Bio
Tom O’Malley is an associate professor of management at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He graduated from the Academy in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and then served 23 years on active duty. During his career, he worked as a contract specialist and then piloted KC-135 Stratotankers. He then joined the Department of Management faculty at the Academy in 2007. Dr. O’Malley received his doctorate from Texas Tech in 2013 after studying the financial implications of student loan debt and for-profit education. His research interests include student loan debt, finance pedagogy, investments and military finance. He has a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ® certification.
Education
PhD, Personal Financial Planning, Texas Tech University (2013)
Master of Science, Contract Management, Air Force Institute of Technology (1996)
Bachelor of Science, Political Science, U.S. Air Force Academy (1994)
Professional Experience
Air Force Systems Contracting
KC-135 operations
University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) adjunct / instructor
Honors & Awards
The National Education Finance Academy Journal of Education Finance Article of the Year (2025)
U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Management – Taylor Award for best-reviewed journal article (2024)
U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Management – James R. Woody Award of upper-level teaching excellence (2023)
U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Management – Taylor Award for best-reviewed journal article (2020)
U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Management – Taylor Award for best-reviewed journal article (2019)
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM – certificant (2019)
U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Management – Woody Teaching Excellence Award (2015)
Research and Scholarly Interests
Student loans
Finance pedagogy
Investments
Military finance
Publications
J. Bredthauer, W. Jennings, T. O’Malley and B. Payne,. Financially Fully Mission Capable for the Long-Term? A Strategic Look at Military Retirement. Journal of Applied Business and Economics. 2024, 26:3, 1-21. (lead article)
T. O’Malley and B. Payne. Blind Optimism and Student Loan Debt. Journal of Education Finance. 2023, 49:2, 156-175. (Paper of the Year)
T. O’Malley and B. Payne. Can Student Borrowing Lead to Bankruptcy? Journal of Applied Business and Economics. 2021, 23:1, 13-28. (lead article)
T. O’Malley and B. Payne. Grit and Undergraduate Corporate Finance. Journal of Financial Education. 2020, 46:1, 1-17. (lead article)
W. Jennings, T. O’Malley, B. Payne. Normal Return Gaps: Dispersion Illuminates Diversification. The Journal of Wealth Management. 2020, 23:2, 1-18.
W. Jennings, J. Merrell, T. O’Malley, and B. Payne. A Framework for Analyzing Defined Benefit Pension Insurance: the Survivor Benefit Plan for Veterans. Financial Services Review. 2018, 27:2, 147-172.
W. Jennings, B. Payne, and T. O’Malley. Implied Discount Rates for the Department of Defense Blended Retirement System. Journal of Retirement. 2018, 6:1, 22-32.
B. Payne and T. O’Malley. Blind Pretesting and Student Performance in an Undergraduate Corporate Finance Course. Journal of Financial Education. 2017, 43:1, 47-62.
W. Jennings, B. Payne and T. O’Malley. Five Tools for Wealth Managers. Journal of Wealth Management. 2016, 19:3, 9-21. (lead article)
T. O’Malley Jr. Three Essays Regarding Student Loans. Dissertation. Texas Tech University. 2013.