Arthur P. Burson Jr. This is Me

Education

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1. 1. Welcome to ECC - ECC Advisory Board

   www.ecc-conference.org/ecc_adv - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/9/2008   Last Visited: 2/9/2008

   Arthur Burson
   
   Merck & Co.

2. 2. www.nacme.org

   www.nacme.org/about/newboard.h - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/7/2007   Last Visited: 3/7/2007

   »» Arthur P. Burson, Jr., Vice President, Central Engineering, Merck & Co., Inc.

3. 3. www.eop.com

   www.eop.com/sampleme.html - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/23/2006   Last Visited: 3/2/2007

   For Arthur P. Burson, ethnicity did play a role in his career path. "As an African-American male, I have always believed that the best thing that I could do to help bridge the minority barrier was to assimilate into the mainstream culture and excel," says Burson. "Change is never easy, it is always a struggle, but the way to address the changes that need to be made is from the inside out." Burson also understood the existing challenges and obstacles that stood between him and success, but those things made him push even harder, not just academically but also socially and professionally. "Moving outside my comfort zone and encouraging others to let me in theirs has broadened my horizons, increased my outside interests, and offered continued growth opportunities that I might not have otherwise had," Burson says. Burson was born in Jersey City, NJ, but moved with his family to the town of Plainfield in the early 1960s when Plainfield was named one of the best cities to live in the United States. His dad was a schoolteacher and track coach at the junior high school and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. As a young boy, Burson dreamed of becoming a professional athlete, however, his academic strengths began to shine through. His father tried to direct him to become a professional such as a teacher, doctor, or lawyer. Says Burson, "Early in my formative years, my parents instilled a strong sense of discipline and good study habits. While in junior high and high school, I was a good student. I had a love for mathematics and the sciences. My father, a mathematics teacher with a minor in chemistry, challenged me when it came time to study." As a teenager, Burson had a passion for automobiles, so his high-school guidance counselor suggested he might want to consider pursuing a career in engineering. "In engineering, I could also use my interest in solving problems," Burson explains. "When it was time to look toward colleges, I applied to two-North Carolina A&T State University, because my father had attended and graduated from there, and Rutgers University, which was then, as now, an excellent choice to pursue an engineering degree." After being accepted to both universities, Burson chose to attend school in North Carolina. He and his family believed that the distance from home would create a situation great for learning, a growth experience, and instill independence since he had never been away from home for any extended period of time. Burson considers his first year in college as the challenge of challenges. During the summer between his freshman and sophomore years, he had his first real full-time job. "My parents thought I needed a 'rude awakening,' a wakeup call to push me to realize if college was too hard, this was the alternative," recalls Burson. "I worked as a general laborer in a plastic injection molding factory. It was gritty, hard, physical work and the heat given off by the injection molding machines made the working conditions nearly unbearable." Burson returned to school determined to study harder and to excel so he could have a better work environment. He pursued a cooperative educational program with the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, MI, in the light truck division. He loved working there and couldn't believe he could get paid for doing something he considered fun. He graduated with a bachelor's of science degree in mechanical engineering and while offered a job at the Ford Motor Company, he opted for a different opportunity because of troubles in the automobile industry. He next took a job with Exxon Research and Engineering and spent three and a half years there. He eventually volunteered to be laid off and took a separation package or compensation for departing the company. That summer, he answered an advertisement in the local Sunday paper for a project engineer at Merck & Co., Inc., and while he had driven by the Merck site in New Jersey many times, he admits he had no idea what they did. Twenty-three years later, he is still working there and is now vice president of central engineering. Throughout his career, Burson never allowed his ethnicity to be a handicap and considers it more of a strength. Burson explains, "I think the mistake that some members of minority groups make is to stick with only what they know and never move outside the circles where they are most comfortable. The 'silo effect' operating in isolation simply doesn't breed positive opportunities." Today, Burson is a member of the Merck Diversity Worldwide Business Strategy Team and has the opportunity to work with other employees to help shape Merck as an organization that prizes diversity and celebrates human differences.