Randy Pausch and the Last Lecture

In September 2007, a computer science professor gave a talk that millions of people later watched online. He was dying, but the talk was mostly about how to live. This article describes the lecture, the illness behind it, and what happened next.

Who was Randy Pausch?

A computer scientist who taught at the University of Virginia and then, from 1997, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The University of Virginia’s obituary notice says he earned his bachelor’s degree at Brown and his Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon. He and his wife, Jai, had three children, Dylan, Logan, and Chloe.

What is a “last lecture”?

A talk in a lecture series at Carnegie Mellon in which, according to the University of Virginia, faculty typically give a hypothetical final lecture. Pausch’s turned out to be real.

What happened with his illness?

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September 2006, and LitLovers reports he had a surgery called the Whipple procedure on September 19 that year in an effort to stop it. Wikipedia’s account says he had radiation treatments from November 2006 to May 2007 and felt healthy afterward. In August 2007, doctors found the cancer had come back. They told him to expect “three to six months of good health left,” according to the University of Virginia. His family then moved to Chesapeake, Virginia, to be near his wife’s relatives.

What did he say in the lecture?

He gave it on September 18, 2007, about a month after that news, to a packed auditorium at Carnegie Mellon. Journey With Jesus puts the audience at about 400 people. It was titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” Word&Way reports that he mentioned his terminal cancer and showed images of his tumors, then used the rest of its 76 minutes to talk about living. LitLovers makes the same point: it was not a talk about dying.

What happened afterward?

The lecture spread widely. Journey With Jesus notes that by mid-2008 the video had been viewed more than six million times online. Pausch gave a shortened version on The Oprah Winfrey Show in October 2007, Wikipedia reports. He wrote a book with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow, The Last Lecture, published in 2008 by Hyperion, which LitCharts says stayed on the best-seller list for 112 weeks.

Pausch died on July 25, 2008, at his home in Chesapeake, Virginia, of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

What can readers take from it?

That a person facing death can choose what to talk about, and that a talk can become a way of leaving something behind. It is one person’s way, not a model. Many people do not have the energy or wish to do this, and a quiet goodbye is just as valid. For other ways to leave something for family, see Ethical Will and Legacy Letter. For the family’s side, see Anticipatory Grief.

Where can I learn more?

See When You Know You’re Dying, What Makes Life Worth Living?, What Does a Good Ending Actually Look Like?, and Words for a Mortal Life.