The President today nominated Raymond J. Donovan, of Short Hills, N.J., to be Secretary of Labor.

Mr. Donovan is executive vice president of Schiavone Construction Co. of Secaucus, N.J.

Born August 31, 1930, in Bayonne, N.J., he was graduated from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans in 1952 with a B.A. in philosophy.

From 1953 to 1958, he was associated with the American Insurance Co. in New Jersey, serving as a representative in Essex and Hudson Counties until 1955, when he joined the company's surety department.

In 1959 he joined Schiavone Construction Co. as a shareholder and vice president with responsibilities in all phases of construction and management. He became executive vice president in 1971 with broadened responsibilities in all subsidiary firms.

He became a member of the Ballantine Brewery Workers Union in 1950 when he was a summer employee of the brewery. In 1952 and 1953 he was a member of the Electrical Workers Union, IBEW.

During his association with Schiavone Construction Co., he had primary responsibility for labor relations, conducting negotiations on behalf of his company. In addition, he has been involved in labor-related activities in the maritime industry, as well as in newspaper publishing, serving as a negotiator and developer of labor contracts for the New York Herald Tribune.

He is chairman of the lay board of directors of the Shrine of St. Josephs in Stirling, N.J., and chairman of the lay board of advisers of Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, a charitable and social work order of the Catholic Church. From 1973 to 1965, he was chairman of the board of Honesty House, a privately endowed home for treatment of alcoholics and addicts, in Stirling, NJ.

He is married to the former Catherine Sblendorio, and they have three children: Kenneth, Mary Ellen, and Keith.