A Celebration of Life Service for Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) Dean, beloved senior professor, and mentor Rev. Dr. David James Randolph, was held on Saturday, May 14 at Albany United Methodist Church, California.
Several Olivet University leaders including Dr. William Wagner, Board Chairman Dr. Nate Tran, Chief Operating Officer Dr. Walker Tzeng, and San Francisco Campus Director Dr. Joseph Lee attended the service. The congregation shared the loving memories of Dr. Randolph as a friend and pastor, remembering the teachings that he has given to those whom he mentored.
Dr. Walker Tzeng gave a short speech. He acknowledged Dr. Randolph’s precious guidance while serving as the president of Olivet University from 2006 to 2009. Dr. Randolph has demonstrated grace-filled leadership to the then very young faculty and staff team, contributing to the university’s initial accreditation by the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) in February 2009. Dr. Tzeng gives thanks to God for Dr. Randolph’s life and ministry.
Following his tenure as University President, Dr. Randolph was named the Dean of Olivet School of Media and Communication (formerly Olivet College of Journalism) in February 2011. He faithfully responded to God’s calling to bridge the church and society through his work, which continues to inspire OSMC students to become messengers of the truth in the mass media today. Dr. Randolph is honored with a namesake library by OSMC in October 2021.
OSMC prepared a video ‘In Memoriam: Rev. Dr. David James Randolph’ for his celebration of life service. The video featured precious photos of him serving at Olivet, clips from his sermons, and a short tribute from Olivet School of Art and Design Dean Dr. Joan Carter.
In the video, Dr. Randolph was preaching to Olivet students at Commencement 2009 saying, “The greatest adventure is to join with others in community, unite deep faith, and transform the world for the biblical vision of love and justice and the kingdom of God. This is the greatest adventure and I call you to it today.” This message summarizes Dr. Randolph’s lifelong passion and pursuit of justice, peace, and truth, encouraging everyone to live likewise.
Dr. Randolph had lived an abundant life for the kingdom of God. As a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, he has done all that he was called to do and finished the race all the way through. Dr. Randolph now rests in peace with our Lord in heaven, but he will be missed by all the friends and families of Olivet. His teachings about the Christians’ mission in media, arts, and technology will continue to inspire many generations of Olivet students.