The Center is administered by Director Catherine Raymond, who is an Art Historian specializing in the art of Burma/Myanmar and a faculty member in the School of Art. As director, she serves as a nonvoting, ex-officio member of the board of trustees of the Burma Studies Foundation.

The Burma Studies Foundation was established in 1986 by the Burma Studies Group of the Association for Asian Studies in part to provide support and oversight for the Center for Burma Studies by gathering Burma/Myanmar materials suitable for inclusion in the Burmese Collections at Northern Illinois University and supervising their maintenance. The Burma Studies Foundation has also provided material support for the establishment of The Journal of Burma Studies.