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The following is a keynote address which was delivered by Walt Disney Productions President, E. Cardon Walker, at the first academic convocation at the Florida Institute of Technology, January 13, 1976.

The address, "Dreamers and Doers", was delivered to an audience comprised of faculty, members of the student body, and distinguished guests of the scientifically oriented school. At the conclusion, FlT President, Jerome P. Keuper, conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree on Card. The degree was the first of its kind in the school’s history.

Good Morning, Dr. Miller, Dr. Keuper, distinguished members of the faculty, Board of Trustees and the Student Body of the Florida institute of Technology.

When Dr. Keuper invited us a while back to participate in your important convocation today ... two thoughts crossed my mind.

First, I was truly pleased and extremely honored to be invited to address an audience as important and sophisticated as this.

But then, I really didn’t feel qualified to stand up here and tell you people, the real present and future experts, all about the technical challenges and complexities of our changing world. I’m sure that most of you here today have spent much more time studying that subject than I.

But even though I'm not a scientific or technical expert, I do know that to bridge the gap between scientific research and its practical application to everyday life requires creativity, dedication and good business sense.

In a way, you must not only be a dreamer, but a doer. This is perhaps where I can contribute something of value for you today from my own experience and first-hand observations.

My entire business career, approaching 38 years, has been spent with one company, Walt Disney Productions.

I have had the Opportunity to see our organization change dramatically in that time ... to grow from a producer of short subject cartoons to an organization worldwide in scope, which will play a very unique role in this changing world of ours.

To start with, I'd like to talk for a few moments about a man I tied with very closely for 28 years ... who, in his very own way, through his own expression, was the personification of the American dream. And that's Walt Disney. I personally believe that he touched in a positive way perhaps more people's lives around the world than almost anyone else in this century. […]