A little bit of John Randolph is coming back to the Mental Health Center of East Central Kansas.
On Saturday, the center will rename its main building “the Randolph Building” after its longtime director. Randolph joined the Mental Health Center as a psychologist in 1973 and served as director from 1977 until his retirement last July.
“He was the heart and soul of this place,” said Bev Cress, the executive assistant to Randolph and his successor, Bill Persinger. “It was like having Gandhi as a boss — he was quiet, gentle, wise, considerate, all the superlatives. I never saw him get angry. He always found a way around everything.”
During Randolph’s tenure, the staff grew from 10 people to 196, including part-timers. The mental health center’s responsibilities also grew, particularly after the closing of Topeka State Hospital.
“The biggest factor was we were working with more really ill people who in the past would have spent longer in either the state hospital or a specialized nursing home for mental health,” Randolph told The Gazette in June 2006. “With the really ill, it can be challenging to support them and bring them back.”
Randolph now lives in Wisconsin but will return for the ceremony, along with his mother, a brother and two daughters.
The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. A portrait of Randolph and a plaque with his name on it will also be displayed in the entry of the building. Refreshments will be served.