Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
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Keith R. Kluender
The College of Health and Human Sciences at Purdue University welcomes Dr. Keith R. Kluender as the new head of the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences.
Kluender joined the faculty in the Department of Psychology at University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988. Prior to coming to Purdue, he held concurrent positions as professor of psychology and affiliate professor of communication disorders at UW Madison.
He earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin in 1988. In 1981, he earned an M.S. degree in Experimental Psychology from Northeastern University, Boston. And in 1979 he earned a B.S. degree from Carroll College where he majored in psychology and minored in biology, chemistry and philosophy.
Kluender is an international leader in research on hearing with an emphasis on perception of complex sounds including speech and clinical applications of this work. His research takes an interdisciplinary approach that includes computer science, electrical engineering, neuroscience, and psychology.
He was named Fellow status by both the American Psychological Society (2008) and the Acoustical Society of America (2010) and in 1997, he received the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his early career contributions.
Kluender is the co-author of a leading textbook titled "Sensation & Perception" and he has published more than 70 papers and presented at hundreds of national and international engagements.
Kluender has secured more than $4.5M in federal funding since 1988. He holds two patents with a third currently under review. Two of his patents involve the improvement of hearing aids and computer speech recognition.
I could not be more enthusiastic about joining the faculty of Purdue’s Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. I was long aware of the outstanding academic and clinical reputations of the department. During my interviews, I learned that Purdue faculty are wonderful people who are making great strides to improve the lives of children and adults while training the next generation of outstanding clinicians and researchers. I am sincerely grateful for this opportunity to support their efforts
This is a very exciting time for the Department. On the positive side, we very much look forward to moving from cramped aging quarters to sharing a new building. Less positively, Purdue is experiencing the same budget challenges as most public universities, and there is little or no fat to cut. I look forward to creatively meeting these challenges in ways that permit the Department to maintain excellence and to develop ways to fulfill emerging needs in a rapidly growing health field. High quality research and clinical training in autism rank highly in this respect.
In addition to these immediate challenges, I look forward to promoting SHLS nationally and internationally. SHLS is a true gem in Indiana and the nation. Whether in the laboratory, clinic or classroom, we are doing great things for children and adults with speech, language, and hearing disorders and I cannot wait to take on the role of enthusiastically spreading the word!
Being a part of developing the new College of Health and Human Sciences presents an especially exciting opportunity. The field of speech, language, and hearing is by its very nature highly interdisciplinary. The new college provides an environment that will nurture natural connections in ways that will make all of us better at what we do. I hope to contribute to growing this new culture of cooperation and synergy.