Faculty moves for King, Ryan at WashU Olin

I wanted to share about exciting career milestones for two of our faculty members, Ron King and Stephen Ryan.

Professor Ron King has been a member of the Olin faculty since 1986 and is a highly respected and accomplished teacher and researcher. Since 2003, Professor King has served as the Myron Northrop Professor of Accounting where he contributed actively to the body of research in field of accounting.

A few months back, Ron approached Vice Dean Todd Milbourn and me to share the news that while he would like to continue teaching in Olin’s Executive MBA Program, he would like to relinquish his chair to focus more of his energies on his entrepreneurial pursuits in the St. Louis startup community.

While at Washington University, Professor King has taught accounting courses in the undergraduate, MBA, and masters of accounting programs, and has held various administrative positions including senior associate dean of faculty, senior associate dean of programs and the director of the Center for Experiential Learning. Ron received the Distinguished Faculty Award at Washington University’s Founder’s Day in 2012. He received his PhD from the University of Arizona.

Given the importance of entrepreneurship to Olin’s strategic plan and also the St. Louis ecosystem, I am delighted that Ron will be employing his considerable talents to build businesses and make our city more economically vibrant. I am also pleased that he will continue to teach at Olin, as he is one of our very beloved teachers as well as a distinguished researcher.

At the same, time, I am excited to recognize the contributions and research leadership of Stephen Ryan, professor of economics, by appointing him as the next holder of the Myron Northrop Professorship. Professor Ryan received his PhD in economics from Duke University in 2005 and joined Olin in 2016.

The Myron Northrop Professorship was established with a gift from Mr. Northrop’s estate in 1989. Born in Oklahoma and reared in Little Rock, Arkansas, Mr. Northrop spent most of his career at A.S. Aloe Surgical Supply Company of St. Louis. He received a bachelor’s in business administration from Washington University in 1926.

We join in thanking the Northrop Family for their support for Olin faculty research. We also congratulate Ron King on this new phase in his career and Stephen Ryan for his accomplishments.  

Mark Taylor

We will be in touch with plans for a formal installation ceremony for Professor Ryan in the 2019-20 academic year.