Donald J. Kavanagh’s dedication, service, and love for La Salle Academy has

spanned more than half a century. Don was raised in Providence, RI, the sixth of

seven children born to Edward and Thelma (Duggan) Kavanagh. His family’s Irish

roots sprung from Counties of Carlow and Wicklow. Don followed his four older

brothers, Paul, William, James, and Thomas to La Salle, where he proved himself

to be both a scholar and an athlete. His two sisters, Kathleen and Christine, both

attended St. Francis Xavier Academy, which was located in downtown Providence

until the 1970s.

At La Salle, Don was an All-State discus thrower and captain of the 1969 State

Champion Outdoor Track & Field Team. He continued his athletic career at the

College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA), where he captained the 1973 Track &

Field Team, attained All-Yankee Conference, and received a bachelor’s degree in

History.

In 1973, Don returned to La Salle as a member of the faculty. In the classroom, he

committed himself to the instruction of anatomy/physiology, biology, and

physical education. He received a master’s degree from the University of Rhode

Island in Health & Physical Education in 1982, and became the Physical Education

Department Chair that same year. He also coached LSA’s Cross Country Team to a

State Championship and led the school’s Track & Field programs, culminating with

recognition as Rhode Island Track Coach of the Year in 1983. 

In 1984, Don was named Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at St. Raphael

Academy, a Lasallian school located in Pawtucket, RI. To deepen his relationship

with the Christian Brothers, he attended the Lasallian Leadership Institute,

Huether Conference, and the Lasallian Leadership Conference. In 1987, he was

named the Distinguished Lasallian Educator of the Year.

After nine years of service at St. Raphael’s, Don was named Director of Athletics &

Student Activities at Barrington High School, a position he held for six years. He

received the Service-To-Youth Prevention Award from the Barrington Prevention

Connection Substance Abuse Task Force in 1997, was a member of the Rhode

Island Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association from 1984 to 1999, and

completed all course-work for the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in

secondary school administration from Rhode Island College in 1999.

Don returned to La Salle Academy that year as Assistant Principal and Senior Class

Dean, and was named Principal in 2000. Over the course of the next 22 years, he

oversaw the expansion of La Salle’s campus and continued development of the

school’s mission. La Salle enjoyed tremendous growth in all aspects of a

comprehensive school and a thoroughly revitalized campus setting with Don at

the helm. His devotion to academic excellence, athletic supremacy, and artistic

distinction propelled the school to becoming the premier educational institution

in New England.

Don was a member of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s Principal’s

Committee on Athletics, overseeing all high school athletic programs in the state

from 2000-2022 (acting as assistant chairperson from 2007-2014). He was the first

athletic director in Rhode Island to be nationally certified, and he is the only

member of the Principal’s Committee on Athletics to hold designation as a

Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA). This distinction proved insightful not only

in fulfilling his responsibilities as director of boys’ volleyball, but as a valuable

resource for the entire Principal’s Committee on Athletics.

Don was named Rhode Island Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association

School Administrator of the Year in 2006. He was inducted into the Rhode Island

Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 2009, the Rhode Island Athletic Administrators Hall

of Fame in 2021, and the La Salle Academy Hall of Fame in 2023.

Don was also declared as an Affiliate Brother of the Christian Schools in 2018, the

highest and rarest honor bestowed by the Brothers. To affiliate is to be

recognized as a spiritual son or daughter of Saint John Baptist de La Salle. This

public acknowledgment and recognition as one of their own affirmed that his

work benefitting the advancement of the Institute of the Christian Brothers was

achieved at great personal sacrifice. 

Don and his late wife, Christine (Dwyer) Kavanagh, a long-time teacher of music,

chorale, and theater at St. Mary Academy Bay View, raised two sons, Matthew

(husband to Alexandra) and Patrick (husband to Lindsay). He is the grandfather of

Eloise Delaire Kavanagh (daughter of Patrick & Lindsay).