Failing Forward: How Setbacks Paved the Way for a University President

What happens when you put a university president who's weathered pandemics, launched massive campaigns, and chairs the Bruce Springsteen Archives in a room with great questions? Pure gold. 

In this episode, I sit down with Patrick Leahy, President of Monmouth University, for one of those conversations that reminds you why leadership stories matter.
Patrick takes us through his incredible journey from being the youngest of six kids outside Baltimore to running a $200 million university. We dive into the mentor who changed everything by pushing him to apply to Georgetown (spoiler: he thought he'd never get in), the poetry class with the university president that shifted his entire career path, and those messy years when he tried business and finance before finding his true calling in higher education.

But here's where it gets really interesting. Patrick shares what it was actually like stepping into the president's role just months before the pandemic hit, how he kept an entire campus community connected through weekly Zoom calls that people still don't want him to stop and the bold moves he's made to position Monmouth for the future. We're talking about partnerships with Hackensack Meridian for healthcare programs, building out film and TV production right as Netflix constructs their massive studio two miles away, and chairing the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music.

The conversation gets into the real stuff too. How AI is going to reshape education, why being someone others want to work with might be the most critical skill you can develop, and what it means to lead through uncertainty while staying true to your values. Patrick's energy is infectious when he discusses servant leadership, the importance of asking better questions, and how every twist in your career path ultimately serves you later.

Patrick's story reminds us that the most successful leaders aren't those who follow predetermined paths, but those who remain open to possibility and aren't afraid to bet on themselves and others. It's a conversation that will leave you thinking differently about what's possible when you combine authentic leadership with strategic vision and the courage to act on both.

00:00 – Welcome & Introduction
01:00 – Childhood & Early Leadership
05:45 – The Georgetown Pivot
10:30 – From Business to English Lit
14:00 – The Nonlinear Journey to Education
20:45 – First Presidency at Wilkes
26:30 – Leading Through a Pandemic
32:00 – Vision for Monmouth
37:00 – Netflix, Sports & Strategic Growth
41:30 – The Role of AI in Higher Ed
48:30 – Emotional Intelligence & Employability
50:00 – The Springsteen Archives
55:00 – Closing Reflections




Patrick on Socials:
IG: monmouthuniversity
X: @PatrickFLeahy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-patrick-f-leahy-ab873620
Youtube: @monmouthuniversity⁩

Jon on Socials:
IG: @thejonschultzpodcast
X: @JonSchultzPod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jon-schultz-podcast
www.jonschultz.com