Director - Laura A. Powell

Senior Teaching Professor of Legal Studies, Xavier University

Contact information for Professor Laura Powell - (513)745-3096(office), powelll5@xavier.edu

Meet the Director

Professor Laura A. Powell serves as Director of the Cintas Institute for Business Ethics and Senior Teaching Professor of Business Law in the Williams College of Business at Xavier University. As an attorney, educator, faculty mentor, and international program leader, she brings a strong commitment to ethical leadership, experiential learning, and responsible business practice.

Professor Powell has been actively involved with the Cintas Institute as a faculty mentee, fellow, and mentor, supporting ethics-related teaching, scholarship, and curriculum development. Her work emphasizes the connection between legal principles, ethical decision-making, corporate culture, social responsibility, and global business education.

Her teaching includes undergraduate and graduate business law and ethics courses, including courses for working professionals in Xavier’s executive business programs. She also leads international and experiential learning programs, including courses in London and Paris, where students examine ethics, compliance, corporate responsibility, and cultural understanding in a global context.

As Director, Professor Powell looks forward to strengthening the Institute’s role as a bridge among students, faculty, alumni, business leaders, and the broader community. Her vision is to advance ethical leadership through collaboration, practical programming, interdisciplinary scholarship, and meaningful engagement with the real-world challenges facing organizations today.

Welcome from the Director

I am honored to serve as Director of the Cintas Institute for Business Ethics at Xavier University. Over the course of my career as a business law professor, attorney, mentor, and international program leader, I have developed a deep commitment to advancing ethical decision-making in business, education, and professional life.

During my years at Xavier, I have been actively engaged with the Cintas Institute for Business Ethics as a faculty mentee, fellow, and mentor. These experiences strengthened my understanding of ethical theory and practice, corporate culture, social responsibility, and the role of ethics in management education. As a faculty mentor, I have worked with colleagues to support the development of ethics-related curriculum, facilitate meaningful discussion, and share best practices that help faculty and students engage more deeply with questions of business ethics, leadership, governance, and sustainability.

My teaching and scholarship focus on helping students connect legal and ethical principles to real-world business challenges. In my undergraduate and graduate courses, including business law and ethics courses for working professionals, I use case studies, active learning, international examples, and guest speakers to make abstract ethical concepts concrete. My goal is to help students develop the judgment, confidence, and practical tools needed to lead organizations responsibly and effectively.

International and experiential education have also been central to my work. I have led and participated in faculty-led programs in London, Paris, and other global settings, where students examine ethics, compliance, corporate responsibility, and respect for host cultures in an international context. Through Collaborative Online International Learning, I have worked to prepare students for a globalized workplace by developing skills in teamwork, communication, critical thinking, digital literacy, and cross-cultural understanding.

As Director, I look forward to building on the Institute’s strong foundation and expanding its role as a bridge between academia, industry, students, alumni, and the broader community. The Cintas Institute for Business Ethics is uniquely positioned to promote ethical leadership, responsible innovation, and meaningful dialogue about the challenges facing businesses and society today.

My leadership priorities include collaboration, transparency, student engagement, interdisciplinary programming, and measurable impact. I am especially interested in strengthening partnerships with business and community leaders, supporting faculty research and teaching in ethics, creating opportunities for students to engage with real-world ethical issues, and advancing Xavier’s mission of forming leaders who serve with integrity.

I am enthusiastic about guiding the Institute into its next chapter and welcome the opportunity to work with faculty, students, alumni, advisory board members, and community partners to advance ethical business practices locally, nationally, and globally.