Senator James Donovan, known for his fourteen years of service as the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, put a lot of effort into improving the quality of education in New York. He also fought teenage illiteracy and pregnancy. When he died in 1990, senate majority leader Ralph J. Marino 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.”
In addition to serving in the Senate Education Committee, James Donovan served as the chairman of the Committee on Roads and Public Works and the Committee on Mental Hygiene and Addiction Control, as well as two tours of duty in World War II as a marine.