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Boy, ABC News president David Westin must have really been moved by the story of Randy Pausch, a 47 year-old professor and father who has terminal cancer. It's not every day an exec as high up as Westin takes the time to email the entire ABCTV staff just to talk about an uplifting story! Westin is truly touched by how Pausch has altered our lives. That's one interpretation. Another, more accurate interpretation, which is completely validated by the contents of Westin's email [via Jossip], is that the exec saw a good chance to use this ill man's story as an example of the badass corporate interactivity going on under the Disney umbrella. Westin's totally excited about Pausch's TV segment, sister company Hyperion is publishing the book, and the guy once wanted to be an "Imagineer" for another Disney unit... When he still had his life before him, of course. The full email, after the jump.

From: Westin, David L. To: ABCTV News ALL Sent: Wed Apr 02 19:00:21 2008 Subject: The Last Lecture

Every once in a while we come across a person who has something important to say and that each of us will want to take the time to hear. Such a man is Professor Randy Pausch.

Most of you will have seen parts or all of the "last lecture" delivered by Professor Randy Pausch a while ago. You probably saw it first on Good Morning America, which put parts of it on their program. And then Diane went to interview Dr. Pausch, portions of which also appeared on Good Morning America. You know from these that Dr. Pausch is a 47 year-old father of three young children who has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. And that he has come forward in a truly special way to talk about his life, his family, his disease, and life — not just his life but all of our lives.

Diane and her team have produced an extraordinary hour on Dr. Pausch that will air next Wednesday evening, April 9, at 10p. THE LAST LECTURE: A Love Story For Your Life. Next week, Dr. Pausch's book, "The Last Lecture" will be published by our sister company, Hyperion. It turns out that Dr. Pausch's connections with the Walt Disney Company go back a very long way; he always aspired to be an Disney Imagineer.

Below is the link to a short clip produced from the hour. You can see it as a promo, which it is. But much more, it's a reason to take the time to think about a wonderful man and the profound things he has to say.