A man who served as president of two Kentucky based universities was a Mason County native.
According to local historian Ron Bailey, Herman Lee Donovan was born in Mason County on March 17, 1887 to Arthur and Arinda Shelton Donovan.
He lived in Minerva and graduated from Minerva High School in 1905.
After graduating from MHS, he began working as a teacher.
“His dedication to education can be traced back to his desire to further his education as he sold a horse his father had given him for $150 and went to Bowling Green with $156.10 to enroll at what then was called Western State Normal School, which later became Western Kentucky University,” Bailey said.
After he graduated from WKU, Donovan became principal of Paducah High School and then superintendent of Louisville City Schools. He also later served as superintendent of Catlettsburg Schools.
In 1921, he was hired as a professor at the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College. He became president of Richmond School in 1928.
“With the Great Depression going on, it really effected his tenure at Eastern Kentucky College but under his leadership, the school created several academic ranks and new buildings were constructed,” Bailey said.
It was in 1941 that he was offered the position of president at the University of Kentucky. He was the fourth president of UK and served until he retired in 1956, according to Bailey.
“Again, he faced outside crisis of World War II and its aftermath, but he steadfastly supported his faculty and improve salaries. Consider the enrollment doubled due to the flood of veteran students following World War II,” Bailey said.
Bailey said Donovan hired Paul (Bear) Bryant as the football coach in 1946.
“Also, UK basketball was in its glory years as it produced championship teams under Adolph Rupp,” Bailey said.
In 1956, he retired from UK and after his retirement, he wrote several books and served as director of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce.
Donovan passed away at the age of 77 in 1964 after suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage.