Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Professor Jesse Cavenar Jr., Passes Away

Dr. Jesse Cavenar Jr., professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, passed away on April 6 at the age of 85.

Born in Arkansas, Davenar earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine in 1963. He served as a Navy flight surgeon in the Vietnam era, and after completing active duty, he attended psychiatry residency at UNC Chapel Hill. He also trained at the UNC-Duke Psychoanalytic Institute and was a teaching psychoanalyst there for many years. He was certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and by the Board of Professional Standards of the American Psychoanalytic Association.

Cavenar joined the Duke Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences faculty in 1971 and rose from instructor to tenured professor and vice chair of the department. He authored more than 120 scientific publications and edited eleven medical textbooks, and he was named an honored professor at Duke. Fellow professor emeritus Dr. Richard Weiner noted that he was a prominent teacher in the department from the 1970s to early 1990s, particularly in psychodynamics.

During his time at Duke, Cavenar was primarily based at the Durham Veterans Affairs Health System, where he served as chief of psychiatry and associate chief of staff. Upon retiring from the VA after 33 years of federal civilian service, he took a military leave of absence from Duke and accepted a recall to active military service as a Colonel in the U.S. Army. Cavenar had an impressive military career, including serving as the U.S. representative to NATO psychiatry and many other accomplishments. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2006 after 46 years of military service.

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