Randall Capps Scholarship Fund

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Born in Cumberland Co., KY son of a Methodist minister, Dr. Randy Capps graduated from Cumberland County High School. From there he went to Kentucky Wesleyan (BA) where he became a member of Sigma Nu fraternity in which he remained actively involved throughout his life.

At Kentucky Wesleyan he met Joan Gray, an active Kappa Delta, who later became his wife. From there he began his career as a high school teacher in Bardstown, KY. He obtained his MA at Western Kentucky University in 1961 and in 1962 began teaching as an instructor at WKU. In 1970 he received his doctorate from the University of Virginia, followed by post-doctoral work at Vanderbilt University. He formed the Department of Communication and Theater at WKU and served as the first department head, leading it to grow immensely. He served as Assistant to the President during the tenure of Donald Zacharias and later served as interim Head of the Department of Psychology. In 2016 he was awarded an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Humanities from Kentucky Wesleyan.

Since 1994 he was a faculty member in the Gordon Ford College of Business, teaching MBA students and advising doctoral dissertations in WKU’s Organizational Leadership program. He was a visiting professor at the University of Lyon, France, where he taught in their International MBA program since 2007. At WKU he was instrumental in developing majors in the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level. He received numerous university awards for research and publication, as well as for teaching.

In 1994 he launched a management consulting firm, Leadership Strategies Group. For 27 years LSG helped organizations across the US and internationally to reach higher levels of success. Randy worked with the top executives and the leadership teams of universities, medical schools, nonprofits, Fortune 100 companies, and numerous organizations, helping them improve performance. Most of his work was in the areas of strategy, executive coaching, and leadership development.

In 2020 he was pivotal in the forming of a nonprofit organization to help improve civic leadership, the Kentucky Center for Leadership, where he served as CEO and Board member. Randy had the vision of bringing his expertise in leadership development and experience working with leaders all these years to ordinary people. He was a lifelong educator, genuinely caring about helping everyone reach their full potential.

During his career he authored and coauthored nine books. For over 30 years he served on the Board of Regents at Western Kentucky University as the parliamentarian. He has served on the board of Kentucky Wesleyan College, Greenview Hospital, the Bowling Green Arts Alliance, the Western Kentucky University Foundation, the Good Samaritan Foundation and for fifteen years chaired the Board of River Valley Behavioral Health. He served a two-year term as National President of Sigma Nu Fraternity, another four years on their board, and he was named to their Hall of Honor for his service to the fraternity and to education. He was a Rotarian and served as president of the Bowling Green Rotary Club. He also served two four-year terms as President of the Kentucky United Methodist Commission on Higher Education and Campus Ministry, and recently on the Episcopacy Committee for the Kentucky Conference.

H. Randall Capps passed away suddenly at Greenview Hospital in Bowling Green, KY on February 2, 2022. Dr. Capps was preceded in death by his son John Randall Capps, his wife Joan Gray Capps, his father Mitchell Thomas Capps, his mother Dimple Robbie Capps, and his brother Wendell Capps. Randy Capps is survived in death by his daughter Jill Robbie Capps, niece Jerri Parker, and cousin Mark Capps.

The family would like to thank Randy's many friends and colleagues whose friendship meant so much to him over the years. To honor his memory, friends and family can give to the Randall Capps Scholarship Fund established by Dr. Capps. The fund assists worthy and deserving WKU students. Through this fund, Dr. Capp's legacy lives on in perpetuity.