Eileen Roberta Donovan (April 13, 1915 – December 19, 1996) was an American educator who served as the American Ambassador to Barbados from 1969 to 1974, after being a consul in Barbados in 1960, and consul general in 1962.

Early life and education

Donovan was born in Boston on April 13, 1915, the daughter of William F. Donovan. Her father was a fire chief. She attended Girls' Latin School in Boston, and graduated from Boston Teachers College with a bachelor's degree in 1936. She earned a master's degree in education in 1937. She attended Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration as a Foreign Service Institute Fellow and received a master of public administration degree from Harvard in 1957. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she received Japanese language training at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. "I never learned to type because I figured if I did I'd have to do it," she explained later of her preparation for government work.

Biography

Donovan was a history teacher in the Boston Public Schools from 1938 to 1943. During World War II, she served in the

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States ...

. In 1945, she was assistant to Douglas MacArthur at the Tokyo headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. While in Japan, she worked on school curriculum reform and women's opportunities for higher education, working with other American educators including Virginia Crocheron Gildersleeve and Charles S. Johnson, and also with Japanese educators. Donovan joined the Foreign Service in 1948. She was a political liaison officer in the Philippines, Italy, and Japan, and served as chief of the Southern Europe branch of the

Bureau of Intelligence and Research The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is an intelligence agency in the United States Department of State. Its central mission is to provide all-source intelligence and analysis in support of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy. INR is ...

in the 1950s. She was a consul in Barbados in 1960, and in 1962 became consul general. From 1965 to 1969, she was based in Washington, as assistant director of the Office of Caribbean Affairs. From 1969 to 1974, she was the American ambassador to Barbados. She retired in 1974, after a back injury. In 1989, Donovan gave an oral history interview to the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.

Honors

In 1969, Donovan won the

Federal Woman's Award The Federal Woman's Award, also known as the Federal Women's Award, was given by the United States Civil Service Commission from 1961 until 1976. The Federal Woman's Award was established by Barbara Bates Gunderson in 1960, while she was serving on ...

. "4 Officers honored in government-wide awards competition". ''State Department News Letter'' 85 (May 1868): 6. via Internet Archive

Personal life and death

Donovan died on December 19, 1996, at the age of 81, in

Spring Hill, Florida Spring Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hernando County, Florida, United States. The population was 113,568 at the 2020 census, up from 98,621 at the 2010 census. Spring Hill belongs to Florida's Nature Coast region and is in the T ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Eileen 1915 births 1996 deaths Diplomats from Boston Schoolteachers from Massachusetts 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators Harvard Kennedy School alumni American women ambassadors American consuls Ambassadors of the United States to Barbados Boston State College alumni Women's Army Corps soldiers 20th-century American diplomats Boston Latin Academy alumni