The President today announced the appointment of James H. Cavanaugh as Special Consultant to the President. In this capacity he will provide advice and consultation on the management of the Presidential appointment process.

Dr. Cavanaugh is president of Allergan International, a unit of the Allergan Pharmaceutical Co. in Irvine, Calif. He was senior vice president for science and planning, having joined the company in 1977.

Prior to that he was on the White House staff, which he joined in 1971 as staff assistant to President Nixon for Health Affairs. He was named Associate Director of the Domestic Council staff in 1973, becoming Deputy Director of the Domestic Council staff the following year. In 1976 he was named Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and served as Deputy Chief of the White House staff under President Ford.

Prior to his White House service, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. He was a member of the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Iowa and has served as a consultant to various public and private health care organizations throughout North and South America.

He is a director of the Greater Irvine, Calif., Industrial League and a member of the executive committee of the board of directors of the Lincoln Club of Orange County, Calif. He is on the board of councilors of the School of Pharmacy of the University of Southern California.

He served as one of the President's economic and domestic advisers during the Presidential campaign and was deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel of the transition group.

Dr. Cavanaugh, 43, is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University (B.S., 1959) and the University of Iowa (M.A., 1961; Ph. D., 1964).

He is a native of Madison, N. J. He resides with his wife, Esther, and two children in Newport Beach, Calif.