Salem State University inducted David Dugan, Class of 1995, into the Northeast Regional Educators Hall of Fame last week for his 31-year career as a Peabody educator and football coach.
Dugan is a lifelong Peabody resident who only spent a short time away from the city after marrying his wife, Andrea, in 1998.
“When we first got married, we moved to Salem. But then I had to move back,” Dugan joked. “We had an opportunity to move back to Peabody.”
Before Salem State, Dugan attended Bishop Fenwick High School. Heading into his collegiate years, Dugan knew he wanted to be a football coach. However, his decision to study teaching led to a passion that rivaled his aspiration to coach. He credited Salem State for its role in developing that passion and helping Dugan reach his full potential as a history teacher.
“I can’t say enough good things about their history department,” Dugan said. “I had some really good teachers who not only taught history but how to be a good teacher… They were more like mentors really than they were teachers.”
Dugan mentioned that he had opportunities to take his teaching and coaching skills to the collegiate level, however, he decided high school was the better option for the experience he wanted.
“You have visions of becoming the next Bobby Bowden or Steve Spurrier,” Dugan said. “But I had an opportunity to sit and think about it, and I said ‘You know what, I think high school is the place I’d love to really coach,’ and I felt I could have more of an impact with kids at the high-school level.”
Dugan was first approached by Bishop Fenwick to join its coaching staff in 1992 and has been there ever since. He gathered experience in multiple roles throughout his more than three-decade tenure, and is now the associate head coach behind Dave Woods.
Dugan would eventually find himself teaching history at Bishop Fenwick as well, but not until after spending time as a substitute teacher at Higgins Middle School and a teacher at Amesbury Middle School, working in the behavioral department.
“I really felt that I wanted to teach high-school history and that was kind of the thing that I thought fit me best,” Dugan said.
After more than 20 years in that role, Dugan became the dean of student life at Bishop Fenwick in 2019. He explained how this role gives him the opportunity to teach, coach, and be more involved with the student body on a day-to-day basis.
“You’re basically in charge of making sure the kids are behaving in school, dealing with issues that happen during the day,” Dugan explained.
Dugan’s daughter, Luci, graduated from Bishop Fenwick in 2020, while his son, Lincoln, is currently a junior and a member of the football team. Dugan credited his entire family for supporting him in all his endeavors.
“I feel very lucky that I have such a great relationship with my wife and my two kids because without those three, I wouldn’t be in the position I am,” Dugan said.
Dugan is currently the longest tenured coach at Bishop Fenwick across all sports. He is also a volunteer coach for Peabody Youth Football, Baseball, and Basketball.
