Richard Cooler visited Burma in the early 1970s and then joined the Burma Studies Group, described as a "fragmented but serious association of scholars." Over the years, they published papers about the country, acquired rare books and art work and in the 1980s decided they needed a central office and NIU's bid, written by Cooler beat those offered by the University of Michigan, Wisconsin and Smithsonian, among others.
The Burma center is now attached to the building that serves as NIU's Center for Southeastern Asian studies. Its collection is housed in several campus buildings and includes publications, rare books, ancient and modern maps, art, manuscripts and music about Myanmar.
Professor Cooler, 71, was the center's director until he retired in 2002, but he remains active in it..
Next, why it is so important to have this center.
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