Charles Merriam's career exemplified a combination of innovative political and social science scholarship and practical service to the community and nation. The department he chaired in the 1920s-1940s set the agenda of the political science profession in the post World War II decades. He was the key figure in the founding of the Social Science Research Council, and chaired it in its first decades. His public service included membership in the Chicago City Council, and President Roosevelt's National Resources Planning Board, and the Committee on Administrative Management.