Charles Arshen Pounian

Arch was the son of immigrants who survived the Armenian Genocide and a lifelong resident of Edgewater and Uptown.

Hired as an entry level examiner, Arch worked his way up to lead the City’s personnel department in 1960 and remained in that job for a quarter-century. He garnered respect from all corners for his compassion, character, clear-eyed management, and fairness. He fought to end entrenched discrimination and ensure that hiring practices were based on merit, not politics. He led efforts both in Chicago and nationwide to bring minorities and women into positions of importance in government. In partnership with the Ford Foundation, he chaired a committee for the U.S. Civil Service Commission, writing a model law to develop more equitable personnel standards in use to this day.

After leaving government, Arch became a Senior Consultant with the Hay Group for 22 years and advised government agencies around the U.S. on employment practices until his retirement in 2007.

Arch was a graduate of Senn High School, Lake Forest College, and the Illinois Institute of Technology, and a U.S. Army veteran who served from 1944 – 1946. He taught a government personnel course at IIT for 40 years as an adjunct professor and was widely recognized for his contributions to the field of personnel management. The Charles “Arch” Pounian Endowed Fellowship Fund at Illinois Tech supports graduate students pursuing degrees in industrial organizational psychology.

Arch was President of the International Personnel Management Association based in Washington, D.C. He served on the Boards of the Pedersen-McCormick Boys and Girls Club and Uptown Chicago Commission.

Throughout his life, Arch shared his great sense of humor, boundless optimism, and unconditional love with family and friends. Arch was an enthusiastic Cubs fan who attended games for over 90 years and had an encyclopedic knowledge of sports history.

Arch was predeceased by his wife of fifty-two years, Beatrice, and his older brother Albert, and is survived by his children Lynn and Steve, and his partner of fifteen years, Marda Gross. Contributions in Arch’s memory can be made to any worthy charity, including the Pounian Fellowship at Illinois Institute of Technology or the Pedersen-McCormick Boys and Girls Club.