John J Donovan
Encyclopedia
John J. Donovan is a retired professor of electrical engineering
and management
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, was a professor of pediatrics
at Tufts University
, and is an executive training guru. Donovan made headlines in 2007 when he was convicted of filing a false police report. Prosecutors produced evidence that Donovan staged an elaborate hoax—which included shooting himself in the stomach and then blaming the shooting on his eldest son. In August 2010, a judge denied Donovan's motion for a new trial.
In September, Donovan announced that he has formed a partnership with The Andrews Institute and Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Florida. In his press release, Donovan says Harvard Medical School Professor and Economist Thomas McGuire will undertake research regarding the medical work at the Andrews Institute. he is researching medical fraud.
He is a member of Hamilton Thorne's Scientific Advisory Board. Since his MIT retirement, he has become a successful entrepreneur, founding many technology companies and amassing an estimated fortune of $100 million. He has co-founded seven public companies, including Cambridge Technology Partners
, Open Environment Corporation
. He developed innovative solutions for some 200 institutions, including Oracle
, Boeing
, AA
, Aegon
, BP
, IBM
, HP, Samsung
, SAP
.
Donovan attended Lynn English High School. He received his bachelor's degree in engineering from Tufts University
. He holds two masters degrees - one in engineering and one in science, and a PhD - all from Yale University
. He was a Ford Postdoctoral Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
.
He authored seminal text books in computer science, including Systems Programming and Operating Systems, and his research focused on early work in operating systems, databases, and later applications of IT to business. He has also wrote popular business books such as Business Re-engineering with Information Technology and Business & Technology: A Paradigm Shift. Donovan and his son John Jr. co-authored The Second Industrial Revolution.
Donovan also served as an assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine
. He received two awards for his work at the Center for Birth Defects. Donovan lectured on Strategic Computing in Government while at Harvard University.
Advisory Committee on Technology reporting to President Jimmy Carter
. Donovan worked with President George H. W. Bush's
administration on the impact of the internet and applications sponsored by DARPA.
Donovan worked with the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff General Richard Myers to develop Joint Protection Enterprise Network
(JPEN), a system developed in response to 9/11 attack.
Donovan worked with Tip O'Neill
and Ted Kennedy
on birth defect legislature, based on Donovan's work at Tufts University School of Medicine
Birth Defects Center.
Donovan started his business career by providing technical training for AT&T
computer business personnel. Later courses shifted towards sales and strategy training to executives. This led to Donovan devising a method of helping companies meet their customers' needs through workshops. Key sponsors and partners of those workshops were British Telecom, Hewlett Packard, Oracle
, IBM
, Digital Equipment Corporation
, SAP
.
These workshops were the origin of many companies, including: Cambridge Technology Group, Business@Web(which later was renamed One Wave), Open Environment Corporation, Cambridge Technology Partners
, Cambridge Executive Enterprises, Cambridge Technology Enterprises, C-Bridge and CellExchange.
Donovan also had his share of disappointments. One of the companies he co-founded, Knoware, despite winning several awards, ran out of venture money and had to file for bankruptcy. He sold Cambridge Technology Partners
(CTP) for only $20 million, and CTP's market capitalization soon jumped to $1.3 billion. He sold his share in Mitrol for "very little", to see Mitrol soon after be sold to GE for $10 million.
. Donovan and Jay-Yong Lee established a scholarship at Boston University
in Donovan father's name. He and his son John J. Donovan Jr. have donated the use of athletic fields to the town of Hamilton, MA. Donovan made major contributions to Education Outbound, a public charity founded by his son John. In 2009 Donovan was recognized by the Essex County Trail Association for his land conservation work. Donovan has also done land conservation work in Vermont.
Through his charitable organization Children’s Potential Unlimited he donated computers to Connery Elementary School in Lynn, MA.
While at MIT Donovan had also donated his time to teaching at Lowell Institute
.
for contributions to the field of information technology. Donovan was appointed Kentucky Colonel
and New Mexico
Colonel, Aide-de-Camp
for IT and charity work. Donovan was honored by Senator John Glenn
for contribution to birth defects information systems and advancing the development of technology. Donovan holds Honorary Doctorate of Economics from University of Economics, Prague
, first doctorate in economics since the invasion of Czechoslovakia
.
on the night of December 16, 2005. After being released from the hospital he told police that he suspected that his son had arranged the shooting. In May 2006 he was indicted
for filing a false police report about the incident, and in August 2007 he was convicted of the charge. After a long appeal, in August 2010 the trial judge denied Donovan's motion for a new trial saying there were no grounds to retry the case. His lawyers have announced they will take the case to appeals court.
Donovan is married to Linda Donovan. He has five children. He works closely with his youngest son, John Donovan, Jr.
One of his three daughters accused him of child molestation in 2002; the abuse purportedly took place 40 years ago. Donovan has consistently denied that there was any abuse of any kind. A spokesman for Donovan has said that she made the accusations to gain leverage in a financial dispute. In addition, several legal battles have been waged with four of his five children over claims to his fortune and real estate holdings. His youngest son, John Donovan Jr., has acted as a peacemaker in the family dispute.
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
and management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, was a professor of pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
at Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
, and is an executive training guru. Donovan made headlines in 2007 when he was convicted of filing a false police report. Prosecutors produced evidence that Donovan staged an elaborate hoax—which included shooting himself in the stomach and then blaming the shooting on his eldest son. In August 2010, a judge denied Donovan's motion for a new trial.
In September, Donovan announced that he has formed a partnership with The Andrews Institute and Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, Florida. In his press release, Donovan says Harvard Medical School Professor and Economist Thomas McGuire will undertake research regarding the medical work at the Andrews Institute. he is researching medical fraud.
He is a member of Hamilton Thorne's Scientific Advisory Board. Since his MIT retirement, he has become a successful entrepreneur, founding many technology companies and amassing an estimated fortune of $100 million. He has co-founded seven public companies, including Cambridge Technology Partners
Cambridge Technology Partners
Cambridge Technology Partners was founded by John J. Donovan in 1991 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA as a division of Cambridge Technology Group, is a leading consulting firm with focus on solving complex business problems with technology based solutions.Today, the headquarters are based in Nyon...
, Open Environment Corporation
Open Environment Corporation
Open Environment Corporation was founded by John J. Donovan in 1992 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. OEC develops, markets and supports software that enables companies to create applications for distributed, client/server computing systems...
. He developed innovative solutions for some 200 institutions, including Oracle
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, AA
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, Aegon
AEGON
Aegon N.V. is one of the world’s largest life insurance and pension groups, and a strong provider of investment products. Aegon's head office is in The Hague, Netherlands...
, BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, HP, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, SAP
SAP AG
SAP AG is a German software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, with regional offices around the world, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software...
.
Early life
John J.Donovan was born in Lynn, MA, to John J. Sr. and Madeline Donovan. John J. Sr. was an elementary school teacher, and part-time police officer. Madeline was a social worker.Donovan attended Lynn English High School. He received his bachelor's degree in engineering from Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
. He holds two masters degrees - one in engineering and one in science, and a PhD - all from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He was a Ford Postdoctoral Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
Academic career
Donovan received his tenure at MIT in 1977, at the time being one of the youngest tenured professors. He received the Student Teaching Award three years in a row (1970–72), and David A. Schultz Award for Excellence in Teaching (1969). He was a professor at MIT for 31 years before retiring.He authored seminal text books in computer science, including Systems Programming and Operating Systems, and his research focused on early work in operating systems, databases, and later applications of IT to business. He has also wrote popular business books such as Business Re-engineering with Information Technology and Business & Technology: A Paradigm Shift. Donovan and his son John Jr. co-authored The Second Industrial Revolution.
Donovan also served as an assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
The Tufts University School of Medicine is one of the eight schools that constitute Tufts University. Located on the university's health sciences campus in the Chinatown district of Boston, Massachusetts, the medical school has clinical affiliations with thousands of doctors and researchers in the...
. He received two awards for his work at the Center for Birth Defects. Donovan lectured on Strategic Computing in Government while at Harvard University.
Public service
Donovan served on National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
Advisory Committee on Technology reporting to President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
. Donovan worked with President George H. W. Bush's
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
administration on the impact of the internet and applications sponsored by DARPA.
Donovan worked with the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff General Richard Myers to develop Joint Protection Enterprise Network
Counterintelligence Field Activity
Counterintelligence Field Activity was a United States Department of Defense agency whose size and budget were classified. The CIFA was created by a directive from the Secretary of Defense on February 19, 2002...
(JPEN), a system developed in response to 9/11 attack.
Donovan worked with Tip O'Neill
Tip O'Neill
Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr. was an American politician. O'Neill was an outspoken liberal Democrat and influential member of the U.S. Congress, serving in the House of Representatives for 34 years and representing two congressional districts in Massachusetts...
and Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
on birth defect legislature, based on Donovan's work at Tufts University School of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
The Tufts University School of Medicine is one of the eight schools that constitute Tufts University. Located on the university's health sciences campus in the Chinatown district of Boston, Massachusetts, the medical school has clinical affiliations with thousands of doctors and researchers in the...
Birth Defects Center.
Business career
Currently, Donovan is working with The Andrews Institute and Baptist health Care of Pensacola as part of his techology company Cloud Industries. Donovan announced the partnership with Dr James Andrews of the Andrews Institute and Al Stubblefield, CEO of Baptist Health Care Pensacola.Donovan started his business career by providing technical training for AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
computer business personnel. Later courses shifted towards sales and strategy training to executives. This led to Donovan devising a method of helping companies meet their customers' needs through workshops. Key sponsors and partners of those workshops were British Telecom, Hewlett Packard, Oracle
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
, SAP
SAP AG
SAP AG is a German software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, with regional offices around the world, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software...
.
These workshops were the origin of many companies, including: Cambridge Technology Group, Business@Web(which later was renamed One Wave), Open Environment Corporation, Cambridge Technology Partners
Cambridge Technology Partners
Cambridge Technology Partners was founded by John J. Donovan in 1991 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA as a division of Cambridge Technology Group, is a leading consulting firm with focus on solving complex business problems with technology based solutions.Today, the headquarters are based in Nyon...
, Cambridge Executive Enterprises, Cambridge Technology Enterprises, C-Bridge and CellExchange.
Donovan also had his share of disappointments. One of the companies he co-founded, Knoware, despite winning several awards, ran out of venture money and had to file for bankruptcy. He sold Cambridge Technology Partners
Cambridge Technology Partners
Cambridge Technology Partners was founded by John J. Donovan in 1991 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA as a division of Cambridge Technology Group, is a leading consulting firm with focus on solving complex business problems with technology based solutions.Today, the headquarters are based in Nyon...
(CTP) for only $20 million, and CTP's market capitalization soon jumped to $1.3 billion. He sold his share in Mitrol for "very little", to see Mitrol soon after be sold to GE for $10 million.
Philanthropy
Donovan has done a lot of charity work personally and through the companies that he established. He and his son John Jr. established scholarships at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Donovan and Jay-Yong Lee established a scholarship at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
in Donovan father's name. He and his son John J. Donovan Jr. have donated the use of athletic fields to the town of Hamilton, MA. Donovan made major contributions to Education Outbound, a public charity founded by his son John. In 2009 Donovan was recognized by the Essex County Trail Association for his land conservation work. Donovan has also done land conservation work in Vermont.
Through his charitable organization Children’s Potential Unlimited he donated computers to Connery Elementary School in Lynn, MA.
While at MIT Donovan had also donated his time to teaching at Lowell Institute
Lowell Institute
The Lowell Institute is an educational foundation in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., providing for free public lectures, and endowed by the bequest of $250,000 left by John Lowell, Jr., who died in 1836. Under the terms of his will 10% of the net income was to be added to the principal, which in...
.
Awards
Donovan was honored by congressman Harold FordHarold Ford, Sr.
Harold Eugene Ford, Sr. was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing the Memphis, Tennessee area for ten terms—from 1975 until his retirement in 1997. He was the first African-American to represent Tennessee in the U.S...
for contributions to the field of information technology. Donovan was appointed Kentucky Colonel
Kentucky colonel
Kentucky colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
Colonel, Aide-de-Camp
Colonel (title)
The honorary title of Colonel is conferred by some states in the United States of America and certain units of the Canadian Forces. The origins of the titular colonelcy can be traced back to colonial and antebellum times when men of the landed gentry were given the title for financing the local...
for IT and charity work. Donovan was honored by Senator John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
for contribution to birth defects information systems and advancing the development of technology. Donovan holds Honorary Doctorate of Economics from University of Economics, Prague
University of Economics, Prague
The University of Economics, Prague, is a public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest university in the field of economics, business and information technologies in the Czech Republic with almost 20,000 students in its bachelor, masters and doctoral programmes.-Schools...
, first doctorate in economics since the invasion of Czechoslovakia
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
On the night of 20–21 August 1968, the Soviet Union and her main satellite states in the Warsaw Pact – Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic , Hungary and Poland – invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in order to halt Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring political liberalization...
.
Personal life
On August 17, 2007 John J. Donovan was convicted of staging an elaborate hoax which included shooting himself in the stomach—as part of a bizarre attempt to accuse his oldest son of being involved in a plot to kill him. Prosecutors say John Donovan's lied to them and the police. They called his actions a "corruption" of the criminal justice system. The judge called John Donovan "bizzare." Donovan was sentenced to two years' probation. Donovan was shot twice in the stomach in the parking lot of his office in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
on the night of December 16, 2005. After being released from the hospital he told police that he suspected that his son had arranged the shooting. In May 2006 he was indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
for filing a false police report about the incident, and in August 2007 he was convicted of the charge. After a long appeal, in August 2010 the trial judge denied Donovan's motion for a new trial saying there were no grounds to retry the case. His lawyers have announced they will take the case to appeals court.
Donovan is married to Linda Donovan. He has five children. He works closely with his youngest son, John Donovan, Jr.
One of his three daughters accused him of child molestation in 2002; the abuse purportedly took place 40 years ago. Donovan has consistently denied that there was any abuse of any kind. A spokesman for Donovan has said that she made the accusations to gain leverage in a financial dispute. In addition, several legal battles have been waged with four of his five children over claims to his fortune and real estate holdings. His youngest son, John Donovan Jr., has acted as a peacemaker in the family dispute.