When Senator James H. Donovan passed away in 1990, Ralph J. Marino, a senate majority leader, said “Jim Donovan’s most lasting contribution will be in the area of education, where he assured that quality and affordable education was this state’s top priority.”
Indeed, Senator James Donovan is well known for his fourteen years as the chairman of the Senate Education Committee. However, Donovan also contributed to the state and the country in other ways. He served as the chairman of the Committee on Roads and Public Works as well as the Committee on Mental Hygiene and Addiction Control. He fought teenage illiteracy and pregnancy, and served two tours of duty in World War II as a marine, as well.