Exploring the joy and brilliance of neurodivergent faculty in U.S. higher education

Neurodivergent faculty are often left out of diversity, equity, and inclusion conversations in academia, both in terms of conversation content and themselves being part of the conversation. There is also little extant work on the strengths these faculty bring to higher educational spaces. This modified phenomenological qualitative study explores the lived experiences of neurodivergent faculty working in U.S. higher education using semi-structured interviews with 23 participants. Utilizing a thematic analysis, seven themes were co-created from the data: (1) neurophobia as systemic oppression; (2) navigating the nexus of identities; (3) complexity of outness; (4) labors of communication; (5) “neurophoria” and the brilliance of neurodivergence; (6) community connection and advocacy; and (7) shared wisdom. The aspects encompassing the first four themes are explored in a previous publication, while this article looks at the final three themes which regard the positive aspects of being neurodivergent and neurodiversity. The participants expressed many shared experiences across disciplines (i.e., humanities, STEM, social sciences), faculty role type (i.e., tenure track, clinical, adjunct), institution type (i.e., the size of the institution, public vs. private), and a variety of other identities (i.e., race, gender, age). Focusing on neurodivergent joy, the strengths and brilliance that neurodivergent people offer to the world and to the Academy, and listening to their shared wisdom offers neurotypical accomplices and institutions of higher education alike the opportunity to explore the creation of more neuroaffirming spaces within higher education.