Rebuilding Myanmar's Universities at NIU-- Part 1

From the August 10, 2014, Chicago Tribune "Rebuilding Myanmar's universities" by Ted Gregory.

  All the uncertain evolution to a democracy in Myanmar, the former country of Burma, has had a very negative effect on its university system.  A building on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, about 8,000 miles from Yangoon, houses the only Center for Burma Studies in the United States.

NIU is leading in the rehabilitation of Myanmar's (Burma) universities.  Over the last 18 months, eight faculty members from NIU have made trips to Myanmar to get their educational system going again.

NIU's path to becoming a leading institution in the Burmese culture began in 1963, when the university started training Peace Corps volunteers for service in Malaysis.  This effort led to the creation of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at NIU in the same year.

The Center for Burma Studies came into existence in 1986 through the efforts of professor Richard Cooler who came to NIU in 1970.

Proud of My Alma Mater.