PC Degree: B.A./Education (Social Studies)

Career Path Highlights: Canavan earned his M.B.A. from the University of Connecticut in 1972. He founded Diagnostic Medical Laboratory, Inc. and served as its president. He later served as founder and president of Vision Medical Imaging, Inc. Canavan is the president and CEO of the Canavan Corporation and a consultant/advisor to the chairman and CEO at Quest Diagnostics.

A trustee of the Saint Raphael Foundation of the Hospital of Saint Raphael, Canavan previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society and of VNA Health Care, Inc. He also served as the chairman of the Advisory Board of the University of Connecticut's School of Allied Health.

Canavan served as a member of the Board of Directors of Promed, Inc., a Connecticut Blue Cross/Blue Shield affiliate, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Dime Savings Bank.

Family: Wife, Marybeth; three children, including Traci '89, Karen, and Jeffrey

Staying Involved: Canavan was appointed to PC's Board of Trustees in 2005. He is serving as chair of its Building and Property Committee and as a member of the Finance Committee. He previously served on the Providence President's Council. He and his wife MaryBeth made a substantial donation toward the construction of the College's new sports medicine center, named the Canavan Sports Medicine Center in their honor and dedicated in 2008. The Canavans donated a six-figure gift to PC's last capital campaign in the 1990s. They also established a scholarship fund for varsity female student-athletes in honor of the late Helen Bert, founder of the women's athletics program at PC, and another fund to support lectures and other academic programs in medical ethics.

A former president of the New Haven Alumni Club, Canavan received the club's Veritas Award in 1984 for his contributions to the Church, community, and his profession. He established the M. Joseph Canavan Scholarship Fund at PC in 1986.

"Transforming" Quote: "The sense of community and personal relationships I experienced at Providence College contributed greatly to the successes I have had in my life."