June 18, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Age at death: 64
Major philanthropy job: President of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation from 2004 to 2008.
How he made his mark: Margaret B. Davis, chief executive of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, recalls that “the Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment played out consistently in Chris’s life. You could tell in everything he did. He was an honorable man always. He had great courage in tackling difficult issues aggressively. He had passion and commitment that was exceptional.”
Key accomplishments: Spearheaded the scholarship foundation’s American Patriots Campaign in 2006 to raise $50-million for the children of Marines, which has so far raised $19.5-million. Last year, the foundation gave $4.55-million to 1,393 scholarship recipients. During his tenure, the organization increased its average annual scholarship award from $1,500 to $3,500 and the Heroes Tribute Scholarship Award, which goes to a child of a Marine or a Navy Corpsman serving with the Marines who is killed in the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq, from $10,000 to $30,000 per winner.
What he did before he became a nonprofit executive: He was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Vietnam and Okinawa as executive officer and commanding officer of the Mortar Battery, 2nd Battalion. After his military service, he was a senior staff member for Sen. Jacob K. Javits, Republican of New York. Mr. Randolph then became a vice president at Salomon Brothers and a managing director in public finance at Lehman Brothers. Before he went to the foundation, he worked as executive vice president of Academic Management Services, a student-loan company.
How he will be remembered: “He was a warm, enthusiastic, optimistic guy who just threw his heart and soul into helping sons and daughters of Marines go to college,” says Ms. Davis.
