Susan Russell loves a good mystery.

However, the director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies and anthropology professor does not enjoy the mystery surrounding the existence of her center and what it actually does.

“We struggle all the time to make people aware that we are here, particularly students,” she said. “Students come and go. There are a lot of students on this campus, but trying to make them aware of a program like ours that’s not actually a department is a constant challenge.”

The center is actually an interdisciplinary international program. It provides leadership, focus and coordination for Southeast Asian studies at the university and community outreach throughout northern Illinois. That entails writing grants and administering undergraduate minors in Southeast Asian studies.

Russell fell in love with the culture of Southeast Asia at a young age.

“I was just a Midwestern kid who grew up wanting to travel and got interested in anthropology very early in high school,” she said. “I was interested in the south Pacific. It was an interesting area to concentrate on and learn more about.”

The culture has flamed Russell’s passion.

“It’s a fascinating area,” she said. “It’s very culturally and linguistically diverse. It’s a beautiful part of the world. The people are very vibrant, energetic and a lot of fun to talk to. They have really interesting cultures.”

Despite the beauty of the culture, Russell fights for attention from students.

“I think a lot of students are in fact interested in this part of the world, but it does seem like it takes a lot of work to get in touch with them,” she said. “However, the work is definitely worth it. There’s nothing better than seeing a student who came back from Southeast Asia for the first time and suddenly realize that their whole perspective of the world has changed.”

The center’s outreach coordinator Julia Lamb said that many students have gained that perspective thanks to Russell’s hard work.

“She’s very dedicated, and you can see her hard work and passion about her field and Southeast Asia,” she said. “She’s done a phenomenal jobs of helping the university community and the general public aware of Southeast Asia and the issues concerning that region of the world.”

Anthropology is Russell’s other passion.

“I like anthropology because it takes a sort of sweeping vision of humans,” she said. “It encompasses everything – their linguistic, cultural and historical complexity. There is no other discipline that does that.”

In her spare time, Russell enjoys mystery novels and gardening. Her husband, Robert Zerwekh, is an associate computer science professor at NIU.