Thomas Zeni, Ph.D.

Expertise

Dr. Tom Zeni is a Teaching Professor of Management and Labor Relations whose work sits at the intersection of organizational psychology, business ethics, and employment law. He brings to the classroom and to his research a rare combination of doctoral training in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, active legal practice as a licensed attorney in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and more than a decade of direct people management experience across union and non-union environments, corporate organizations, entrepreneurial ventures, and small business settings.

That multidisciplinary foundation — spanning behavioral science, law, and management practice — shapes both his research agenda and his teaching philosophy. Dr. Zeni approaches management education not as an academic exercise but as preparation for the complex, high-stakes decisions that business leaders face in practice.

Teaching

Dr. Zeni teaches in the Master of Science in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management program, where he serves as Program Coordinator. In that role he has achieved measurable outcomes in enrollment growth, fundraising, and student career placement. He also teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in management and labor relations, bringing practitioner perspective and legal insight to topics including HR strategy, employment law, organizational behavior, and leadership.

In 2015, Dr. Zeni received the Teaching Excellence Award from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) — a recognition awarded annually to faculty who demonstrate exceptional commitment to student learning and pedagogical innovation."

Research

Dr. Zeni's research examines the behavioral and psychological dimensions of organizational life, with particular focus on ethical decision making by business leaders, counterproductive work behaviors, emotions in organizations, and quantitative methodology and research design.

His doctoral dissertation investigated how cognitive biases influence ethical decision making among senior business leaders — research that bridges organizational psychology, behavioral economics, and business ethics in ways that have direct implications for leadership development and corporate governance.

His work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals including Leadership Quarterly — widely regarded as one of the most prestigious journals in organizational behavior and leadership research — as well as the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, and the International Journal of Selection and Assessment. He also contributes to management consulting practice, applying research-based insights to organizational challenges faced by businesses of varying sizes and sectors.

Legal and Professional Experience

In addition to his academic role, Dr. Zeni is an active practicing attorney and the founder and principal of Zeni Law PLLC in Morgantown, West Virginia. He is licensed to practice law in West Virginia and Pennsylvania and is federally admitted before the United States District Courts and United States Bankruptcy Courts for multiple districts across both states.

Prior to founding Zeni Law PLLC, Dr. Zeni served as a Legal Analyst for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and worked in WVU's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Legal Clinic, providing legal counsel to business startups and nonprofit organizations.

His legal practice focuses on bankruptcy, business law, estate planning, and family law — areas where his training in organizational psychology and business management provides a perspective that few attorneys can offer. Dr. Zeni's professional certifications include the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and the Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

Education

• Ph.D., Industrial and Organizational Psychology, University of Oklahoma, Norman
• MBA, University of Oklahoma, Norman
• M.S., Industrial and Organizational Psychology, University of Oklahoma, Norman
• B.S., Psychology (summa cum laude), Mercy College, New York