Best 40-Under-40 Professor Michael Sinkinson

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Michael Sinkinson of Wharton is among the 40 best business school profs under 40

Michael Sinkinson

Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy

Age: 31

Institution: The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Since: 2012

Before current institution: Graduate school, and consulting before that. 

Hometown: Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Marital status: Unmarried

Children: None

Education: PhD in Business Economics (joint between Harvard Economics and Harvard Business School), 2012

A.M. Economics, Harvard University 2009

Bachelor of Commerce, Queen’s University (Canada), 2004

Courses currently teaching: 

MGEC 611 and 612: Microeconomics for Managers (part of the core curriculum in the full-time Wharton MBA program)

Fun fact: 

I was a part-time bartender for a portion of grad school.

Professor I most admire:

Carl Sagan. A serious researcher, but with a great ability to convey complex ideas in a relatable way. He was able to broaden the reach of his field and advance the public’s understanding of it.

Most memorable moment as a professor:

Being mistaken for a student when dressed casually. On many occasions. By faculty, staff, and students.

“If I weren’t a b-school professor…” I would be an entrepreneur!

Students Say:

“Professor Sinkinson made every class seem extremely relevant by associating each topic with a current news article which we analyzed each class.  By connecting seemingly theoretical economic models to real-world situations, each of us could clearly see how knowledge of these topics would improve the competitive advantage of corporations we come in contact with each day.  Equally impressive was how Professor Sinkinson was never asked a question he could not answer in an extreme amount of depth – no matter how complex.”

“Professor Sinkinson has proven to be one of the most engaging and dynamic professors that I have come across at Wharton.  His course is consistently both challenging and compelling to students and is held in the highest regard among my peers.  Professor Sinkinson has created an academic environment where students all feel a strong desire to come to class both prepared and energized for what will surely be a very relevant and energetic discourse between teacher and class.  Lastly, Professor Sinkinson has always demonstrated a strong desire to build meaningful connections with his students, in hopes of eliciting more engaging discussions inside and outside of the classroom.”

“He teaches an extremely difficult course load of managerial economics to 210 first year MBA students at Wharton and is beloved by them all. He commands control of the class and the material in a way that allows someone with no economics background to understand a very challenging course load. He is always responsive to emails and questions, and is available outside of class for any student with concerns. He also cares about getting to know all of his students and memorized all of our backgrounds before our first day of class and often takes students out to lunch.”

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