DeKALB – It’s not organized crime, but there is a “mafia” of Huskies in the Indonesian government thanks to Northern Illinois University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

For 50 years, NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies has produced ambassadors, university presidents and parliamentarians throughout countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia while also inspiring American students to discover the culture, history and languages of the region.

“We like to joke that we have the NIU mafia in Southeast Asia,” said Clark Neher, who spent 31 years as a professor with the center. “So many of the students who came here have risen to the top of their country.”