Story by Katie Cukrowski

Cheers erupt in Moody Coliseum when the sharply dressed worship leader starts waving his arms back and forth in front of him.

“To this day, I don’t understand why [Highways and Byways] strikes a chord with students,” laughed Dr. Moore.

Eleven years ago, Steven Moore, assistant professor of English, was scheduled to lead Chapel, but the Chapel coordinator at the time had never heard of the song; Moore had to teach the song and all the hand motions to him and the other praise leaders. And then the Chapel coordinator said to him: “This song is never going to fly.”

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

The Moore twins came as a surprise to their parents, who thought they were only having one baby, so the boys were called Baby A and Baby B for a while until their parents could come up with names. Neither Steven nor his brother Daryl were given middle names, but when Moore graduated with his master’s degree he said, “I decided to honor my dad by taking on his name, so that’s why around here I’m Steven Troy Moore.”

“I’m from Virginia,” Moore said, “but my dad was in the military, and we moved around all the time.”

Some of the places he lived were particularly interesting and exotic. As a teenager, Moore lived with his family in Panama during the U.S. invasion of Panama because Manuel Noriega, a corrupt dictator, was in power.

One day while the twins were at school “General Noriega and some of his troops surrounded the American buses. They had [machine] guns that were pointed at us, while we were on the bus,” recalls Moore.

It was a terrifying experience for the parents.

Daryl is now a captain in the United States Marines, and their eldest brother, Eric, lives in Washington D.C. as a communications engineer.

Students can hardly imagine an ACU without Dr. Moore, but teaching was not his first job.

“When I was a [junior] in high school I worked at a pie shop. I was a waiter, a greeter and a busboy.”

For college, Moore attended the University of Wisconsin where he earned his bachelor’s degree in English.

“And while I was in school, I started working for Walmart,” Moore said.

After going through a management program, he eventually became a manager.

“There is so much that [goes] on behind closed doors in terms of design, or merchandise – pricing and ordering, and dealing with employees and wages,” Moore said. “And I thought ‘Oh, this is awesome. Working for Walmart and dealing with people.’ But then I grew out of love with it. I remember mornings waking up at three in the morning or four in the morning just going out there to work-and that was something that was not appealing to me.”

It was then that Moore felt a stirring inside him, reminding him of another of his dreams – to teach.

After applying to the University of Nebraska, Moore received a full-ride into the college’s MA program. While in school there, he taught at York College, a small, private Christian college. And as soon as he had graduated with his master’s degree, York hired him as a full-time professor.

Moore loved the five and a half years he spent at York, but when he met Darryl Tippens, ACU professor of English at the time, the two clicked and had a thorough conversation about life, faith and literature.

“We became friends immediately,” Moore said.

After their meeting, Tippens told Moore about a job opening at ACU. Moore came down for the interview, and he said, “I just fell in love with the place, fell in love with what I saw.”

Wearing the usual crisp, black suit and shiny silk tie, Moore beams as he passes and greets students and coworkers on campus. The 41-year-old professor is highly beloved on campus and is known for being one of the most fun and interesting teachers.

Briana Burton, senior biology major from Abilene, said Moore’s teaching style bettered her learning experience.

“Moore is one of the most open, inspirational and encouraging professors I’ve ever had,” Burton said. His love of literature is infectious, so the students can’t help but share his enthusiasm.”

Moore’s favorite class to teach is American Literature after 1900 because of all the poetry and the various movements.

But teaching can present challenges. Moore said, “I think the hardest thing about being a teacher is when you are working with a student who does not believe in him or herself.”

Moore’s first class here was full of students who hated writing and literature and had a hard time engaging in class. So Moore “had them all go outside and we formed a circle. And I quoted Walt Whitman to them; ‘I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world.'”

Then each of the students, as they stood around in a circle, had to shout their very loudest and most barbaric yawp, recreating the scene from Dead Poets Society.

After that experience, the class became significantly more engaged because Moore had proved to them that he really valued them and their education.

One of Moore’s greatest passions is in Michael Jackson, a musical icon he has loved since childhood. A couple of years ago at a conference, Moore presented a literary paper on Michael Jackson, and just recently, Moore received a book contract from a publisher to write an academic analysis on the King of Pop himself.

At a few select events throughout the semester, some students are lucky enough to see Moore moonwalk across the stage to “Smooth Criminal,” wearing a single silver glove and black hat.

Cameron Morris, junior youth and family ministry major from Alvin, said he’s enjoyed having Moore as a sponsor of his social club, Trojans.

“It is amazing to have Dr. Moore as an advisor because he doesn’t only care about the club itself, but he genuinely cares about every single individual that makes up the club,” Morris said.

Moore’s love for students, literature, and other faculty has contributed to his reputation as one of the most well-known and appreciated members of ACU’s campus. This is why Praise Day participation spikes when Dr. Moore leads, reminding students to take the Lord with them everywhere they go.