Those who study English and want to study Edgar Allen Poe, will read his works, Dr. Cynthia Powell said, and those who study art and want to study Picasso, will look at what he painted.

“In my class, you get to study what God has made,” Powell said, as a professor in the chemistry and biochemistry.

“We are studying God’s handiwork and that does inspire awe and worship.”

In science, Powell said you’re looking at the mind of the master of the universe.

“When you see the order and the detail and the intricacy and interplay of everything in the creative world,” Powell said, “it’s pretty exciting.”

Now, after over three decades, Powell is being honored as 2025 Teacher of the Year.

In a field where change is continuous, Powell has shown commitment and versatility throughout her career, providing innovation and insight to research and teaching.

“I’ve been teaching since before we had computers, before the internet was really a thing, before we had email,” Powell said. “I didn’t have a calculator personally, until I was a junior in college.”

Powell grew up in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and came to Abilene as a 17-year-old freshman majoring in chemistry. Upon graduation, Powell said she would never live in Texas again.

“I was headed northeast, overseas, just pretty much anywhere else,” Powell said. “I always kind of say, God has a sense of humor because here we are.”

Powell returned to ACU as a math and science tutor for Alpha Academic Services. She then taught math and now, for most of her career, she has taught chemistry.

Powell earned her master’s degree at Texas A&M. After a while of teaching as a master’s level faculty and as her children graduated high school, she pursued a PhD at the University of North Texas in 2010.

While earning her PhD, Powell lived in Denton for a year.

“I was almost 50 and I lived in a dorm,” Powell said, laughing. “I had a sweet mate, and I knew we were going to be okay because I could hear through the very thin wall, her saying, ‘Mom, you’re not going to believe who my sweet mate is.’ and I thought, ‘OK, she talks to her mother – this is a good sign.’”

Powell said generally, doctorates in chemistry take five, six, sometimes seven years, but she said she did sort of a hybrid degree in chemistry, laboratory work and chemistry education. After her year at UNT, she continued her research work while teaching at ACU.

Powell’s research centered education project related to adult teaching. It was before YouTube, so she started making video podcasts to teach students techniques in the lab.

“It was the first thing of that type that had ever been done,” Powell said. “It’s kind of crazy; I literally got calls from the London Times, the New York Times, from all these big newspapers because people weren’t doing that yet.”

Powell said she has always had a deep interest in technology, searching for ways to incorporate innovation into her career. It started with video podcasts, and next, she’s dabbling in artificial intelligence.

As a researcher, it is important to stay up to date on current literature, trends and research material, so AI has proven helpful in its ability to collect and translate data, Powell said.

“So, as you can imagine, it’s pretty impossible for one person to keep up with all of that, but you can train [AI] to be experts in certain fields,” Powell said. “Man, it’s really powerful. There are some amazing ways that it can be used to summarize and gather information from a lot of different sources.”

Powell said she is teaching a senior level seminar class where AI will be used in the curriculum. She said they need to learn how to use it well and ethically.

When computers made their way into education, many saw it as a disruption, but now, computers are used all the time as a great tool, Powell said.

“But this AI is the most disruptive thing I’ve seen since computers came on this scene,” Powell said, “and it’s huge.”

As she and her colleagues expect students to experience AI in their work fields, Powell said she is excited to see where the next generation will take AI.

“I have no doubt that they will have to be sort of pioneers in that,” Powell said, “but we at least need to give them a leg up into that world. I’m working really hard on that right now.”

As Powell began teaching before personal computers and cell phones, she has witnessed the field’s many curveballs when it comes to innovation and progress.

After dedicating 33 meaningful years of teaching, Powell is considering retirement to allow her family more time. Powell has five grandchildren – the youngest being two and the oldest being eight.

“It’s really hard to think about stepping away from it, but being tied to the academic year really limits how I can support my family,” Powell said.

In reflection, Powell said some fruitful advice for new teachers would be to lean on colleagues – learn from those who have come before you.

“I have learned so much, so much from people who had taught the course that I was beginning to teach,” Powell said. “Their advice was really valuable to me.”

Also, Powell spoke about the importance of student perspective. She said going back to school to earn her PhD, taking online classes and going to academic conferences were all so valuable because she got to remember what it was like to be a student.

“The experience of being on the student side of an online class and having to deal with all those little online discussion posts and assignments and quizzes was really opening for me,” Powell said. “It kind of stressed me out. All those little timers, and, you know, you had to hurry up and do stuff.

Powell said after reexperiencing class, she adjusted some of the ways she did things.

Take advantage of chances to learn, Powell said. She demonstrated this call to action throughout her commitment to higher education in her degrees and interest in innovation.

Students also always present more learning opportunities – don’t be afraid to not know the answers to questions sometimes, Powell said, and take unknown answers as moments to learn with students.

And finally, Powell said, when it comes to classes and lectures, be curious and excited – even if you look a little crazy – because if you’re excited to teach, then students are excited to learn.

“There’s just nothing quite like seeing a student who is just as excited about learning as you are about teaching,” Powell said. “ACU has been a great place to teach. I’m thankful for the opportunity to talk about my faith in the classroom.”