Brandeis International Business School

Professors Anna Scherbina and Michael McKay are the winners of this year’s Excellence in Teaching awards.

Dean Kathryn Graddy presents the awards each spring to faculty members who demonstrate passion, commitment and outstanding contributions to Brandeis International Business School.

Scherbina joined Brandeis International Business School in 2017. She teaches BUS 71a Introduction to Finance, FIN 201a Investments and FIN 204a Advanced Corporate Finance Theory and Practice. An accomplished researcher, Scherbina also serves as a senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers, which provides the U.S. president with objective advice on both domestic and international economic policy. In this role, Scherbina has focused on finance, fintech, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

“Anna exemplifies the Brandeis model of an excellent researcher combined with a great teacher,” said Graddy. “She has numerous papers published in the absolute top finance journals and produced important work on cybersecurity as part of the Council of Economic Advisors. Anna is known by students as an eloquent but fun professor with a knack for explaining complicated subjects in an engaging, easy-to-understand way.”

This is the third Excellence in Teaching award for McKay, who also received the honor in 2011 and 2015. McKay is a founding partner at Bain Private Equity, where he still works. At the International Business School, he teaches BUS 71a Introduction to Finance, FIN 231f Private Equity and FIN 237f Security Analysis.

“Mike is an absolute star,” said Graddy. “I’m often told that the Brandeis International Business School student experience isn’t complete until you have him as a professor. Mike brings a passion for teaching and a wealth of first-hand professional knowledge with him into the classroom. And in true Brandeis International Business School fashion, he’s always willing to leverage his industry connections in order to bring a lesson to life for our students.”