Messick, Charles P.

The relationship between Fred Telford and Charles Polk Messick began in 1917. The pair, relatively new to public administration, met while working for separate firms on a project in Canada. For the next 50 years, Telford and Messick collaborated on numerous occasions to help advance the theory and practice of public personnel administration.

Fred Telford, born in 1881, received a philosophy degree from the University of Chicago in 1918 and a Master of Arts from George Washington University in psychology and political science in 1925. While in school, Telford was beginning a distinguished career in the personnel profession. In 1913 he began a position with the Illinois State Civil Service Commission and, four years later, joined the staff of Griffenhagen and Associates, Ltd., where he met Charles Polk Messick. The meeting eventually led to a full-time position for Telford as a senior staff member with the Bureau of Public Personnel Administration.

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