Kavanagh assumes leadership of Alumni Association as focus expands to include students and recent graduates
Dr. Lee Kavanagh ’02 is the new president of the Baylor College of Dentistry Alumni Association. A general dentist who practices in College Station, Texas, Kavanagh assumes the presidency from Dr. Celeste Latham ’97. The transition was recognized as nearly 100 Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry alumni and friends gathered in San Antonio to elect the Alumni Association’s president and fete the occasion May 8 during the Texas Dental Association annual meeting.
Left to right: Dr. Celeste Latham, Alumni Association past president; Susan Mitchell Jackson, executive director, Office of Advancement, Communications & Alumni Relations; and Dr. Lee Kavanagh, Alumni Association president.
Kavanagh assumes the office at a time when the college’s Alumni Association makes a concerted effort to reach out to current students and recent graduates.
“I look forward to leading the way in the continued expansion of alumni involvement with students, recent graduates and existing alumni,” said Kavanagh during the closing remarks. “To that end, we will be putting more functions in place that directly engage students with the Alumni Association to make the transition from student to alumnus or alumna as seamless as possible.”
The Alumni Association also held its annual general membership business meeting, during which financial and activity reports were presented and new board members and officers were elected. Joining Kavanagh and Latham on the Alumni Association board’s executive committee are President Elect Laurie Inglis ’02 and Secretary-Treasurer Joe J. Simmons ’98.
TAMBCD Dean Lawrence Wolinsky brought greetings to the group and the Teacher of the Year award winners — Dr. Kay Mash, restorative sciences, and Kathleeen Muzzin, dental hygiene — were announced.
More about your Alumni Association president
Dr. Lee Kavanagh’s professional experiences are about as varied as his personal pastimes. A dairy farmer, beekeeper and Great Pyrenees dog rescue volunteer in his free time, Kavanagh maintains a family dentistry practice in College Station.
Prior to opening his office, Kavanagh completed a general dentistry residency at the Department of Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System and transitioned to the public health arena for three years in Houston, where he also worked for NASA treating astronauts, clearing them for space missions and preparing them for how to handle dental emergencies while at the space station.
