Last Word: In Appreciation of Dick Burk

Richard (Dick) Burk recently announced his retirement from the federal government after three years as chief architect at the Office of Management and Budget and thirty-five years of dedicated service to the federal government. The development and advancement of the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) that began under Bob Haycock’s leadership, accelerated under Dick’s guidance. Today, the FEA is not just used by the federal government but by six nations and three states. The FEA has become a world class standard for EA.

I would like to share what many of the leaders in EA have to say about Dick’s achievements.

• Molly A. O’Neill, CIO, EPA , and co-chair, Architecture and Infrastructure Committee (AIC): “Everything Dick accomplished was motivated by his unwavering commitment to serve the American public. His leadership of OMB’s EA Program was focused on one result–helping the federal government achieve its mission.”
• Lisa Schlosser, CIO, HUD, and former AIC co-chair: “A timeliness legacy–this is what Dick has contributed to the federal government in the area of EA. His vision and leadership have resulted in making e-government a reality.”
• Barry West, CIO, Department of Commerce: “Dick’s passion and dedication in the EA discipline have moved the entire government forward. His work has laid the foundation for government agencies moving forward with EA.”
• George Wauer, chief architect, DoD: “Dick kept a common-sense approach as he guided all the diverse government departments into IT architecting. Through his efforts, he established a cornerstone for the discipline of architecting.”
• John M. Gilligan, former CIO, USA F, and AIC co-chair: “Dick has provided the leadership and focus to take EA from a concept to a full-fledged reality. His passion for architecture and his ability to work with many constituencies enabled this success. Dick lives the belief that he is a citizen of the world and that we need to make global contributions to improve the lives of those less fortunate.”
• Bob Haycock, former chief architect, OMB: “Dick has taken what was an approach in development and, through the force of his knowledge and commitment, has built a working program that is helping to implement EA within the federal government. Dick has provided leadership and clear commitment to the FEA during his tenure.”

Dick is a true leader; he is enthusiastic, charismatic, passionate, visionary, articulate, patient, debonair, fun to work with, a great person, and a friend. As the leader of the FEA, Dick will be greatly missed and a tough act to follow. Dick, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Ira M. Grossman is chairman of the Chief Architects Forum.