Last week, the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government welcomed Dr. Deborah O’Malley as the new Associate Director. Dr. O’Malley brings an array of experience in academia that includes teaching, research and writing on American constitutionalism, and management of civics education programs.
Prior to joining the CCCG, Dr. O’Malley taught Political Science at Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts and served as Associate Director of Assumption’s Moynihan Center for Scholarship and Statesmanship. In this role, she directed the Moynihan Model Senate, a campus program that allows college students to learn the task of statesmanship through recreating historic Senate debates. She also managed a scholarship program, organized conferences, and conducted research on religious liberty and freedom of association.
At Notre Dame, Dr. O’Malley will help manage the CCCG, including the center's speaker series, visiting scholars and post-doctoral programs, Menard Family Tocqueville Fellows program, conferences, and Constitutional Studies Minor.
“I am honored to join a team with such exceptional staff, students, and faculty,” Dr. O’Malley said. “One of my first observations upon visiting Notre Dame was how tireless the students are in the pursuit of truth. Despite their busy course schedules, many are eager to participate in opportunities offered by the CCCG that allow them to challenge their own views and to think deeply about the common good. They are doing the noble work of citizenship, and I am excited to assist them in that endeavor through my work in the CCCG.”
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. O’Malley received a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from Ashland University, where she participated in the Ashbrook Scholars Program. After spending five years as a researcher for various Washington, DC think tanks, she went on to earn an MA and Ph.D. in Political Science from Baylor University. There, she studied American constitutionalism and wrote a dissertation on the freedom of religious institutions in the American legal tradition. Upon graduating from Baylor, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the James Madison Program at Princeton University.
Dr. O’Malley has participated in academic fellowships with numerous organizations, including the Berkely Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, the John Jay Institute, and the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
Originally published by at constudies.nd.edu on September 27, 2022.