Life of mentorship a 'pleasure' for Capps

Grew up in Princeton, Ind., and Burkesville, Ky.

Education

● Kentucky Wesleyan College, Bachelor of Arts, 1957 ● Western Kentucky University, Master of Arts, 1961 ● University of Virginia, Doctor of Education, 1970 ● Vanderbilt University, postdoctoral work

Career

● Instructor/professor, Western Kentucky University, since 1962 ● Founder, Leadership Strategies, 1994 ● Visiting professor, University of Lyon (France), since 2007

Honors

KWC Honorary Doctor of Humanities and Outstanding Alumnus, Sigma Nu Hall of Honor, WKU Outstanding MBA teacher (twice), Outstanding Global Advocate by Chamber of Commerce of Warren County

Civic boards

KWC Board of Trustees, Greenview Hospital, Bowling Green Arts Alliance, WKU Foundation, Good Samaritan Foundation, River Valley Behavioral Health, Sigma Nu Fraternity, Bowling Green Rotary Club, Kentucky United Methodist Commission on Higher Education and Campus Ministry, Episcopacy Committee for Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church, Omicron Kappa Delta Kappa

Life of mentorship a 'pleasure' for Capps

by M. Blake Harrison

Dr. Randy Capps '57 has made a career of teaching, mentoring and leading. He can trace his start back to investments in him made by KWC professors including Jane Forgy, Ray Waggoner, Doug Sasser and Corinne Cowgell.

His career has taken him to Quebec, Malaysia and France, has included mentoring executives at IBM and Coca-Cola, and consulting for Fortune 100 companies such as General Electric and Pepsi. Capps has also mentored six college presidents.

"I've known Randy Capps and his late wife Joan for about 60 years. Although we weren't at KWC at the same time, his reputation and fingerprints were everywhere. He served, and still serves, as a role model for many. When I came to WKU as president, I wasn't surprised to learn that Randy and his excellent faculty team had our Communications Department nationally competitive. True to form, his humble leadership style made us better."

DR. THOMAS C. MEREDITH '63

WKU President from 1988-97

Dr. Gene Crume, president of Judson University and Owensboro native, has known Capps his whole life. Capps encouraged Crume to earn his master's and Ph.D. and even drove him to his doctoral interview at the University of Virginia.

"I deeply appreciate his mentorship," Crume said. "He not only shares his counsel with me; Dr. Capps also provided me with opportunities in the classroom, with consulting and with coming alongside of me both personally and professionally."

Dr. Crume also recalled Capps' communication skills.

"Dr. Capps is perhaps the most effective non-verbal communicator I have met," he explained. "I once watched him 'speak' to a student where the student babbled on and on about not completing his assignment, and all Randy did was look him in the eyes and listen. Then Dr. Capps replied, 'Thank you.' Lesson learned!"

Lydia Dorman '82 is among his mentees, too.

Capps got to know Dorman as he recruited her for, and later taught her, in Western Kentucky University's master of communication program. He has always made an effort to recruit top Wesleyan students for WKU's graduate programs, and Lydia fit the mold.

"Strategic, visionary, leader, sensei, and consummate gentleman are just a few descriptors I would bestow on Dr. Capps, for without his encouragement and wisdom on the importance of pursuing a higher education degree at WKU, I would not have ultimately enjoyed such an awesome and successful career," said Dorman, who retired in 2017 as senior vice president of human resources for Coca-Cola's business unit in Japan.

Lydia followed in Capps' footsteps as a member of the Wesleyan Board of Trustees. "I owe Dr. Capps a debt of gratitude for believing in me. What a privilege it was to stand next to such an honorable educator and business leader when the two of us received honorary doctorate degrees in 2016 from KWC."

Dr. Capps began his career in education as an instructor in WKU's English Department in 1962. He became the university's first Communications Department head in 1968. The department grew its program offerings and increased the faculty count from eight to 50 by the time he left that role in 1994.

Wesleyan partnered with WKU's Gordon Ford College of Business in 2017 to offer KWC graduates a chance to earn a graduate degree in accounting, applied economics or an MBA. Dr. Capps has served as a professor in Gordon Ford's MBA and doctoral programs since 1994.

He has also served as parliamentarian for the WKU Board of Regents for more than 30 years.

Story continues on page 31

"What a great man and mentor! He's like my dad and has guided my career from day one. It's unbelievable how many successful people have come through the Dr. Capps family tree!"

ROLAND SHELTON

KWC Trustee and Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Business Partnership Officer at Old National Bank

Rev. Thomas Grieb '78 (then chair of board of trustees) congratulated Dr. Capps at 2016 Commencement, when he was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities.

"Dr. Capps has been a long-time mentor and friend. I doubt I would ever have become president of Kentucky Wesleyan without his influence on me. Approximately eight years ago, he asked me to meet him for lunch. During that meeting, he looked me squarely in the eyes and said, 'You need to be president of Kentucky Wesleyan.' I laughed. He didn't. Shortly thereafter, I became president of our alma mater, and it is the singular greatest professional experience of my life. I likely would never have experienced that without him. It would be hard to think of 'The Wesleyan Way' without thinking of Randy Capps."

BART DARRELL '84

KWC President Emeritus