April 20, 2020
Trustee emeritus M. Joseph Canavan ’65: A life of gratitude to PC
By Charles C. Joyce
To meet M. Joseph “Joe” Canavan ’65 was to meet someone you would know and appreciate for life, say associates at Providence College.
PC held a proud and distinct place in Mr. Canavan’s heart. His undergraduate education and experience were so foundational that the bond that began forming when he stepped on campus in 1961 was one he couldn’t break.
As a graduate, Mr. Canavan was an officer and tireless volunteer for decades with the New Haven (Conn.) Alumni Club. He served on his class reunion and College development campaign committees. He and his wife, MaryBeth Harkins Canavan, contributed substantial and sustained gifts to advance the lives of students in athletics and academics. A trustee emeritus, he served as a board member for 10 years. And, for decades, the Canavans held season tickets for Friars basketball, traveling to road contests and BIG EAST and NCAA tournaments.
Thus, his death on April 6 at his home in Boca Raton, Fla., following a brief illness, was a personal loss for many in the College community.
“Joe was a tremendous friend and benefactor of Providence College,” said Joseph P. Brum ’68 & ’18Hon., special assistant to the president for development projects. Brum, who knew Mr. Canavan for 45 years, said it was a combination of his gratitude for his PC education and a natural inclination to give back that made support to his alma mater an imperative for Mr. Canavan and his wife.
“Joe never said no when Providence College needed something,” said Brum, who coordinated three major gifts with the Canavans. “MaryBeth and he are naturally caring individuals.” He added that their generosity extended well into the community — in the New Haven area and to causes like Rett Syndrome research.
Mr. Canavan was one of the first trustees he got to know after he was appointed College executive vice president/treasurer in 2005, said Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78 & ’82G. The pair became close over time, especially after Mr. Canavan’s service with the trustees ended in 2015. He enjoyed the times when he was able to join the Canavans in their home in Connecticut and share a meal with them. They would cover many topics, but mostly, Mr. Canavan wanted to talk about the College.
“He loved the Dominicans; he always wanted to talk about his experiences with the Friars,” said Father Sicard, who will become PC’s 13th president this July 1. “He had a high regard and great love for the College. I think he appreciated the education he received, and he attributed so much in his life to PC.”
Father Sicard said it meant a lot to him when Mr. Canavan called to congratulate him after he was named president last October. More recently, during Mr. Canavan’s illness, they had the opportunity to pray together over the phone.
“I really loved him. He was a very forgiving, humble, and kindhearted man. He was so committed to his family and his faith. He was a gem,” he said.
Mr. Canavan’s death was emotional as well for administrators in the Department of Athletics, where his concern for the welfare of student-athletes was distinct.
In 2007, Mr. and Mrs. Canavan provided the leadership gift for the new Canavan Sports Medicine Center in Alumni Hall. They followed that up in 2017 with a long-term commitment for sports medicine-related resources targeting the physical and psychological well-being of student-athletes.
“We all loved Joe and will miss him dearly,” said Bob Driscoll, associate vice president for athletics and athletics director. “He was one of the most kind and generous persons I have known. His love for the College was boundless, and his generosity impacted all of our student-athletes.”
In addition to the sports medicine center, Driscoll noted the Canavans supported student-athlete scholarships and the department’s well-being initiative, You’re Never Alone in Friartown.
“Joe was a true Friar fan and a tremendous person,” said men’s basketball coach Ed Cooley. “He was so generous to our program. He always wanted to support Friartown in ways that would make the College a better place for our student-athletes.”
One of Mr. Canavan’s closest associates in athletics, Steve Napolillo ’98, assistant vice president and senior associate athletics director for external relations, said he was “like a dad to me.” The two met approximately 15 years ago. “He was one of those people you meet in life where you have an immediate connection,” said Napolillo.
The thing that most impressed Napolillo was Mr. Canavan’s humble, selfless nature. His concern for student-athletes and students in general at the College was genuine. When he gave, “he didn’t care about credit … it was just as long as he could help them.”
Gregory Waldron, senior vice president for institutional advancement, witnessed the same qualities. Mr. Canavan was an extremely successful executive, but his demeanor belied self-centeredness, he said.
“Joe had his feet firmly planted on the ground. There was a humility in him that others in his position might not have. He was an awesome man,” said Waldron.
Mr. Canavan’s interest in students’ well-being stemmed from his career in medical diagnostics and his interest in athletics, said associates at the College. His daughter, Traci Canavan ’89, played basketball for PC.
In 1970, he founded and became president of Diagnostic Medical Laboratory, a clinical testing laboratory and radiology services firm headquartered in Branford, Conn., where the Canavans lived. The company was highly respected by physicians and patients for quality lab testing and service. It was acquired by Quest Diagnostics in 1997, and Mr. Canavan continued to consult with Quest for many years. He also was the founder and former president of Vision Medical Imaging, Inc. and the retired president and CEO of Canavan Corporation.
“He knew the importance of great conditioning, rehabilitation, and health, and it was important to him to help student-athletes be the best they could be,” said Napolillo.
The Canavans’ gift to establish the Canavan Sports Medicine Center in 2007 “brought us into the 21st century,” said John Rock, senior associate athletics director for health and wellness and the center’s director. The 4,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility doubled the space of the previous facility and added a complete aquatics therapy area, including a rehabilitation pool, a hot tub, and a cold plunge.
The center quickly proved to be a recruiting advantage, said Rock. “It was so impressive to be able to show parents and to let them know their student would be treated at the highest level. We had the ability to do so much more,” he said.
Waldron said the Canavan Sports Medicine Center represented far more than the expansion of space.
“For some of our students, they are in there at the most challenging point of their student-athlete life. There are doubts, trials, and worries. This place is a haven for them,” said Waldron, implying that the enhanced sports medicine resources instilled feelings of security and hope for injured student-athletes.
A decade after the center opened, the Canavans entered into a multi-year gift commitment to make sports medicine resources more robust for the College’s 360 student-athletes. Athletes have or will benefit from compression-boot systems that aid recovery from workouts, sleep monitoring software that also measures hydration, and a portable X-ray machine.
The gift helped outfit the athletics innovation lab in the new Ruane Friar Development Center, including relaxation pods, sleep pods, and technology to assess body composition and monitor blood-oxygen levels during exercise. A full-time athletics trainer position also was created.
“This is allowing us to do things that we would never have been able to do,” said Rock.
The Canavans, who are members of the 1917 Society, a College giving society, were benefactors long before their gifts for sports medicine initiatives and student-athletes’ well-being. In 1986, they established the M. Joseph and MaryBeth Canavan Scholarship Fund to support a student with financial need, with a preference for a female student-athlete.
The couple had a keen interest in supporting academics, too. In 2000, the Canavan Family Fund in Medical Ethics was established to support special lectures, academic presentations, faculty research, and publications on current issues in medicine.
Since 2011, the fund has allowed the Department of Health Policy and Management to present an annual undergraduate conference on health and society. It is planned and produced by students, who are supported by faculty. It features academic paper presentations by HPM students and their peers from local and regional colleges, including Brown, Roger Williams, Johnson & Wales, the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Yale, and Pennsylvania.
There are 12-15 student research presentations on health care issues ranging from medicine to patient care, and papers are reviewed and discussed by student panelists. The conference attracts 50 to 60 students, faculty, and guests. The Canavan Family Fund assists conference organizers in many ways, from providing travel stipends to participants to purchasing promotional materials, food, and beverages.
It is a tremendous organizational, academic, and networking opportunity for students, emphasized Dr. Deborah Levine, associate professor and department chair of health policy and management.
“The funding is very generous and allows us to do something I think is special,” said Levine. “It’s a unique opportunity we are providing for PC and local students. I can’t think of another college in our discipline that’s doing something like this.”
As genuine as Mr. Canavan was in his compulsion to support his alma mater and its students, Napolillo said he will remember him most as a role model of family life.
“He was an inspiration as a father and husband … married for 55 years. He dearly loved his family … MaryBeth, his children, and grandchildren. Joe was a great mentor to me,” said Napolillo.
He added that Mrs. Canavan inspired not only him but others in athletics through her warmth and her care for her husband. “All of us in Friartown are grateful for the love and care she gave every step of the way to our dear friend,” he said.
Mr. Canavan was a PC trustee from 2005-2015. He served on several board committees, including the Finance Committee all 10 years and as chair of the Varsity Athletics Committee from 2009-2015. He also served on the College’s Providence President’s Council, the Harford/New Haven Campaign Committee, in varied leadership positions with the New Haven Alumni Club, and on his class reunion committee multiple times.
A political science major as an undergraduate, he was a member of the Carolan Club and played intramural sports.
Mr. Canavan was born in New Haven on July 17, 1942, the son of the late Michael Joseph Canavan, Jr. and Marion Canavan. He was not even 2 years old when his father was killed during the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France, and was raised by his mother.
In addition to his wife, MaryBeth, and his daughter, Traci , he is survived by his daughter, Karen Canavan Lapsley, and her husband, Howard; his son, Jeff Canavan, and his wife, Sarah; and four grandchildren.
His funeral will be private. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.
