, three or 400 at that event. And then the gala, the Great Hall, is the other tandem fundraising event that we do in December, uh, every year. We used to do it as a, a sit down dinner, but we've changed the, the model a little bit this year so that we can accommodate more people because this is, this is our marquee event of the year.
I want as many donors, board members, business partners of the universities, friends of the university to gather, to celebrate Mammouth as possible, as many as possible, and to try to raise, um, significantly more money than we used to in the past. So this first year, this, this is going to be a million dollar event. It's probably gonna get close to a half a million in the first year. Uh, but it's gonna be a million dollar event. And, you know, I, I always want to take the opportunity to, to, to say, you know, why, why is $200,000 for athletics and four or $500,000 for scholarships, uh, so significant for a university that's gonna raise 15 million in philanthropic support this year? Well, the reason it's significant is because of the way in which that money is directed to very specific needs. You know, the, the money for the Athletics Director Excellence Fund to help, uh, support our student athletes from that event.
And then this money that we raised from the gala at the Great Hall to go to an access fund, which we use to, to sort of create last dollar scholarships for students who are, despite the aid that we give them, despite the federal aid that they tap and the state aid that they tap, there's still often a little bit of a gap that might be the difference between them coming to, to Monmouth or not. And now we want to build a pool of funds that can be used to, to plug those holes and to make a first class private education as accessible as possible. So, um, really, really excited about how, uh, this is taking shape and to showcase a great hall during the holidays is, uh, you know, the perfect time to have such an event.

Matt Harmon:
December 3rd, it is scheduled for more information. You can email@gala.mammoth.edu, uh, or just go on the university website as well. Six 30, uh, it will start. All right, let's get into that bridge between fall and winter. Um, successful first year so far in the caa, you have regular season champs and women's soccer and field hockey. Um, so, so good years, obviously in the fall. Men's soccer, just on the outside of the playoff picture, football finished up their year, um, on Saturday as well. And listen, I, I'll say this, I was driving through the athletic, um, parking lot the other day and there was a big giant, almost roadblock with boats on it because we've got a rowing team now that's, that's up and going. And it was kind of, uh, interesting to see. They take up a lot of parking spots, which is valuable real estate on campus. But, but, but pretty, pretty cool.

Patrick Leahy:
So what you're saying is they better deliver, right? If they're deliver

Matt Harmon:
Taking parking spots, you, you better make sure that, uh, their success and, and no doubt, I'm sure that they will in time.

Patrick Leahy:
Well, I mean, not only in time, but right now, I mean, I, I saw that, uh, this fall. You know, we went, and I, I, I know this a little bit cuz I, as you you may recall, I rode for a couple years at college. So, um, I've competed in the head of the Schuel and so we go to Philadelphia, we put basically our first boats in the water, and we walk away with two bronze medals, two third place finishes, you know, in races that have 20, 25 crews in our first year, Matt <laugh>, I mean, we just, we just put 'em in the water, which is evidence of, uh, the great work that Scott Belford is doing, uh, building a program from scratch. And, uh, really, really excited about that program. As you pointed out, really excited about our first fall in the caa. I mean, we did, we didn't advance in the playoffs the way we had hoped, but to win the regular season in women's soccer and in field hockey and had strong, uh, seasons in men's soccer and football, I don't think there's any question that we belong in the CAA now, you know, in the next couple years we'll be bringing home some of those conference championships that alluded us this year, but there's no doubt that we belong in the caa.

Matt Harmon:
Yeah, been, been really fun to see Monmouth play, uh, uh, you know, more regional type schools around the area, and I think it's only gonna be, um, good things to come through the winter and into the spring and, and for years to come, um, Thanksgiving a couple of days away, what, what's going on at the, the Lehe house? What are the, what are the traditions? Let's, let's wrap with some fun as we look forward to, as you said, one of your, one of your favorite holidays.

Patrick Leahy:
One of my favorites. Um, I just am so pleased I have the entire family, uh, together. Um, you know, we, we don't, we don't really have a lot of traditions say for, um, we know that, uh, I hope throughout our lives we will always find ourselves together on, on, on Thanksgiving Day so that we might pause and just, uh, be grateful for all the blessings in in our life. And, um, we'll do that again this week. And, uh, so, uh, really, really, uh, pleased about, uh, you know, the, the Thanksgiving holiday and a few days that we'll have to decompress a little bit and, uh, just spend the time, uh, with the kids. I'm hopeful that we'll, uh, we'll get to the, uh, basketball game on Friday afternoon. Um, I think, you know, my, my boys are away at school, so, uh, it's not the same for me to go to those basketball games with, without them. So it'll be great to have, um, them around for the game on Friday. So, uh, that's about it, uh, on, on our, on our end. How about on your, your end?

Matt Harmon:
Uh, we'll be traveling this year. Traditionally, we, we host, um, my, my sister and my brother-in-law are coming down. They live up in Rhode Island, so we're gonna meet at my mom's, which will be nice up in north Jersey. Do something a little bit different. Is it, is it, is it traditional Turkey at the, at the Lehe house?

Patrick Leahy:
Yeah, we do the whole, the whole traditional thing. I think our favorite, the only thing it might be a bit of a departure is our very favorite is, um, this sort of out, let's call it sort of sweet potato casserole that, that, uh, Amy makes. And, uh, that's, that's the, uh, the crowd favorite <laugh> marshmallows on top. I mean, it's basically a dessert that you serve with the main course. <laugh>. Yeah,

Matt Harmon:
It's a, it's a, um, easy way to say, I'm eating vegetables, is

Patrick Leahy:
What Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You can feel good about yourself, uh, while you're enjoying it. So,

Matt Harmon:
Uh, well, I mean, some, sometime in between, let's say Friday, Saturday, Sunday, you might hear a knock on the door. I'll, I'll swing by. I'll pick up some leftovers.

Patrick Leahy:
Got it. Got it. We may, there's always plenty.

Matt Harmon:
No, I, I wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving. Appreciate you coming on, on a short week and, and given, um, a, a, a really good update about what's going on on campus and look forward to doing our December episode where we can kind of look back on the entire semester, um, and, and put a close on it and enjoy this one. I, I know you've said a couple times how special it is for you to have all the kids back home. So en enjoy it.

Patrick Leahy:
Thank you and you too. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, and I'm just really grateful for our collaboration here

Matt Harmon:
On behalf of University President Patrick Lehem, faculty member Matt Harmon. We wish all of our listeners in the entire Mammoth University community a happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy it and we'll talk to you in December with what will be episode number 44. This is episode 43, coming to a close. You've been listening to our Mom with weekly podcast series.