Charles E. Dunbar

Charles Edward Dunbar, Jr. (December 26, 1888 – April 17, 1959), was an attorney who developed the modern civil service system in the U.S. state of Louisiana. He was the first chairman of the Louisiana State Civil Service Commission, having served from 1940-1947. Dunbar was born in McComb, Mississippi, to Charles Dunbar, Sr., and the former Emma Buaer. In 1910, Dunbar received his Bachelor of Arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from Tulane University in New Orleans. He did graduate work at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1914 from Harvard Law School. He served in the United States Army during World War I. From 1916-1941, he served on the teaching faculty of the Tulane Law School. In 1915, he began affiliation with a New Orleans law firm, was made partner in 1919, and retained that professional relationship until his death. Dunbar's pursuit of civil service was a response to end the past practices of political patronage in the awarding of state and municipal government jobs. The first civil service law was drafted in 1940 under the administration of Governor Sam Houston Jones. Dunbar also worked to get the law adopted as a constitutional amendment to make any future repeal attempt less likely to succeed. From 1948-1952, the civil service department was run by R.B. Walden, a former mayor of Winnsboro. A second civil service measure followed in 1952 under the administration of Governor Robert F. Kennon.

Dunbar served on the executive board of the American Bar Association, as president of the Louisiana Bar Association, and as a trustee of the Southwestern Legal Foundation. He served on the board of advisory editors of the Tulane Law Review from its inception until his death. From 1923-1925, he was the president of the Tulane Alumni Association. In 1941, he was the vice-president of the National Civil Service League as well as the founding president of the Louisiana Civil Service League. In 1958, Dunbar was recognized as "Mr. Civil Service of North America" by the Public Personnel Association. In June 1925, Dunbar married the former Ethelyn Legendre (years of birth and death missing) of New Orleans. Their sons were Charles E. Dunbar, III (1926–1995), and George Bauer Dunbar (born ca. 1928) of Slidell in St. Tammany Parish. Dunbar died in New Orleans and is interred there at Metairie Cemetery. Dunbar is remembered through the annual Charles E. Dunbar, Jr., Career Service Awards presented annually by the Louisiana Civil Service League to noteworthy employees in all levels of government work. Since the program began in 1959, some eight hundred employees have received the honor. Among the Dunbar winners was Ray R. Allen, finance director of the City of Alexandria, who garnered the honor in 1970, when he held the title of municipal secretary-treasurer. In 2005 the award was won by Jessie Roberts and Shelia Barbier Tregre, two employees at the same institution (Southeastern Louisiana University).