H. Randall Capps passed away suddenly at Greenview Hospital in Bowling Green, on February 2, 2022. Born in Cumberland County, the son of a Methodist minister, he graduated from Cumberland County High School. From there, he went to Kentucky Wesleyan (BA) where he became a member of the 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. 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 completing 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 at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. 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 co-authored 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 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.
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. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to a) his latest endeavor, the Kentucky Center for Leadership, b) the Randall Capps scholarship fund at WKU, c) the Joan Capps scholarship fund for teachers at Kentucky Wesleyan, or d) an organization of your choice.
Visitation will be from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Friday, February 11, at J.C. Kirby & Son Lovers Lane Chapel and will resume at noon until the time of the service on Saturday, February 12, at State Street United Methodist Church in Bowling Green. Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 12, at State Street United Methodist Church. A reception will follow at the WKU Alumni Center at 3:30 p.m.