The Class of 2025 at Texas A&M University College of Dentistry in Dallas named Dr. Amp W. Miller III and Professor Brandy S. Cowen Teachers of the Year. The two led the procession at graduation May 25.
Miller received the honor of Dental Teacher of the Year for the fifth time since he began teaching part-time in 1973in the fixed prosthodontics department at the then-Baylor College of Dentistry, his alma mater. He also earned it in 1992, 2005, 2011 and 2018. Miller remains a constant presence on campus, having taught a wide range of courses, from preclinical to graduate prosthodontics.
“I always enjoy getting to know the students and watching them as they take their first tentative steps in the preclinical labs and subsequently as they take their evolving knowledge and skills into our clinical programs, where they evolve into mature clinicians and professionals,” Miller said. “It has been fun to be a part of their educational journeys.”
He currently teaches fixed prosthodontics, operative dentistry and removable prosthodontics in the predoctoral program and is part of the advanced education in general dentistry program and the graduate prosthodontics program. Additionally, Miller serves as the interim assistant department head of comprehensive dentistry.
He graduated from dental college in 1973 and earned a prosthodontic certificate in 1980. Miller served as interim chair and later chair of restorative sciences, director of curriculum and briefly as interim associate dean for clinical affairs at various times.
Dental Hygiene Teacher of the Year, Cowen is a clinical assistant professor and dental hygiene clinic coordinator in the dental hygiene program. She has a decade of experience as a registered dental hygienist and became a dental hygiene educator in 2016. Cowen is the course director for preclinical dental hygiene, Clinical Dental Hygiene I, health education and behavioral sciences, as well as local anesthesia and nitrous oxide/oxygen sedation.
Cowen said her path into teaching was rooted in a passion for patient care and a deep respect for the role dental hygienists have in providing education.
“I believe in creating a psychologically safe learning environment, where students feel supported to ask questions, take risks and grow,” she said. “I design instruction to reinforce safe, ethical habits through intentional practice and clinical application.”
Cowen earned her associate degree from what’s now Grayson College, and both a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene and a master’s degree in health studies with an emphasis on dental hygiene from Texas Woman’s University. She is certified in dental infection prevention and control and is pursuing a doctorate in education at Tarleton State University.
Cowen is an active member of the American Dental Education Association, the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, the Texas Dental Hygienists’ Association, the Dental Hygiene Educators of Texas and the Association for Dental Safety.