Randy Pausch - Leadership Style

Who was Randy Pausch?

Born Randolph Frederick Pausch,  on October 23, 1960 in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in Columbia, Maryland.  Pausch received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Brown University in May 1982 and completed his PH.D in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University where he later would become a professor of computer science and more importantly a pioneer in the development of virtual reality at Carnegie Mellon University located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  

While working as an assistant and associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science he completed a study leave at Walt Disney Imagineering and Electronic Arts. Pausch later became Associate Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. He co-founded, along with Don Marinelli the Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center, where he taught the very popular Building Virtual World course for 10 years. Over his career span he earned and received many awards, accolades and acknowledgements for his contributions and achievements in computer science education. Furthermore, he authored and co-authored five books and over 70 articles.  Needless to say, Randy Pausch was an extraordinary man who left behind and extraordinary legacy.

On September 19, 2006, after an unsuccessful attempt to stop his pancreatic cancer by undergoing an exploratory surgery called the Whipple procedure it was later found in August 2007 that the cancer had spread and metastasized and he was given only three to six months to live. Shortly after his terminal diagnosis Carnegie Mellon University approached Randy and asked him to deliver a lecture, lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk", with a topic such as "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?titles Pausch encouraged students to use their imagination and where he delivered his famous last lecture - “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” on September 18, 2007, a year after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Randy Pausch married Jai Glascow in 2000 and had three children: Logan, Chloe, and Dylan. After learning that he had less than six months to live, he decided to deliver his last lecture to leave a legacy for his students, co-workers, family and most importantly, his children. His speech became a New York Times Bestseller, The Last Lecture, co-written with Jeffrey Zaslow, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal. While his speech was meant mainly for his children, it soon became an inspirational book and video, which encouraged people to really chase after their childhood dreams, to always persevere, and to have a positive outlook on life. Randy Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008 due to complications from pancreatic cancer at home in Chesapeake, Virginia.