Dr. Michael D. Steinberger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Pomona College in Claremont California. As Western CUNA Management School’s Dean and Chief Academic Officer, Michael is responsible for all phases of the academic program including design of the curriculum, selection of the faculty, and student experience. He joined his current credit union in elementary school and has served with WCMS since 2006. Michael also serves as chair of the board of First City Credit Union in Los Angeles and previously was on the board of TRUST for Credit Unions in Washington, DC.
Michael graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with degrees in Economics, Political Science and Statistics. He received Highest Honors in each of his three degrees, was awarded the Department Citation Award in Statistics, and was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa as a Junior. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a focus on Labor Economics and Macroeconomics. At Pomona College he has served as Chair of the Social Sciences Division of the College and Economics Department Chair. He was previously affiliated as a Public Policy Fellow at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Michael’s research is in the areas of wage inequality, political economy, and the financial services industry. His wage inequality research explores the change in mobility and the distribution of wages in the United States during the past 40 years. These projects examine the fall in the gender wage gap, differences in racial and ethnic educational attainment and wages, trends in college completion and subsequent wages, and measuring how adoption of technology has changed the wage structure. Michael’s political economy research looks at intra-governmental grants, infrastructure investment and taxation. He has received research grants from the US Census, National Institutes of Health and Sloan Foundation. Michael’s research has been cited by the US Supreme Court, and he has made research presentations at several government agencies, including at the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Michael appears regularly before credit union audiences to speak on the state of financial markets and the national economy. He is also very interested in consumer finance and retirement planning and introduced a course, Personal Financial Decision-Making, with Pomona College’s Career Development Office to help prepare graduating seniors for life after college.
A talented teacher, Michael first taught at the college level while still an undergraduate at Berkeley, where he was a Teaching Assistant for an introductory statistics course. He continued his teaching through graduate school and is widely acclaimed among Pomona College students for the enthusiasm, drive and humor he brings to the classroom. In his very first year of eligibility, Michael was awarded the Wig Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching, Pomona’s highest honor for exceptional teaching, concern for students and service to the College and community. He is frequently recognized through various awards for his interactive teaching techniques, which he credits his mother (a junior high school teacher) for teaching him.