There are three clocks on the wall of Dr. McLoddy Kadyamusuma’s office where he sits as the new chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD). These clocks are not there to mark the time as he goes about his work as the head of the department but instead reflects his international roots. The two clocks not on Central Standard time are set to the time in Australia, where some of his family members live, and to his native Zimbabwe, the current home of his wife and three children.
Kadyamusuma is the only member of the department to have earned all his degrees outside of the United States. His first degree was in Zimbabwe, in linguistics and French. From that point, he became a world traveler, earning a master’s degree in clinical linguistics in Europe, the only student accepted into the program from Africa. He earned his Ph.D. in neurolinguistics in Potsdam, Germany. From there, he did a post-doc in South Africa and was invited to join the Neurolinguistics Lab as a visiting scholar at the City University of New York, Graduate Center. After he completed his postdoctoral work, he accepted a position in CSD at the State University of New York in Fredonia. He became the chair of the program in 2019 and concurrently served as the program director.
Kadyamusuma enjoys organizing and leading and was excited to come to Illinois State in July 2022. He feels that Illinois State is “a breath of fresh air” and a place to grow. The people he has met are genuine, authentic, and welcoming, and he is looking forward to leading the department and challenging himself as the chair of CSD.
Kadyamusuma has research interests in the effect of linguistic experience on acquiring other languages, and the characteristics of language use in those who are multilingual and have aphasia. Another research interest is in tonal languages. His native language, Shona, is tonal, which makes it difficult for English speakers to pronounce his last name. This had led some to call him “Dr. K.”
When not working hard in the department, Kadyamusuma relaxes by practicing guitar or running. Running marathons is a keen interest of his, and undoubtedly gives him the stamina to lead the department well.
