Charles Francis Donovan was born on March 28, 1912 in Dorchester, Massachusetts to John J. and Mary E. (Doyle) Donovan. Donovan attended the Boston Latin School, before starting at Boston College in 1929. He graduated in 1933 and, that same year, joined the Jesuit Novitiate at Shadowbrook, Massachusetts, to begin his study for the priesthood. Donovan earned his MA in English from Fordham University in 1939.
Donovan was ordained in 1944, and subsequently undertook a PhD at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut pursuing his interest in the history of higher education in the United States. He graduated with his PhD in 1948, and became chairman of the Education Department at Boston College. At the time, the Education Department was part of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. In 1952, Boston College founded its School of Education, and Donovan became the department’s dean. Donovan had previously petitioned to introduce a four-year, coeducational college of education, and upon becoming dean, was tasked with recruiting female, as well as male students.
In 1961, Donovan was appointed to the office of Academic Vice-President. He initially remained in his role as Education Dean, but in 1966 he moved into a new office on College Road, devoting all of his time to the vice-presidency. In 1968, Donovan became Dean of Faculties as well as Senior Vice President. He retired from both roles ten years later, but stayed on at Boston College to become the college’s first University Historian. In 1990, his co-authored book, History of Boston College: From the Beginnings to 1990, was published. Donovan died on July 17, 1998 in Massachusetts.
